NJ Transit, Amtrak promise more inspections after catastrophic delays

The heads of Amtrak and NJ Transit committed on Thursday to more frequent inspections of train equipment and the approximately 170 track miles both services use between New York City and Trenton, looking to head off the sort of transit meltdowns that have stranded commuters on several occasions over the last month.

They said the inspections will investigate issues with the catenary, the system of overhead electrical wires that powers the trains on the Amtrak-owned northeast corridor rails. And they’ll be conducting visual inspections of the pantograph, the apparatus mounted to the top of NJ Transit’s train to collect power from the wires.

But the steps seemed to suggest the transit agencies still don’t have definitive conclusions about what’s causing the issues, which have resulted in constant delays during the recent heat wave. Amtrak has blamed some of the ongoing issues on damaged or improperly aligned pantographs on NJ Transit trains, which it says became entangled with the catenary wires. But NJ Transit officials have described several of the delays as caused by wires themselves, which can sag in extreme heat.

Other issues have included signal line failures that resulted in high voltage spikes and blown fuses, causing trains to lose power.

In a press release on Thursday, Amtrak said the action plan would include "externally supported reviews with industry experts to assist root cause analysis and development of solutions." That statement immediately followed a joint press conference with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and the two transit agencies.

Amtrak and NJ Transit are also committing to “joint reviews” of the “chronic delays” they said will result in a “prioritized set of investments” to address the problems, according to the release.

Jason Abrams, a spokesperson for Amtrak, said that the two agencies have already started the investigative process.

"We've been working on this. We have already been investigating, introducing these inspections. … This is just a broader debut of the plan that we have already been working on," he said.

Abrams said he didn’t have specific information about who would conduct the promised outside investigations.

On Thursday, Murphy said the “across the board” performance by Amtrak and NJ Transit has been “unacceptable.”

“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,” the governor said.

He said that both agencies have experienced “decades of underinvestment.”

“But the commitment, the absolute commitment to both organizations from our office and from me personally is to get stuff fixed,” Murphy said.

Both systems are looking ahead to the Gateway Tunnel project — which will build a second tunnel under the Hudson River for Amtrak and NJ Transit — for longer-term fixes. But the completion of that tunnel is nearly a decade away.

Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said on Thursday the expected 2026 completion of the new Portal North Bridge — a key choke point on the northeast corridor – would also include more modern and reliable infrastructure.

Last week, the head of NJ Transit told WNYC that he’s holding Amtrak’s “feet to the fire” to ensure the problem don't plague riders all summer. That same day, service in and out of New York Penn Station was stopped for hours during the peak morning commute and Midtown direct trains were temporarily diverted to Hoboken. It was the third time that commuters were left stranded in a week.