Amtrak, NJ Transit update efforts to fix NEC service disruptions

Amtrak and New Jersey Transit officials joined Gov. Phil Murphy yesterday to report on the progress made over the past five months to improve passenger-rail service on the Northeast Corridor.

Amtrak has inspected all 240 track miles of the catenary system and replaced 2,000 hardware components on the NEC between Trenton, New Jersey, and New York City, according to a report issued yesterday that addresses several major service disruptions that occurred throughout the summer.

Amtrak also conducted helicopter inspections of the entire NEC overhead catenary system between Trenton and the North River Tunnel, resulting in 839 hardware replacements. The improvements have increased service reliability in recent months, NJ Transit and Amtrak officials said in a press release.

The report also mentions recently awarded grants for nearly $300 million in federal funding to modernize critical rail infrastructure in New Jersey.

"[W]hile the fundamental challenge facing our mass transit system continues to be aging infrastructure, we believe that these completed repairs, and the infrastructure investments to come, will make sure New Jerseyans have an easier time getting where they need to go when they need to get there," Murphy said.

Amtrak and NJ Transit will continue to conduct inspections, make short-term repairs and seek additional funding to fully modernize infrastructure over the long term, including the NEC's electric traction system, catenary, signals and switches, said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner.