Train disruptions for NJ Transit, Amtrak prompt another angry NJ delegation letter

3-minute read

Several members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation have again sent a letter calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation to get involved in the issues plaguing train travel for NJ Transit and Amtrak riders on the Northeast Corridor this summer.

The letter, sent to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Friday, is at least the third he has received from officials in New Jersey seeking accountability over the repeated delays Amtrak and NJ Transit customers have experienced due to failing infrastructure.

“I’m sick and tired of a ‘Summer of Hell’ — year after year,” wrote U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who led the letter, co-signed with U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Robert Menendez, Josh Gottheimer, Andy Kim, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Bill Pascrell and Donald Norcross.

Story continues below photo gallery

“We need Amtrak to use the $6 billion we passed in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to repair these lines so NJ Transit commuters see fewer delays,” Sherrill wrote. “It’s time to get this fixed.”

Among the requests of U.S. DOT that were outlined in the letter:

• “Have Amtrak provide a schedule regarding how it intends to spend the funds appropriated for state-of-good-repair on New Jersey’s portion of the Northeast corridor”
• “More must be done in the interim to inform riders about outage plans, repairs, and other improvements affecting their daily commute. We ask that you urgently outline a plan to keep commuters fully informed of planned and unplanned disruptions.”

Despite the letters, there has been little direct communication with Buttigieg since the first congressional letter was sent June 25. The secretary was also copied on a letter New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sent to Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner in May.

Rep. Menendez spoke to Buttigieg during a June 27 hearing of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, imploring the secretary to “treat this like the crisis that it is.”

“We’re hearing from our residents every day who don’t want to go to work, who don’t want to travel, who are worried about what child care looks like because there’s no reliability,” Menendez said.

Buttigieg said federal staff helping Amtrak assess causes

Buttigieg said Federal Railroad Administration personnel have been “on the ground” assessing the situation and are assisting Amtrak and NJ Transit in a joint review they are finalizing. The review is assessing why NJ Transit’s overhead train equipment is getting tangled with Amtrak’s power lines — the central cause of significant cancellations, delays and disruptions in April, May and June.

Those issues have not reoccurred in July, as NJ Transit and Amtrak have increased inspections, brought in third party assistance and placed cameras on top of trains.

A July 10 incident that was reported as “downed wires” was actually a rope that fell, and on July 21 wires that fell on the tracks were not Amtrak’s but PSE&G’s and had nothing to do with Amtrak’s infrastructure, the utility company confirmed.

Murphy said he has kept in close contact with Tony Coscia, Amtrak’s board chair, as the two agencies work to prevent further incidents.

Earlier this month, Amtrak applied for four federal grants that would help pay for upgrades to overhead wires, a substation replacement project and signal improvements, as well as replacing the Sawtooth Bridge, but those projects likely wouldn’t be completed for years.

Similarly, completion of the Portal Bridge replacement across the Hackensack River and construction of the Gateway tunnels, which would include wire upgrades, won’t be finished until 2026 and 2035, respectively.

Overhead wires, signals and substations throughout New Jersey were first identified for replacement 50 years ago, but $4.6 billion in overdue repairs and upgrades have built up over time.

Amtrak, according to its own documents, has adapted a “run-to-fail approach” instead of a long-term strategy that would have required consistent funding it doesn’t normally have. This has allowed the infrastructure to deteriorate. As a result, decades-old wires droop, causing them to fall or get tangled during extreme changes in weather.

Friday’s letter adds pressure to U.S. DOT and Amtrak to use the $6 billion in federal funding allocated specifically for the Northeast Corridor’s maintenance backlog.

“We were proud to secure this funding for precisely this purpose, and these funds should be used to address the problem right now,” the letter said.