‘Unacceptable’ NJ Transit delays prompt new plan to improve service

NEWARK — You don't care why the train's not running; you're just fuming mad because you can't get to your destination.

Insisting that they're just as frustrated as the countless customers whose plans have been dismantled recently by NJ Transit service interruptions, the agency and Amtrak — which handles the Northeast Corridor — have put forth a joint plan that aims to improve reliability going forward.

"We believe it is our job to deliver the best possible service to get people from point A to Point B, to do it safely, and to do it efficiently," said Anthony Coscia, chair of the board for Amtrak. "No other performance is acceptable."

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Amtrak and NJ Transit leadership met with Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday, in response to a series of delays and suspensions over the past several weeks.

"We discovered an issue in the interface between Amtrak's infrastructure and New Jersey Transit's trains that have caused these issues to reoccur," Coscia said. "We are moving heaven and earth to determine the precise cause of that and to address that."

The agencies' joint plan features a number of immediate actions, including:

⚫ Additional and more in-depth inspections of equipment and tracks

⚫ Externally supported reviews with industry experts to assist root cause analysis and development of solutions

⚫ A joint review of delays and other issues impacting reliability

"The performance of late, across the board, has been unacceptable," Murphy told reporters after the Thursday meeting. "We also have to accept the reality that in both organizations, you've got decades of underinvestment."

According to Coscia, NJ Transit and Amtrak have invested over $500 million in the last three years toward upgrading infrastructure.

NJ.com reported this month that Murphy and top lawmakers have reached a deal to impose a fee on businesses in order to create a dedicated source of revenue for NJ Transit. The deal, which would be included in the state's budget, charges a 2.5% fee on businesses that make at least $10 million a year. It would run retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year and last for five years, according to the report.