Northeast Corridor train line, eight other NJ Transit rail lines suspended Friday evening due to engineer labor dispute

A frustrating day for commuters went from bad to worse on Friday evening as NJ Transit suspended service on nine train lines due to an engineer shortage.

Friday morning, more than 30 trains were canceled, including several Northeast Corridor trains between Trenton and New York. The Dinky train connecting Princeton to Princeton Junction was shut down in the afternoon for the rest of the day and was replaced with a bus.

Early Friday evening, NJ Transit announced that service would end early for several lines. The last Northeast Corridor train from New York heading west was scheduled to leave Penn Station at 7:44 p.m.

“Due to an illegal job action initiated this morning by the locomotive engineers’ union, rail service will terminate early this evening and will remain temporarily suspended for the remainder of the service day on Friday, June 17,” NJ Transit announced online.

By late afternoon, New York Penn Station was packed full of commuters hoping to catch trains home. Some were lucky enough to get a train out of the city before service ended. Others headed to Port Authority and took buses out of the city, or took the PATH to Newark. Some were left Friday evening debating whether to spend the night in a hotel, stay with friends, or pay $150 or more for an Uber ride home.

On social media, commuters vented their frustrations. One commuter said her train has been canceled on three of her past five trips in and out of the city.

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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.