Update, 2:45 p.m.: The Montclair-Boonton train line was suspended after a train hit a deer in Upper Montclair Thursday afternoon, but has since resumed service.
An advisory from NJ Transit initially said a pedestrian had been struck in Upper Montclair, but shortly after 2 p.m., that was updated only to reference “police activity.” An NJ Transit spokeswoman told Montclair Local officials were able to confirm no pedestrian was actually involved.
By around 2:30 p.m., NJ Transit’s alert system said service had resumed. Train Nos. 6238 and 6234 were running behind schedule because of the earlier activity.
Residents reported seeing several police cars in the area of Laurel Place and Upper Mountain Avenue, near the Mountain Avenue train station.
The incident comes just weeks after the death of media critic and Montclair resident Eric Boehlert, struck and killed by a train at a crossing on North Fullerton Avenue. Montclair officials say they’d like a full audit of the equipment there and at other crossings in the township, to ensure it’s working as intended. Some residents have said they find the behavior of the gates on North Fullerton Avenue confusing, as they’re lowered when a train is approaching the nearby Watchung Avenue Station, but not yet at the crossing, then raised again while the train is stopped, only to lower again once it’s starts up and heads to the crossing itself. NJ Transit confirmed to Montclair Local that is the intended behavior.
