Amtrak and NJT Outline Plan to Fix NEC Disruptions

by Sean Jeans-Gail, VP of Gov't Affairs + Policy

Leaders from Amtrak, New Jersey Transit (NJT), and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) met this week to outline plans to solve the underlying cause of this summer's series of service disruptions, which have clusetered along the New Jersey section of the Northeast Corridor (NEC).

Earlier this week, Amtrak and NJT leadership led FRA Administrator Amit Bose and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Regional Administrator Michael Culotta on a tour of Amtrak’s substation in Morrisville, PA, Amtrak’s catenary car in Trenton, NJ, and NJT’s maintenance yard. Amtrak and NJT announced that they will continue to work together to “accelerate their joint examination, inspection, maintenance, and improvement activities to various infrastructure and fleet systems” following a series of disruptions to NEC operations that disproportionately impacted New Jersey passengers.

Amtrak also announced it will apply for $94 million in grants from the federal Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program, which would go to upgrade its power transmission infrastructure. That includes a $13.4 million grant application to upgrade catenary systems between North Brunswick and Newark, and an $80.3 million grant application to replace an electrical substation in Kearny. The FRA is expected to announce grant recipients for this round of CRISI funding before the close of the year.

This week's tour comes in the wake of a Congressional inquiry into the service failures, backed by the entire New Jersey delegation in the U.S. House.

“Families across New Jersey count on accessible, efficient public transportation to get to work on time, be home for their children’s soccer games, and make their lives more affordable and convenient,” wrote the Representatives in a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “As the most densely populated state in the nation, New Jersey in particular has a unique reliance on public transportation and our passenger rail system to move our economy and communities forward. Given the centrality of Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT to these crucial goals and our long-running support in Congress for key investments in our region’s railway network, we have been shocked and deeply concerned by the recent breakdown in Amtrak rail operations along the Northeast Corridor and the resulting many hours of delays for tens of thousands of New Jersey commuters.”

The two rail operators say they will take a "holistic" approach to fixing the problem, upgrading both "Amtrak infrastructure — including the electric traction system that powers trains, the catenary (the system of overhead power wires that are part of the electric traction system), signals, and switches — and NJ TRANSIT equipment, including the pantograph system that connects to the catenary and draws power for the train."

(For a history lesson on how we got here, check out Half As Interesting's recent video on the electrical systems that power the NEC.)