Here's what New Jersey Transit and Amtrak are doing to avoid another "summer of hell"
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy held what he called a summit with New Jersey Transit and Amtrak on Tuesday to report on improvements that he hopes will cut down on disruptions.
It's the third such meeting since what's been dubbed the "summer of hell" in 2024 when train delays and cancellations plagued commuters.
Murphy said progress has been made on rail lines owned by Amtrak that are used by NJ Transit trains.
"If the exact same set of facts were presented to us this summer as were presented last summer -- in terms of weather, and what broke down and where it broke down -- we would have a meaningfully better commuter experience this summer," he said.
NJ Transit, Amtrak improvements
The two agencies say improvements include quick response times to outages that cause delays and cancellations, a new senior-level NJ Transit staff member at New York's Penn Station and work on overhead wire systems that sometimes fail during hot summer months.
"We have replaced almost 7,500 components around the system, we have replaced catenary wire, we've done a tremendous amount of work to try to upgrade it," Amtrak chairman Tony Coscia said.
He said NJ Transit is running at a 90% on-time rate on Amtrak rail lines, and they're hopeful that can be maintained.
"We are working on a preventive inspection and a maintenance program to make sure those component parts that are susceptible to heat can be maintained properly, NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said.
Amtrak says it made $12 million in improvements in 2024 and plans on investing $40 million this coming year.
NJ Transit riders weigh in
Some riders say they are seeing changes.
"Delays aren't that bad for me because I am a reverse commuter, so I enjoy the trip," East Orange resident Forrest McCloud said.
Others, though, say more needs to be done.
"There are still delays going on, they need to fix it. It's been delays for the last two or three weeks," Newark resident Kasen White said.
"Just some delays, a lot," Hoboken resident Devon Rolon said. "Makes me late."
The governor said he doesn't anticipate a fourth summit unless there is another bad commute this coming summer.
