Loose bull at Newark Penn Station causes train delays in NJ, NY

A bull ran loose on the tracks of Newark Penn Station on Thursday, causing train delays in New Jersey and New York.

The delays affected NJ Transit and Amtrak services between Newark, N.J., and Manhattan.

“NJ TRANSIT rail service is subject to up to 45 minute delays between Newark Penn and [Pennsylvania Station in New York City] due to Police activity near Newark Penn Station,” New Jersey Transit posted Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

New Jersey Transit also included a photo of a bull on train tracks in the post. 

“Police activity,” the transit system captioned the photo, appearing to point to it as the reason behind the aforementioned police activity.

Videos posted on social media showed the bull running and walking down the tracks at Newark Penn Station. The bull is now off the tracks, according to NJ Transit.

Amtrak Northeast noted that “[a]ll services operating in the Newark (NWK) area may experience lengthy delays due to debris blocking the tracks,” in an X post at 10:40 a.m.

The bull reportedly blocked traffic in between both Newark and New York City’s Penn Stations for over an hour, according to New Jersey Transit, The Associated Press reported. The animal was eventually cornered by police officers 3 miles from Newark Penn, according to a statement by Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé. It will go to a local animal sanctuary, Fragé said.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) made a joke about the situation on his X account.

“I’ve always been bullish on Jersey’s future, but this is just a step too far folks,” Murphy said.

It’s not the first time a male bovine has run loose in the New Jersey city. In 2006, a 600-pound bull ran loose for 10 hours in Newark before it was corralled and tranquilized downtown. Though there were no reports of transportation interruptions, the bull was reportedly caught less than a mile from Newark Liberty International Airport, according to a report at the time from NBC News.