Fire at NYC Penn Station causes Amtrak, NJ Transit, LIRR travel woes with cancellations, delays

Julian Roberts-Grmela and Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News on May 29, 2026

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NEW YORK — A massive fire in the tunnels at Manhattan’s Penn Station caused extensive suspensions and delays on Amtrak, NJ Transit, and the Long Island Railroad Friday, creating a nightmare for travelers and commuters heading into the weekend.

The fire — which took place in the station near the opening of the North River Tunnel connecting Penn to New Jersey led to the suspension of NJ Transit trains running to Newark and Amtrak trains running south of New York. It also caused a spate of cancellations for LIRR service, with limited service returning around 7 a.m.

Both NJ Transit and Amtrak trains resumed limited service shortly before 1 p.m. Friday, using one tube of the twin-tube tunnel as repair work continued. It was the first time Amtrak and NJ Trains crossed the Hudson River in more than 12 hours.

The shutdown left thousands with nowhere to go on Friday.

Anne Fitzgibbon, 54, showed up at Penn Station ready to board an 11 a.m. Amtrak train to Wilmington, Del. to visit her mother, only to be told her trip was canceled.

Instead of traveling to her mom’s home, she spent her Friday in line at the Amtrak Customer Service desk in Moynihan train hall, waiting to news if she will be traveling anytime soon.

“We have a little four-day trip planned, so I have to get down there today because I booked everything in advance,” Fitzgibbon told the Daily News. “She’s counting on me, and I’ve got to get there.”

“They’re telling me nothing,” Fitzgibbon said about Amtrak customer service. “And I didn’t even get a notice this morning, I just saw it on the news.”

An Amtrak spokesman said the fire began around 1:25 a.m. following an incident involving “an Amtrak contractor maintenance vehicle” just outside the tunnel.

A spokesman for the FDNY said firefighters responded to a call that a work train was on fire on track 11 at the station shortly after 1:30 a.m.

By 2:43 a.m., the fire was declared a two-alarm blaze.

The department dispatched a total of 141 firefighters and EMS personnel to the scene, bringing the fire under control by 4 a.m.

Five people were injured in the fire, according to the FDNY. Three refused medical treatment at the scene, but two were transported to Bellevue Hospital with serious injuries.

In a social media post, Mayor Mamdani expressed gratitude for the first responders Friday.

“I’m grateful to the brave firefighters and EMS members who responded quickly to extinguish this train fire and protect New Yorkers in a moment of danger,” the Mayor wrote. “Let’s keep those who were injured in our thoughts and wish them a swift, full recovery.”

In a statement, Amtrak — which owns Penn Station and the connecting tunnels — said the blaze damaged the overhead wires used to power Amtrak and NJ Transit trains.

“Amtrak apologizes for the inconvenience and is providing rebooking opportunities and refunds while it works to return to scheduled service levels,” the railroad said in a statement.

Yet circumstances regarding the cause of the conflagration remained unclear.

MTA chairman Janno Lieber — whose Long Island Rail Road is the primary tenant — told reporters Friday that he’d been informed of a collision between two Amtrak work trains during the overnight hours.

It was not immediately clear if that incident had sparked the fire.

The blaze left Manhattanite Lisa Brassell, 45, stranded for hours as she waited to learn the fate of her trip to Pennsylvania.

“I never take the train,” she said. “This is like a special, like, thing, so I don’t know any procedures for what’s supposed to even supposed to happen on normal days.”

While Amtrak workers said her train was canceled, it still showed up as running on the station’s digital boards, she said.

“I’m so confused,” she said.

Meanwhile, dozens of Amtrak workers, clad in hard-hats and high-viz vests, could be seen from the western end of Platform 6, around the bright lights of a work train on Track 11 near the mouth of the North River Tunnel.

Nearby, a second work train loaded with spools of large-gauge copper wire prepared to move into position, as a nearby worker confirmed to a reporter that crews were replacing the overhead catenary wires that power the trains.

That work continued Friday afternoon, even as service resumed through half of the tunnel.

The fire is the second to strangle service at the nation’s busiest rail hub in as many weeks. As first reported by the Daily News, a dangling panel from an Amtrak Acela train sparked an electrical fire earlier this month that knocked out service to the station for two days.

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