Disabled NJ Transit train sparks stampede at Penn Station

A NJ Transit train filled with nearly 1,200 passengers arrived to New York Penn Station on Friday after being stuck in a Hudson River tunnel between New York and New Jersey for nearly three hours during the afternoon commute, officials said.

The train became disabled around 3:25 p.m. due to an Amtrak overhead power problem, officials said.

A New Jersey Transit spokeswoman said the train finally reached New York Penn Station just before 6 p.m. The loss of power caused delays of an hour or more on both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit.

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Amtrak, which owns and operates New York Penn Station, said Friday in a statement engineers were assessing the extent of the damage.

“To our customers who were significantly delayed today on Northeast Corridor train #3850,  and other customers who were impacted by this incident, we deeply apologize for your experience, and I would like to hear from you," NJ Transit Executive Director Steven Santoro said in a statement. “We are working with Amtrak to determine the cause of the incident.”

A passenger from the disabled train became belligerent and sparked a stampede among passengers leaving the overcrowded station, officials said.

The New York Fire Department said 16 people were treated for non-life threatening injuries. Of those 16, 12 people were taken to local hospitals.

Amtrak police said a person at New York Penn Station was placed in custody. It was not known what the charges were.

The New York Police Department said no shots were fired at the station.

Amtrak officials were criticized by NJ Transit for the derailment on April 3 as it was the second mishap in two weeks. Gov. Chris Christie has even threatened with legal action recoup more than $60 million that the state paid to Amtrak to invest in rail improvement.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.