For rail transport users in N.J., a bad situation is about to deteriorate

New Jersey Transit, which has struggled for months to maintain its already-reduced commuter rail service, plans to pull more trains out of the schedule next month and temporarily cut off some routes, agency officials said Thursday.

Additional cancellations include 18 daily trains on five of its lines, as well as a suspension of all train services on a short train segment at Princeton – known as Dinky – and a weekend service on the Gladstone line of the Morris & Essex line. they said.

The state-wide transit agency has canceled trains on short notice, infuriating its customers as they have to get by to get to work at the hour and keep up their appointments. New Jersey Transit, the second busiest suburban train system in the country, blamed the failures on the December 31 deadline for installing an automatic braking system.

Officials said many of the agency's locomotives and other equipment had been sidelined to complete the project. The lack of equipment was compounded by the lack of engineers to drive the trains, they said. Some days this summer, New Jersey Transit has canceled more than 20 trains.

These cancellations took place after the agency had restricted its service in the spring to allow the installation of the braking system, called Positive Train Control. On Thursday, the executive director of the agency, Kevin Corbett, said the project was over 65% complete and was due to be completed by the deadline.

Mr. Corbett said he planned to end the service cuts in mid-January. In order to mitigate the blow, the agency will offer a 10% discount on all train tickets in November, December and January.

Corbett said the further reduction in service, scheduled for mid-October, was a recognition that the agency's new management underestimated the extent to which the proposed facility would be detrimental to New Jersey Transit's capacity. to maintain his service.

The trains removed from the program include eight on the Morris & Essex line, four on the main line of Bergen County, three on the Northeast Corridor, two on the North Jersey Shore line and one on the Montclair-Boonton line.