Agencies Point Fingers as Penn Station Chaos Is Reviewed

Neither transportation agency overseeing a tunnel under the Hudson is taking responsibility for Friday's train failure that left riders stranded for three hours. Amtrak is blaming NJ Transit. NJ Transit is blaming Amtrak.

In a statement, Amtrak said the cause of Friday's stuck train was a mechanical problem on NJ Transit involving a power collector. It claimed Amtrak was unable to rescue the train because of damage on the train, and once the broken piece was removed, the train was able to pull into the station on its own.

NJ Transit had a different take.

"Amtrak was responsible for two back-to-back derailments leading up to Friday’s mess that stranded 1,200 people on a hot, arid train just outside Penn Station, New York," said Brian Murray, a spokesman for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. "Today, Amtrak is trying to again divert attention from its failures by suggesting the problem may have been new equipment on the NJ Transit train, before a final determination has been made." 

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Amtrak called what happened next a "perfect storm." As disgruntled passengers left the train, Amtrak police were confronted by a man they said was known by police, who took a swing at an officer. Amtrak police fired a stun gun to subdue the man, which set off a panicked stampede.

An Amtrak spokesman said the incident is under review, but that using a stun-gun is "consistent with standard procedures." He said the suspect is in the hospital and undergoing psychological evaluation, and that the Amtrak Police "will be seeking to arrest the suspect upon his discharge from the hospital."

As for the ensuing stampede of scared passengers, Amtrak said it's reviewing video of the incident to analyze how it can "facilitate safe movement" in the future. 

David Pearlson, head of the Amtrak police union, said better police training would be a good first step.

"We look forward to Amtrak's plans on how to handle these incidents in the future and training on that, and drills with the NYPD and the FDNY and hopefully, we can avoid this situation in the future," Pearlson said.

Amtrak runs Penn Station.