CONTACT: Anna Farneski (973-491-7078)

NEWARK, NJ, June 20, 2001 -- While the cause of Wednesday's derailment continues to be investigated, NJ TRANSIT has made alternate travel options available to our customers on the Bergen County Line.

Train #55 derailed at Van Winkle Avenue in Garfield at approximately 4:25 p.m., Wednesday, June 20. While the train remained upright within the track bed, the wheels of four passenger cars and the engine left the tracks. The train, carrying approximately 400 passengers, was headed from Hoboken to Port Jervis.

NJ TRANSIT reports that 27 people claimed minor injuries in the incident; 14 of them refused medical attention.

On Thursday, June 21, NJ TRANSIT recommends customers on our Bergen County Line budget an extra 30 to 40 minutes for their morning commute. NJ TRANSIT recommends the following travel options:

• Passengers who use the Glen Rock Station on the Bergen County Line should walk to the Glen Rock Station on the Main Line, about 100 yards away, and take an eastbound Main Line train to Hoboken.
• Passengers who use the Broadway and Radburn Stations in Fair Lawn can take a train shuttle from those stations to the Ridgewood Station on the Main Line, where they can transfer to an eastbound Main Line train to Hoboken.
• Passengers who use the Broadway Station in Fair Lawn can also take a NJ TRANSIT bus to Garfield, where they can transfer to a shuttle train to Hoboken.
• Passengers who use the Plauderville Station should take a NJ TRANSIT shuttle bus to Garfield, where they can transfer to a NJ TRANSIT shuttle train to Hoboken.
• Passengers who use the Garfield, Rutherford and Harmon Cove Stations should board trains to Hoboken as usual. Customers may be delayed.

NJ TRANSIT will cross-honor all bus and rail passes and tickets. Staff will be on hand at Ridgewood and select stations to help guide customers. Our press office will be staffed beginning at 6 a.m. Thursday, June 21, for media calls.

Customers can call NJ TRANSIT's Information Hotline at (973) 491-7400 for more information, or contact NJ TRANSIT's website at www.njtransit.com .

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