The New Jersey Transit service delay wasn’t that unusual. Thursday’s reason, however, was something out of the Wild West. There was a bull – with long horns, no less – on the tracks.
During the final hours of the morning commute at Newark Penn Station, trains were stopped by the brown bull charging near the passenger platform.
When Javier Perez, 54, arrived at Penn Station around 10:30 a.m., he heard there were delays caused by some sort of obstruction. He looked down the tracks and saw the bull coming down the railway.
“I thought, ‘OK, this is obstruction,'” he said.
By midday, New Jersey Transit, the state agency that runs trains and buses, said the bull had derailed and service had resumed after a 45-minute delay.
Ellie VandenBerg was waiting on the platform to board a PATH train when she noticed a number of police officers running along the tracks, including one holding a rope. Looking closer, she noticed horns.
“It’s definitely a first for New Jersey Transit, although we’ve seen a lot of strange things,” Ms. VandenBerg, 31, said. The transportation agency did not immediately respond to questions about the origin of the bull or whether Thursday was the first time service had been delayed because of the cattle.
The bull incident was the latest in a difficult month for the transit agency. On Dec. 4, the morning commute was ruined for thousands of riders on the agency’s Morris and Essex lines when damage to overhead wires caused a power outage. Ten days later, New Jersey Transit continues to repair the line, which is operating with modified service.
The agency is the third busiest transit system in the country, behind the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad systems operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. It operates around 270 million passenger journeys each year.
Ms. VandenBerg said her fellow passengers seemed neither fearful nor agitated by Thursday’s excitement. They seemed bored, she added. Ms. VandenBerg and others abandoned the station and headed to Ubers to try to reach their destination.
“Everyone was acting shockingly, unfazed,” she said.
As the service delay dragged on, more officers tried to contain the animal, which became increasingly aggressive, running back and forth, Mr. Perez said. Eventually, he said, the plane derailed and fled.
Newark police said Thursday that no injuries were reported during the episode and that the bull was confined to a fenced lot on Victoria Street, near a meat wholesaler, before being taken away. in a sanctuary. According to the sanctuary’s Facebook page, the bovine’s name is Ricardo and he is resting.
“He was pardoned,” said East Newark City Councilman Mike Silva. “They put him in a horse trailer and took him to a farm. He is courageous.
“He is going to a farm where he will retire in luxury,” Mr. Silva added.
In the Ironbound neighborhood, an Iberian enclave a few blocks from Penn Station, Juan and José García were sitting at the bar of the Brasília Grill, feasting on meat.
Born in Spain, the brothers come from a culture that places bulls at the center of bullfighting and cuisine. The Garcias, however, had widely divergent views on justice for the escapee.
“That bull should go straight to my plate.” He ran and got caught, so he lost the battle,” said Juan García as he cut a piece of rare rump steak. “You win or you lose. There is no middle ground. There’s no way to try.
José García piled black beans on his plate.
“This bull should be free. He was able to escape to a big city like Newark. It’s impressive,” he said, adding: “There should be a monument to him.”
Patrick McGeehan reports contributed.