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New Jersey Transit has faced another series of significant delays Friday that have infuriated thousands of commuters, ending a week of problems that symbolized its descent from one of the country's best suburban railways to New York City. one of his most disturbed resurrect the railway a priority after taking office this year.
As the morning began, an Amtrak car derailed in one of two one-lane tunnels under the Hudson River between Pennsylvania Station and New Jersey, officials said. No injuries were reported, but the impact on the trip was significant.
Amtrak said that there would be delays of up to one hour for the suburban railways, which share Penn Station with Amtrak.
This has become a familiar refrain for runners in New Jersey Transit, the second busiest train in the country, and this week's particularly grim series has increased political pressure on Governor Philip D. Murphy, a Democrat, who has qualified the transit system of "national shame" When he ran for governor last year.
Mr. Murphy, after inheriting a system that has suffered years of divestment and mismanagement, is committed to righting the situation. "Governor Murphy knows that nothing is more important to rebuilding New Jersey's economy than transforming New Jersey Transit, and he remains fully committed to doing so," said Dan Bryan, Murphy's spokesperson. .
But many users say the railroad is no longer as reliable as ever.
The derailment meant the week was ending as it had begun: New Jersey Transit commuters were suffering:
• On Monday, a shortage of engineers forced the cancellation of a train from Manhattan. His passengers were piling on a train later.
• The next day, a balky turning bridge, more than 100 years old, caused train delays in the morning.
The bridge repeated this waterfall later in the day, causing delays that lasted until rush hour.
• On Wednesday night, a New Jersey Transit train stalled briefly leaving Penn Station, blocking one of the suburban lanes and upsetting parents who were rushing home to bring their kids for Halloween.
One of those frustrated parents, Dave Kass, has described the delays of three consecutive days of "trifecta" failures of New Jersey Transit and Amtrak, who owns and operates Penn Station, the swing bridge and the rest. between Manhattan and Pennsylvania Station. in Newark.
Gary Leon, who travels to Manhattan by train from central New Jersey for 36 years, said he did not remember a time when service was so unreliable.
"What has changed in my opinion over the past two years is a level of incompetence I have never seen before," said Leon.
Even after cutting service twice this year, due to the lack of enough engineers and equipment to meet its schedule, New Jersey Transit continues to frustrate customers by canceling trains.
On the line, Mr. Leon rides, the Raritan Valley Line, the railway canceled the same train, at 18:33. departure from the Pennsylvania station in Newark, three days in a row: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Mr. Leon, 58, has been in New Jersey Transit for quite some time to remember how it was a highly regarded model of efficiency in the country.
The audit revealed that by next year, nearly 90% of these coaches will be at least 12 years old without replacement.
Reports filed with the Federal Transit Administration show that the fleet has been reduced and aged. The average age of its rail fleet was 18.6 years in 2017, compared to 16 years in 2014.
Four of his locomotives were 37 years old, each having traveled more than 2.2 million miles, and more than 150 of his passenger cars were at least 40 years old.
Murphy blamed his Republican predecessor, Chris Christie, for the fact that Christie had denied New Jersey Transit the state aid he needed to maintain his fleet. State Senator Thomas Kean Jr., a Republican, said Murphy had done little to reverse the agency's decline in his first nine months in office.
"I am as frustrated as my constituents and commuters," Kean said in an interview. "People are tired of blame games and just want things fixed."
Kean said he feared that the decline of New Jersey Transit would begin to hurt the state's economy, pushing people to choose New York or Connecticut when they would look for suburban housing in the area.
"It already has an impact on the state economy," he said. "If your transportation infrastructure is uncertain, it makes a difference when an individual is trying to decide where to locate his family."
Mr. Bryan challenged Mr. Kean's criticism.
"Due to many years of underinvestment and mismanagement," said Bryan in a statement, "in Senator Kean's years of silence, New Jersey Transit still has a long way to go to become an agency again. world class transportation. "
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