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NJ Transit blames WWE for WrestleMania transit delays

New Jersey Transit is blaming the WWE for lengthy train delays at MetLife Stadium following WrestleMania 35 Sunday night.

News 12 Staff

Apr 8, 2019, 4:13 PM

Updated 2,074 days ago

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NJ Transit blames WWE for WrestleMania transit delays
New Jersey Transit is blaming the WWE for lengthy train delays at MetLife Stadium following WrestleMania 35 Sunday night.
Thousands of people heading home from the show late Sunday and early Monday were stuck waiting in long lines for trains and buses leaving the stadium. NJ Transit says event organizers' decision to extend the show until 12:30 a.m. caused the problems.
The agency originally told attendees that transportation would leave every 10 minutes when WrestleMania let out. But some people claimed on social media that they waited up to three hours for a train.
Brandon Speck tells News 12 New Jersey that he traveled from Mississippi to attend the professional wrestling event.
“Everybody was kind of stampeding and it looks kind of chaotic there when everybody was trying to pack on the train,” Speck says.
A spokesperson for NJ Transit says in a statement, “The primary factor contributing to the post-event delays was the WWE's decision to extend the event to 12:30 a.m., which had significant operational impacts on the evening. NJ Transit was not informed of this decision until late last night."
NJ Transit had stated in the past that federal guidelines limit crew times, which meant some of the trains could not be staffed.
Speck says that he and some of the others waiting on long lines in the rain for trains passed the time by singing popular rock songs.
Meanwhile, Gov. Phil Murphy, who has vowed to improve NJ Transit, had harsh words for the agency.
“It’s unacceptable. Period. We’re fixing it but we’re going to learn from this,” Murphy said. “I’ll be damned if it happens again.”
The delays were reminiscent of the 2014 Super Bowl at the stadium when thousands of fans flooded the train platform after the game and had to wait hours to leave.
WWE released a statement that said, “We regret any inconveniences fans may have experienced with mass transportation after the event."

The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.