What a bunch of bull!
Amtrak and New Jersey Transit commuters on both sides of the Hudson River found themselves delayed Thursday after a bull in Newark managed to break loose and run amok on the train tracks at Newark-Penn Station on Thursday morning.
An Amtrak spokesperson said train service was halted for about 40 minutes in the Newark area as the bull moseyed about on the station’s tracks, but has since been removed and service has resumed. Newark Penn is a stop on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, the nation’s busiest intercity passenger rail service.
There is a loose bull on the tracks at Newarks Penn Station as authorities try to catch it. All tracks delayed pic.twitter.com/In7D6dm6e6
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🅳🅳🅸🅲🆃 (@Nerdy_Addict) December 14, 2023
A spokesperson for NJ Transit, which also uses Newark Penn, said service has resumed but commuters could face delays of up to 45 minutes due to the time service was halted amid the bull run. NJ Transit tickets are being cross-honored on the PATH train.
Newark’s Public Safety Director, Fritz Fragé, said police deployed at about 10:45 a.m. to a fenced lot at Frelinghuysen Avenue and Victoria Street, where Newark and Port Authority cops managed to contain and capture the bull. Fragé said the bull will be taken to a local animal sanctuary.
It’s not yet clear how the bull ended up on the tracks. But the capture location is just down the street from a halal meatpacking facility, the Victoria Livestock & Poultry Market, and video showed the bull has a yellow tag on its horn typical of animals set for slaughter.
