Massive Amtrak and train delays sweep through New York City’s Penn Station

The Long Island Rail Road, which serves nearly 300,000 passengers on a typical day, was forced to suspend commuter train service out of New York City during Wednesday’s evening rush hour due to an electrical problem, a spokesman said.

The suspension of trains at New York’s Penn Station stemmed from a problem with Amtrak train signals in a tunnel under the East River, LIRR spokesman Salvatore Arena said.

The problem was also causing delays of up to 90 minutes on Amtrak trains, according to a notice Amtrak posted on Twitter, and on New Jersey Transit trains, according to its website.

The problem began at 5:20 p.m. EST, but the LIRR was resuming limited service at about 7 p.m., Arena said.

Both the LIRR and New Jersey Transit were forced to suspend service due to Superstorm Sandy, causing daily headaches for hundreds of thousands of area commuters to New York, and have been working to restore service on a limited basis since then.

Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst. Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Paul Simao.