Lackawanna Coalition

advocating for rail passengers since 1979

Author: John Bobsin

  • NJT Conductor Nabbed in Ticket Fraud

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    John Bobsin

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    A highly-paid NJT conductor has been arrested for reselling used rail tickets.  According to reporting by Mike Frassinelli in the Star-Ledger (Sept. 23), Joseph Abate, a 46-year-old 24-year NJT veteran, made $57,346 in regular salary last year, plus $33,415 in overtime—but apparently that wasn’t enough.  He concocted a scheme to sell apparently unused tickets to…

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  • NJT to Sandbag Critical Facilities

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    John Bobsin

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    Exploring yet another technology to protect its Meadows Maintenance Facility rail yards in Kearny from possible flooding, NJ Transit has announced its latest effort: sandbags.  Not just any sandbags, these will be pentagon-shaped bags called “TrapBags,” sloped on angles to form a 6-foot-high protective dam around critical electrical facilities, according to reporting by Mike Frassinelli in…

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  • NJT Secrecy Under Fire

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    John Bobsin

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    NJ Transit’s methods for settling personal-injury lawsuits and other legal claims against it, as well as managing its insurance program, have come under fire.  According to reporting by Karen Rouse of The Record and reported in the Star-Ledger (Sept. 12), the railroad has not voted in public on such issues in years.  The votes apparently come…

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  • Gladstone Service Returns Aug. 25 after Storm Disruption

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    John Bobsin

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    Less than 10 months after Hurricane Sandy devastated NJ Transit’s rail operations, the railroad received a sharp reminder of the power of nature on Thursday, August 22, as intense local storms struck northern Somerset County and wiped out the roadbed on the line’s Gladstone Branch in multiple places, disrupting train service for days.  Local weather…

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  • Flood-Proof Yards Make Progress

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    John Bobsin

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    After Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, NJ Transit belatedly realized that not all of its storage yards for rail equipment are storm-safe, after storm-surge waters flooded yards in Hoboken and the Jersey Meadows and damaged many cars and locomotives in the NJT fleet.  In response to the disaster, the railroad decided to invest in additional…

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  • Deaths on Tracks Surge

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    John Bobsin

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    Despite NJ Transit and Amtrak efforts, deaths of pedestrians on passenger-rail trackage in New Jersey continue to increase, according to reporting by Mark Mueller in the Star-Ledger (August 28).  In 2012, 22 such deaths occurred; so far this year, 23 deaths have taken place, and if the carnage continues at the current pace 2013 will…

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  • “Microgrid” Eyed to Improve NJT Power

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    John Bobsin

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    NJ Transit will partner with the US Department of Energy to study the design a new kind of “electrical microgrid” to make the railroad’s electrical power and control systems more resilient.  NJ Governor Christie characterized the effort as part of the program to make NJ Transit less vulnerable to events such as Hurricane Sandy, which…

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  • Hoboken Recovery: Restrooms to Reopen

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    John Bobsin

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    It’s been almost 10 months since Hurricane Sandy devastated NJ Transit’s operations.  Nearly all trains have since returned, but at the railroad’s iconic Hoboken terminal, things are far from normal.  The storm flooded the main waiting room and its restrooms have been out of service ever since; passengers are directed to hard-to-find replacements.  For months, the…

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  • Millennials’ Transit Needs

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    John Bobsin

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    What do customers born after 1980 (the “millennial generation”) need from public transit?  To find out, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority has been studying this new generation of riders, according to reporting by Matt Flegenheimer in The New York Times (July 23).  For one thing, they take efficient transit for granted: they have no experience…

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  • No NJT Fare Hike This Year

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    John Bobsin

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    On July 11, NJ Transit’s Board approved an operating budget of $1.94 billion that envisions no fare increase this year, making more than 3 years since the agency last increased fares.  The last increase, in May, 2010, averaged a whopping 22%t, including an average of 25% for heavy-rail riders—but this average hides an incredible increase…

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