NJ Transit boosts locomotive engineer recruitment efforts

New Jersey Transit's recent locomotive engineer recruiting efforts have netted more than 5,000 job applications, the agency announced Tuesday.

The news comes as the agency struggles to restore a full staff of trained engineers. Since January, NJ Transit has participated in 32 job fairs around the state to identify and recruit applicants.

The agency also has begun partnering with the New Jersey Department of Labor, the New Jersey Department of Education and the Office of Higher Education to launch a training initiative through community college and employment centers.

In addition, NJ Transit has increased the number of engineer training classes from one or two a year to four, which now run concurrently to obtain a full staffing level, agency officials said.

"We are thrilled by the interest of these applicants in working with NJ Transit as we restore our railroad to its place as a national leader in public transportation.  The results have surpassed our expectations," said NJ Transit Executive Director Kevin Corbett. "So far, the quality and talent of the applicant pool is very high."

Last month, NJ Transit began a new accelerated locomotive engineer training course to address the worker shortage.