NJT Improvements Could Be Coming For New Brunswick Commuters

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy offered a plan Thursday to reduce overcrowding and improve efficiency on NJ Transit rail lines that could benefit New Brunswick area commuters.

The move comes a month after Murphy directed an audit and performance review of NJ Transit. Those changes, however, cannot be executed until the review is complete, he said in press release.

As a result, the governor has directed Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, the acting transportation commissioner, to find and begin immediate and long-term improvements to NJ Transit. These short-term changes will be enacted before long-term improvements and audit recommendations can be phased in.

"These are the changes that we can take today to begin to alleviate the constant stress and anxiety experienced by NJ Transit riders associated with catching their trains, Murphy said. "While the audit is a vital step toward ensuring that NJ Transit becomes a world-class transportation agency, these changes will start to help riders in the short and long term and provide relief for the hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans who use NJ Transit every day."

The "Initial Commuter Relief Plan" will implement the following changes at NJ TRANSIT within the coming weeks:

• An outside firm will be hired to help NJT figure out how to manage equipment levels needed to keep things running smoothly.
• NJT is working on an agreement to lease train cars from regional transit providers to increase the amount of cars.
• Train cars awaiting positive train control installation will be returned to service as passenger cars. Five cars have already been added back in, and another 15 will join them in the following weeks.
• The employment process will be easier, with more pre-employment tests being offered, and an increased candidate pool. The agency says a recent "speed-hiring" event as a success in putting this into practice.
• Rolling inspections by agency crews will be outsources to a third party repair crew, and repair work will be scheduled to keep the most amount of trains on the rails as possible.
• Transit officials are working with parts suppliers to speed-up order times, and to increase the supply NJT keeps of parts that take a long time to make. The agency is looking to get parts faster to avoid cars being taken out of service while waiting for them to arrive.

Image via NJT

With Reporting By Tom Davis, Patch Staff