Amtrak restores service between NYC and New Haven after repairing broken track

Amtrak resumed service between New York City and New Haven on Monday after suspending it for hours due to a broken track — marking the latest commuter rail snafu to snarl the metro area.

"Crews have made the necessary repairs to the tracks," Amtrak said in a statement posted on Monday afternoon. "Normal operations between New York Penn Station (NYP) and New Haven Union Station (NHV) will resume."

As of mid-morning, service was expected to remain suspended until about 2 p.m. and multiple trains were canceled, according to the rail operator, which first reported the disruptions around 9:30 a.m. Ticketed customers who were due to travel between Penn Station and New Haven were being accommodated on Metro-North Railroad between Grand Central Terminal and New Haven, Amtrak said.

In a statement, the commuter rail operator apologized for the disruptions and said it would continue to communicate with affected customers.

On Sunday, Amtrak also experienced issues on its Northeast line, delaying commutes for both its own service and NJ Transit in the New York City area into Monday morning .

Amtrak and NJ Transit committed last month to more frequent inspections of train equipment after major delays due to overhead wire issues.

But riders were livid on Sunday after multiple Amtrak and NJ Transit trains between Trenton and New York City were canceled or delayed due to what Amtrak said were downed utility wires. Both services use Amtrak's rails north of Trenton.

One Amtrak train that was headed for New York City left commuters stranded in the New Jersey capital around 6 p.m.

Quynh Troung was on that train on her way to Manhattan after attending a conference in Washington, D.C., when Amtrak officials announced the cancelation. She said she joined three other passengers whom she didn’t know to call a $320 ride-hail car to complete their trip.

“It is very frustrating, they need to do some kind of compensation,” said Troung. “Because I paid for a trip to go to New York City and they dropped me off in Trenton, New Jersey.”

The car ride ended up taking more than two hours to get to Manhattan, she said. And when she inquired with Amtrak about compensation for her canceled train, she was told customer service would reach out to her in five to seven business days.

A spokesperson for Amtrak said on Monday that it was offering refunds for riders whose trains were canceled on Sunday due to the downed utility wires.

Train woes have plagued commuters in the New York region this summer as repeated heat waves have triggered several infrastructure meltdowns . Experts say transit officials will have to conduct more preventative maintenance to stave off future service interruptions.

Tiffany-Ann Taylor, vice president of the Regional Plan Association, which advocates for better transit in the New York metro area, said mass transit riders are experiencing the results of a lack of funding that predates the federal infrastructure deal passed last year.

"It's because, unfortunately, in different times throughout our history, we haven't necessarily invested in our infrastructure in the way that we should," she said. "And so there's been delayed maintenance. And now, even though the money is available, we're really playing catch up."

This story has been updated with additional information.