Massachusetts

Amtrak says power has been restored after electrical accident delays northeast service

NEW YORK — Power has been restored after Thursday's electrical accident near a New York rail line that killed one worker and severely impacted Amtrak service across parts of the northeast.

Amtrak said power was restored Friday morning and "normal operations have resumed," according to a tweet at 6:45 a.m.

The worker, who had been doing maintenance work at a substation in the Bronx, died after a transformer exploded, killing him and injuring two others.

Due to the explosion, multiple trains heading into Boston were delayed, where some were over three hours behind schedule.

Passengers on multiple trains arrived into Boston hours later than expected. Many who boarded the trains in New York say the trip took a total of seven hours, and those who boarded in DC took even longer.

"We sat there for about 4 hours, it was just a long day they did the best they could," said one passenger.

The incident, which happened at around 11 a.m. on Thursday night, had a ripple effect on train delays throughout most of the day.

An emergency notification sent by New York City announced the passenger rail service was being suspended between New York and Boston in both directions due to "an overload problem" shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday.

The announcement came after numerous passengers took to social media to question long waits at New York's Penn Station for New Jersey Transit trains and Amtrak service.

"Due to an earlier incident at a substation, power outages have required adjustments to be made to several trains," Amtrak said in a tweet. "Cancellations and numerous lengthy delays have been experienced."

"He told us an Amtrak worker, 25 years old, had been electrocuted so the recovery effort became a crime scene," said Leslie Arslania.

Knowing it was a serious situation, many passengers say they tried to make the best out of the inconvenience.

"We called Amtrak probably four or five times, we went online to see, we came here and chatted with the Amtrak employees," said Julie King, who was picking up a passenger. "Once we heard why, I mean there's nothing we could do but pray for the family."

Passengers say multiple trains lost power during the holdup.

Amtrak issued the following statement after the incident:

"We are deeply saddened to report the death of an Amtrak employee. The incident happened at approximately 11:05 a.m. at a substation just outside of New York City. There are reports of two additional nonlife-threatening employee injuries. Trains are being delayed through the area as local authorities respond. A full investigation is underway."

Amtrak says a full investigation is underway. Customers are advised to reach out individually for refund options.

>> Salem city councilor challenges Gov. Baker to commute using the MBTA

The Associated Press contributed to this report