Amtrak temporarily suspends Northeast Corridor service days before holiday

Amtrak temporarily suspended all train service between New York and Philadelphia Sunday morning due to downed overhead power wires that were blocking the tracks. The delays and cancellations come at one of the busiest travel periods of the year, just days before the Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa holidays and as the region faces freezing temperatures. The travel suspension first occurred around 7 a.m. ET, with estimates of resumption only around noon. As of 1:30 p.m., Amtrak said they had restored two of the four tracks for service through the impacted route, with trains running at reduced speeds and delays averaging an hour. At least three trains were canceled, according to Amtrak’s X updates. The Northeast Corridor is Amtrak’s most-traveled route, spanning a trail of major East Coast cities from Boston to Washington, D.C. “We are doing our best to move trains in time table order in hopes of minimizing delays,” Amtrak said in a statement. Amtrak will waive additional charges for customers who change their reservation, and most customers were accommodated on other trains, according to a spokesperson. The downed wires also impacted some NJ Transit trains, according to an alert. The region is also facing the coldest temperatures for this time of year in two years, according to the National Weather Service.