by Yaminah Muhammad
NEWARK—From traveling to and from work and school to other obligations around the state, thousands of commuters rely on NJ TRANSIT to fulfill their essential daily transportation needs.
The transit system provides mobility to nearly one million customers daily, through train, bus, light rail and Access Link services. Consequently, NJ TRANSIT (NJT) prides itself on delivering its services, “safely, reliably, and affordably.”
However, as issues with cancellations and delays continue to plague the transit system and costs rise, many riders are left dissatisfied as they question both the reliability and affordability of NJT.
“It’s been one incident after another for weeks. Each time, I’m left stranded with little recourse other than to spend even more money on other means of transportation. Many of us who rely on these trains are workers and we’re starting to question if we’ll be able to rely on NJ TRANSIT much longer,” local New Jersey rider and social worker, William Stevens, 50, said.
In recent months, NJT trains operating on Amtrak’s rail lines have encountered a series of technical and infrastructural issues. The issues, occurring mostly on the system’s rail services between New Jersey and New York Penn Station, ranged from downed power and overhead wires to malfunctioning circuit breakers.
As a result, the transit system issued massive service suspensions, cancellations and delays. Thus, leaving their most densely populated region of customers without reliable mobility and dissatisfied for hours on end.
“I’ve been stuck in Penn Station [New York] for up to six hours trying to get home. After a long day of work, I just want to go home,” longtime rider and healthcare worker, Rebecca Reid, 54, said. She commutes back and forth from New Jersey to New York several times a week for work.
While the root cause of the trains’ malfunctions is still being investigated, scorching heat and extreme weather has been identified as a contributor. According to Amtrak, “high temperatures require trains to operate at lower speeds between the hours 12 noon and 8 p.m., resulting in delays of up to 60 minutes.”
High temperatures were also noted as contributing factors in problems with electronic components and air conditioning units—causing NJT trains to be taken out of service.
So, as excessive heat repeatedly impacts the Tri-State Area this summer, heat-related issues become more prevalent throughout the system. During the week of July 14, (the third and most recent heat wave of this year in the area), NJT was forced to cancel and combine dozens of trains due to heat-induced electric and air conditioning unit issues.
However, since NJT trains operating on Amtrak railroads also experience issues in cooler temperatures, some point to the railroad’s aging infrastructures as the ultimate cause of ongoing problems.
The railroad relies on the North River Tunnels—two deteriorating tunnels with aging overhead power cables to transport trains into and out of Manhattan, New York. Similarly, the railroad also relies on the Portal Bridge—a grating, machinal swing bridge over the Hackensack River for transport. Both were originally opened in 1910.
Still, regardless of its root causes, customers are simply calling for the problems to be resolved. And their call can be heard by those in New Jersey leadership.
“The performance, of late, across the board has been unacceptable” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said in a meeting with Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT leadership that was broadcast online. “People don’t care why it happened, they want to get home, they want to get to work, they want to see their kids, they want to get to school, whatever it is.
And this has to be a collective effort that is focused on the substance of getting this right. We also have to accept the reality that in both organizations you’ve got decades of underinvestment, which you know we’re making up for lost time on both sides of the house here, and doing the best that we can.
But, the commitment, the absolute commitment, to both organizations, from our office and from me personally, is to get stuff fixed,” he continued, noting that their commitment to solving transit issues is a must.
Echoing the governor’s statements, NJT and Amtrak also promise action amid ongoing issues.
In a news statement released on Amtrak’s website, the company wrote, “Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT have been accelerating examination, inspection, maintenance, and improvement activities to a variety of infrastructure and fleet systems following a recent spike in Northeast Corridor (NEC) disruptions in New Jersey and New York Penn Station.
This will be a holistic effort focused on 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.”
The news release also comprises of a six-point joint immediate action plan, including, “externally supported reviews with industry experts to assist root cause analysis and development of solutions.”
Yet, after weeks of transit issues, and with the fulfillment of resolutions for these issues still pending, NJT hiked fare prices by 15 percent systemwide on July 1 at midnight.
The recent hike comes after nine years of steady fare cost but marks the start of a planned annual three percent increase. While NJT claims the increase will close a budget gap to avoid reducing services and support vital improvements, customers are yet again left dissatisfied by the system.
“NJ TRANSIT has made getting to work hectic. Late, or sometimes, no trains at all in both directions, with little accommodations has made it impossible to get to work in these situations. Then to raise prices at the same time … it just shows little appreciation for the customers.
And a little appreciation would go a long way,” frequent rider and warehouse worker, Jamil Smith, 30, said. He takes the Montclair-Boonton Rail Line train five times a week for his work commute to and from Secaucus, New Jersey.
Other NJT services seemly have not been impacted by the recent transit issues. Issues are, however, reportedly on the horizon for some NJT buses coming this August. On July 10, the private bus company that sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2024, Coach USA, announced that they will be prematurely terminating their contracts with NJT.
When in effect, the termination will affect 20 local bus routes in the Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties in New Jersey. This decision is projected to impact thousands of riders, continuing to cause customers to question NJ Transit’s current and future reliability.
