NJ Transit riders face hellish commute as M&E line service disrupted for several days
New Jersey Transit riders who take the Morris & Essex line will face a hellish commute this week due to ongoing problems with overhead wires along the route.
Service between the Chatham and Mount Tabor stations along the M&E line was suspended Monday and further disruptions will continue for at least the next few days because of the issue, NJ Transit officials said.
“We are currently in the process of assessing the extent of the damage and it will continue to impact service tomorrow, and likely for the next couple of days beyond that,” a spokesperson for the agency told The Post on Monday evening.
The wires were damaged near Mount Tabor Monday morning and caused disruptions to New Jersey residents’ commutes home during the evening rush hour.
Riders described a chaotic and confusing commute home with hundreds of people crowded onto platforms for trains that didn’t show or were too jam-packed to take any more passengers.
Several commuters said there were little to no announcements at the stations and were angered by a lack of timely updates on future service impacts.
Crews are now working to finish “extensive” repairs to the overhead wires. As the work is being done, the Morristown Line will operate on a modified schedule until further notice, NJ Transit said in a service alert.
“A rail service plan is being worked on to restore as much service as possible tomorrow while repairs continue,” the spokesperson said.
Trains will skip the Mount Tabor and Morris Plains stations for the time being.
During the disruptions, NJ Transit rail tickets will be cross-honored by NJ Transit buses and Newark Light Rail.
Several straphangers aired their frustrations over the cancellations and disruptions on social media.
“Who do I contact to refund the $436 monthly train i just bought?” one person asked the transit agency on X. “Not using NJT anymore because I don’t feel like getting fired from work for being late every single week. Please advise.”
Another complained that they were forced to take an Uber at a higher rate to get home.
“Seriously, [NJ Transit] how are you this bad? At everything,” the Jersey resident tweeted. “I’m tired of having to pay Uber surge prices to get home from Newark because your sh–ty trains always break down.”
Others said they were confused by the transit agency’s rerouting of trains.
“This is BS. You can’t come up with a better way for passengers to get home?” they wrote.
One customer kept it succinct.
“Y’all suck,” the rider said.
