(The following story by Larry Higgs appeared on the Asbury Park Press website on September 20, 2010.)
TRENTON, N.J. — NJ Transit officials found themselves Monday in the place where many commuters were during record delays this summer, in the hot seat.
During an Assembly Transportation Committee hearing about the delays, NJ Transit officials blamed extreme heat for locomotive failures, downed overhead wires, electric power interruptions on Amtraks Northeast Corridor line and other problems that delayed trains for a record number of times this summer.
“We encountered a series of events that caused 1,400 delays,” said James Weinstein, NJ Transit executive director, who added he was stuck on disabled trains as well.
Perhaps one barometer was the marked increase in the number of commuters using the “Clever Commute” social networking site during the summer, said Joshua Crandall of Montclair, its CEO and founder. He said the number of issues that commuters reported about the Corridor Line in June, July and August increased by 104 percent.
“They’re very upset with what happened with service interruptions and increased fares,” Crandall said. “In July (site traffic) spiked 196 percent. Overall, commuters were not happy.”
Weinstein and the acting manager of NJ Transit Rail Operations detailed the agencies’ summertime blues, from 20-year-old electric locomotives that overheated, to overhead wires that drooped in the heat and got caught and torn down by locomotives. Other issues stem from the age of various components on the corridor, owned by Amtrak, which date back to the 1930s.
NJ Transit did take steps such as providing rescue locomotives, flushing locomotive radiators and changing traction motors, Weinstein said, adding that without those actions, there would have been more failures and delays.
NJ Transit contracts with Amtrak for use of the corridor. While Amtrak and NJ Transit embark on joint projects to make repairs and upgrades to the corridor, Weinstein conceded it would take “billions upon billions of dollars” to make all the needed improvements. He noted that Amtrak has been underfunded by the federal government throughout its history.
Committee Chairman John S. Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, told Weinstein that if a tenant lost power to their home as often as NJ Transit did this summer, they would stop paying the rent until it was fixed.
“My suggestion is that NJ Transit take a sterner approach with Amtrak. . . . If they are not delivering the services, it should have consequences,” Wisniewski said. “You should take steps to hold Amtrak accountable.”