This Morning's Amtrak Derailment Will Cause Evening Delays

An Amtrak Acela Express train originating in Boston, headed for Washington, D.C., derailed Friday morning at Penn Station, clipping an NJ Transit train at about 9 a.m.

Amtrak said in a statement that all 248 passengers were evacuated safely from the train. NJ Transit reports there were 1,000 customers on its train, and that there were several minor injuries.

NJ Transit, Amtrak and federal officials are investigating the incident. 

Expect heavy delays in and out of Penn Station Friday.

There is limited outbound service from Penn Station starting at 4 p.m. There will be hourly service into New York City from Trenton and Long Branch, with stops at Newark and Seacaucus. Cross honoring will remain in effect with NJ Transit, bus, private buses, NY Waterway, and the PATH at Newark, Hoboken and 33rd Street. Hoboken service will also be affected, due to additional trains at the terminal

Passengers on Amtrak's Keystone Service can transfer to the Northeast Regional in Newark for trains headed to New York City. Empire Service passengers are being transferred to MetroNorth for service in and out of Grand Central.

Long Island Rail Road, which wasn't involved with the derailment, is expecting cancellations and delays for the evening commute, with a 50 percent reduction in track space due to the derailment. It's advising customers to leave the city before 4 p.m. or wait until after 8 p.m. to avoid delays.

One witness to the crash described it as a sudden jolt. "The initial impact happened next to my head and proceeded to rake down my car and the car behind mine, popping all the windows, knocking doors off their hinges and shearing metal," passenger Jordan Geary, who was on the NJ Transit train that was hit, said. 

Geary said it didn't appear anyone was injured, but his ears were ringing from the impact more than hour after the collision. He said there were an official announcements and that once workers in yellow jackets showed up passengers just found their way off the train and left the station.

NJ Transit has temporarily suspended service in and out of Penn Station, PATH train honoring fares. https://t.co/v6P23XFzs1

— WNYC 🎙 (@WNYC) March 24, 2017

We are preparing a service plan for PM commute to include some service OUT of #NYPenn ONLY. MTD will continue to operate in/out of Hoboken.

— NJ TRANSIT (@NJTRANSIT) March 24, 2017

My @NJTRANSIT train just collided with another oncoming train. Blew my window out and into me. Thankfully everyone is okay. pic.twitter.com/TsjS73j1Dn

— Jordan Geary (@THEJordanGeary) March 24, 2017

Train crash at Penn appears to involve an NJT colliding with an Acela. NJT was already under fire for numerous safety violations. pic.twitter.com/Nwu1fTtGnn

— Stephen Nessen (@s_nessen) March 24, 2017

This is a breaking news story. More information will be added as to this article as it comes in.