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Jun 22, 2006 8:38 am US/Eastern
NJ Transit: Back On Track?
by Magee Hickey
NEWARK (CBS) ―
NJ Transit train service is back on track this morning, but that's not enough for state leaders. Today they're demanding the train troubles be fixed once and for all.
The New Jersey Senate Transportation Committee will hear testimony today from executives of Amtrak and NJ Transit on the power outage on the Northeast Corridor rail line on May 25 that left 15,000 NJ Transit passengers stranded for several hours. Yesterday's service disruptions will also be on the agenda.
"A service outage of this magnitude has fortunately been rare up to now," explained Senator Nicholas Sacco ( D-Bergen and Hudson) and chair of the committee. "We want to make sure that the events of May 25 are not indicative of more frequent outages in the future."
Thousands of riders had to endure yet another power problem yesterday -- the third in a month. And that meant a lot of people were late for work again.
"This is the second time, and it's always affecting me. I'm always getting to work late," said commuter Madeline Quirico.
Actually it's been at least three electrical problems for Amtrak in the Northeast Corridor in the last month -- the latest delaying thousands of NJ Transit riders during the height of the morning rush.
Amtrak called yesterday's problem a "power fluctuation," and it stopped trains between New York and Newark Penn Stations for about 30 minutes.
Amtrak officials say the three power problems in the past month are not related.
Seventeen NJ Transit trains were frozen en route, and another 50 were delayed up to an hour.
But yesterday's outage and one earlier this month were minor compared to the May 25 power problem that shut down the entire corridor, stranding 52,000 riders up to five hours.
Everybody blames Amtrak's antiquated system and the perils of delaying billions of dollars worth of repairs.
Amtrak has asked for $1.6 billion in federal funds for capital improvements. President Bush wants to give the railroad a lot less than that, and the House of Representatives wants to split the difference.
NJ Transit riders who rely on Amtrak's overhead power lines are frustrated.
"Just like our customers, our patience is starting to run a little bit thin," said NJ Transit's Dan Stessel.
WCBSTV.Com Train Trouble Coverage
June 9: Amtrak Can't Pinpoint Cause Of Rail Outage May 28: Schumer Calling For Special Amtrak Investigation
Power Restored To Amtrak, NJ Transit Trains MetroNorth Carries Amtrak Riders Morry Alter Talks To NYC Commuters Penn Station Passengers Frustrated By Power Outage Power Outage: Amtrak and NJ Transit PATH, NJ Transit Buses Honor Amtrak Tickets Amtrak Official Discusses The Outage
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