Amtrak train service between Boston and New York resumed late Saturday after a power outage on the tracks caused the railroad to cancel train service along the busy Northeast Corridor for most of the day.
Amtrak said in Update At 10:30 p.m., the railroad said the outage was caused by a lightning strike but did not say where the strike occurred. Earlier Saturday, the railroad service said the disruption was due to a “breaker failure that caused power outages on all tracks” between Penn Station in New York and New Haven Union Station in Connecticut.
“Amtrak is communicating directly with customers affected by these changes and is offering options to rebook their travel plans,” the company said in an update Saturday night. “Amtrak apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the disruption.”
Amtrak posts on social media indicated that the rail service had been experiencing power issues since about 9:20 a.m. Friday, causing numerous delays and cancellations.
Amtrak said two trains were running on time as scheduled Saturday night: Train No. 65 from Boston to Newport News, Virginia, and Train No. 66 from Roanoke, Virginia, to Boston.
Amtrak said most trains will run on their normal schedule Sunday, but trains 143, 162 and 150 were canceled “due to equipment locations during the service disruption.” Amtrak said trains 54 and 157 will run on a modified schedule.
The rail service said it would waive the extra fee for passengers who want to change their reservations.
“Customers with bookings on affected trains will usually be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or on another day.” Amtrak said in an alert: Saturday at 9:50 am
Messages have been sent to Amtrak for further information.
About 4.6 million people are expected to travel by bus, train or cruise ship for the Fourth of July holiday, a 9 percent increase from 2023 and a near return to pre-pandemic levels, according to AAA.
Nick Stoico can be reached at [email protected].
