Gov. Murphy meets with NJ Transit, Amtrak about infrastructure work ahead of summer travel season
NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy met with leaders from Amtrak and New Jersey Transit on Tuesday, ahead of the busy summer travel season.
It comes after last summer's travel nightmare for so many commuters, which was full of delays and suspensions along the Northeast Corridor.
These past few months, NJ Transit and Amtrak say their repair and replacement crews have been working to make sure this doesn't happen again... at least not as severely as last summer.
The agencies have spent millions of dollars, and thousands of hours on improvements.
"Right now, NJ Transit is running at a 90% on-time rate on our railroads," said Amtrak Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Coscia. "We're hopeful that we can keep that up and continue it."
New trains and locomotives are already rolling, and miles of catenary lines -- many that droop during heatwaves -- have been replaced. Antiquated structures have been and continue to be inspected and upgraded if necessary.
"We also have on top of that, ambassadors who are in person in Newark and New York, there in the mornings and the afternoon rush hour, so a customer can speak to somebody in person to understand what's happening on the railroads, so they can get real-time information," said NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri.
The system is 120 years old, and carries thousands of commuters daily, especially the Northeast Corridor line, which is getting extra attention.
"In the dispatch room at Penn Station, NJ Transit will now have a senior member of its team right alongside the Amtrak folks, and at particularly busy times and special events, that will be a huge boost," Gov. Murphy said.
They say it's a way to address any issues more quickly.
This is the last of the transit agencies summits before the summer season. They say any delays caused by improvements will be announced so that commuters can make adjustments.
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