WrestleMania fans were stranded in New Jersey for hours because NJ Transit miscalculated when it would end
- More than 80,000 wrestling fans gathered at MetLife Stadium on Sunday for WrestleMania.
- After the event, many were stranded in New Jersey, with long lines and wait times making trains, buses, and ride shares a nightmare to catch.
- NJ Transit had planned on running trains every 10 minutes but severely underestimated how late the show would go.
On Sunday more than 80,000 wrestling fans gathered at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to celebrate the biggest night of the WWE year - WrestleMania.
It was a long night of wrestling action, featuring 16 matches that did not end until around 12:30 a.m. Monday morning, when Becky Lynch pinned Ronda Rousey to win the first women's headlining match in WrestleMania history.
But for some fans, what already felt like a long night was made even longer as NJ Transit turned into a disaster after the show.
NJ Transit said before the night began it would run trains every 10 minutes until the crowds were gone. But after WrestleMania ran long, fans were instead stuck standing in the rain for hours waiting for their turn to catch a ride.
Fans, understandably, were furious.
Lines for buses appeared to be a similar disaster.
As were lines for those hoping to catch a ride share.
The problem seems to have stemmed from NJ Transit's severe miscalculation as to how late the show would run. In a statement, NJ Transit said they were not informed that the show would go until 12:30 a.m. until late Sunday night, and couldn't operate some trains after 1 a.m. due to federal standards limiting train crew hours.
Instead of a train every 10 minutes that fans had expected upon exiting the stadium, wait times extended for more than two hours. That likely felt even longer between the already long day and the pouring rain.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy had little sympathy for NJ Transit. "It's unacceptable, and we're going to learn from this," Murphy said on Monday. "I'll be damned if it happens again."
In the end, NJ Transit said they helped over 12,000 fans on their commute after the show, albeit much later than they had hoped.
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