Repairs made on New Jersey rails but new infrastructure is needed, officials say
NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy updated commuters Wednesday on what's being done to correct issues on the rails.
He along with Amtrak and New Jersey Transit officials say progress has been made after inspections on more than 200 track miles of catenary overhead wire systems from Trenton to New York City.
"More than 2,000 hardware components were either repaired or replaced," Murphy said.
No single cause found for summer rail problems
Riders say the 2024 summer commute was a nightmare with many finding themselves stranded on trains or in Manhattan.
"We are now back to levels of on-time performance," said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner.
They also say no systemic failures were discovered on devices that carry electricity from trains to the wires.
"I think some people were expecting a single root cause ... We haven't identified any preverbal smoking gun as to what caused those series of incidents," said NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett.
Aging rail infrastructure needs to be replaced
But officials say the aging infrastructure has to be replaced and that the federal government's awarded $300 million for that purpose. The money, though, is not guaranteed.
"The good news, listen, I spoke to President-elect Trump last week ... The biggest part of our conversation was about Portal North Bridge and reflecting on the fact that he was proud that he green-lit it. It looks like we'll be able to cut a ribbon on that next year," Murphy said. "He understands the northeast corridor really well. I think those are all good facts. That's not to say we think we can sit on our hands and let the grass grow."
Upgrades, especially on what's called the Sawtooth Bridges, could cause some delays.
While officials say some of the $300 million will go toward construction, they admit more money is needed and they won't know how much until studies are done. That could take up to two years.
Toll increase approved for New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway
A toll increase was approved for the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway.
The average toll on the turnpike will increase by 16 cents.
The toll at most Garden State Parkway barrier plazas will increase by 8 cents, and at the entrance and exit ramps, it will increase by 3 cents.
