Is NJ Transit on track to make improvements? Here's what leaders said after getting a look at Amtrak repairs
EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Breakdowns, delays and cancellations are common complaints from NJ Transit riders, but is the agency finally on the right track to make improvements?
The CEOs of both Amtrak and Jersey Transit were joined by several New Jersey members of Congress for a private tour of the system's northeast corridor Wednesday.
"We can't afford another summer like we had last summer"
"We're inspecting more. We're replacing wire actively. We're fixing thousands of potential defects that could impact reliability," Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said.
Transit officials say the need for improvements became clear after a heat-related spike in disruptions in May and June of this year. Amtrak's CEO says eight train lines alone caused the issues this past summer and that an independent third party is investigating what went wrong. That report is set to be released in November.
"We can't give that exact 100 percent assurance to the people of New Jersey that they're not going to see that problem again," Rep. Andy Kim said.
"We can't afford another summer like we had last summer. It's unacceptable," Rep. Josh Gottheimer said.
The comments from representatives Kim and Gottheimer are not exactly encouraging for riders, especially coming directly after they toured the repairs already in the works.
"What you saw today, did it change at all how you feel about the system, or is your focus more on the repairs that need to be made?" CBS News New York's Doug Williams asked.
"No, no, no. I'll speak for myself. They've made a lot of significant repairs, which I think have made a difference," Rep. Frank Pallone said.
"Yes, there are some short-term efforts that we're trying to ensure for reliability now, but there is real concrete progress being made in terms of this major overhaul," Kim said.
Those short-term repairs, they hope, will prevent heat issues next summer.
Riders should expect scheduling changes on NJ Transit as the repairs are made – overnight and on weekends.