Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT Release Infrastructure Improvement Progress Update

Amtrak upgrades make portions of NEC ready for higher-speed trains.

Amtrak

NEWARK, N.J. - Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT joined state officials to share progress on the infrastructure improvements made along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor (NEC).

In a joint statement with NJ TRANSIT and Governor Phil Murphy on a joint inspection, maintenance, and improvement program for the NEC, Amtrak stated that service reliability has increased over the last several months as a result. Earlier this year on June 27th, Governor Murphy led a meeting to determine a joint action plan that was “designed to address several major service disruptions that occurred throughout the summer.” In August, a report was issued that included details of their combined efforts and subsequent progress.

Recently, Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT released a joint update about the reporting period from July 6th to October 4th that can be read in its entirety below:

Amtrak lists the improvements made by the agency and NJ TRANSIT over the last five months. These include performing catenary system inspections along 240 track miles and renewing 2,000 hardware components in said area, conducting helicopter inspections of the NEC OCS between Trenton and the North River Tunnel, and making 839 hardware replacements. Additionally, Amtrak performed photograph inspections of its tunnels and tracks by way of hi-rail vehicles and identified and fixed electric traction components and replaced overhead wire. NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak increased inspections of equipment and used HD video on top of locomotives to observe the interaction between Amtrak wires and NJ TRANSIT equipment. NJ TRANSIT also completed inspections of 82 route-miles of OCS on its territory.

In terms of grant money, Amtrak received close to $300 million in grants that it applied for with NJ TRANSIT support and matching funds. Below is a breakdown of “further planning, development or construction activities:

Amtrak Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project

• Received $187.5 million
• Final design and reconstruction services that includes “updated track, signals, catenary, and other infrastructure in that 2.5-mile territory for the replacement of the 115-year-old NEC bridges in Kearny.

Amtrak Substation 41 Renewal Project

• Received $80.2 million
• Construct a new substation in Kearny
• Replace and protect from potential flooding on the NEC electric traction system

Amtrak Signal System Upgrades

• Between New Brunswick and Elizabeth
• Received $18.6 million for project development and modernizing the existing signal system along 26 miles of the NEC

Amtrak NEC catenary upgrades from New Brunswick to Newark

• Received $13.4 million for completing the design and environmental review of the project
• Replacement of nearly 90-year-old catenary structures along 23 miles.

“This summer, I brought Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT together to address unacceptably long, disruptive rail delays on NJ TRANSIT that were a consistent problem in the spring and early summer,” said Governor Murphy. “With today’s meeting, we are proud to announce that Amtrak has now completed its inspection of all 240 miles of catenary overhead wire systems between Trenton and New York City. And while the fundamental challenge facing our mass transit system continues to be aging infrastructure, we believe that these completed repairs, and the infrastructure investments to come, will make sure New Jerseyans have an easier time getting where they need to go when they need to get there.”

“Our partnership with NJ TRANSIT and joint commitment to Governor Murphy to ensure that  our collective customers have safe and reliable train service is achieving results,” said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner “Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT will continue to conduct inspections, make short-term repairs and seek more funding to fully modernize all aspects of our infrastructure over the long term, including our electric traction system, catenary, signals, switches and more.”

“While we are pleased with the progress that has improved reliability for tens of thousands of NJ TRANSIT rail customers, our joint efforts will continue,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “It’s essential that we sustain the same level of attention we have demonstrated over the past five months. NJ TRANSIT will continue to support Amtrak’s efforts to accelerate the work to upgrade the most vulnerable infrastructure along the NEC.”