Category: NJT Management


  • NJT to Sandbag Critical Facilities

    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

    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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  • Flood-Proof Yards Make Progress

    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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  • Reports: NJT Didn’t Follow Its Own Storm Plan during Sandy

    Following the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey Transit has put more emphasis on flood-proofing its storage yards.  However, investigative reporting by WNYC and Karen Rouse of the Bergen County Record shows that the agency already had a plan in place to move equipment to higher ground in the event of such a storm,…

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  • Media Questions NJT Sandy Response Anew

    A month-long investigation by New York public radio station WNYC, New Jersey Public Radio, and The (Bergen) Record newspaper has resulted in extensive reporting questioning NJ Transit’s response to Hurricane Sandy, which struck the region on October 29, 2012.  The report contrasts the extensive damage suffered by NJT in comparison with the generally minor damage…

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  • NJT Analogizes Weather Emergencies to Terrorism When It Comes to Preparedness

    New Jersey Transit management has refused to disclose information regarding its plans for hurricane preparedness, telling the Lackawanna Coalition that storm preparations are considered part of an “All Hazard Planning Process” that includes planning concerning “terrorism issues”.  The Coalition had requested a copy of NJT’s plan to deal with severe storms, in light of the…

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  • Commish: NJT Head Needs Help

    According to New Jersey State Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson, NJ Transit is probably the most complex transportation company in the country; “It’s more complex than United Airlines—it’s United Airlines on steel wheels and rubber tires”, according to reporting by Mike Frassinelli in the Star-Ledger  (Jan. 30).  Therefore, says Simpson, NJT Executive Director Jim Weinstein needs…

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  • Safer Yards for Next Storm?

    NJ Transit service as of mid-January continues to be limited since Superstorm Sandy on some lines, mainly those relying on electric service to Hoboken.  Why is the service limited?  NJT has not been particularly forthcoming on this point, but many observers point to limited availability of nonelectric rolling stock, perhaps limited by equipment damaged by…

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  • Weather Experts Contradict NJT

    NJ Transit suffered serious damage to its passenger cars and locomotives when Hurricane Sandy flooded storage yards at Kearny in the Jersey Meadows and at Hoboken.  Whether the decision to move equipment to those yards in advance of the storm was a wise one has become a front-page controversy.  NJT Executive Director James Weinstein has…

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  • Did NJT Ignore Flood Warnings?

    Since Superstorm Sandy struck more than 3 weeks ago, NJ Transit has been working to restore normal service.  NJT was the hardest-hit suburban rail system in the Northeast; other New York-area systems, such as Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North, quickly restored near-normal service, but NJT continued to struggle with reduced schedules and one line…

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