WASHINGTON — Eight members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation have again written Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, asking for federal intervention in the ongoing service issues on the Northeast Corridor.
The letter, dated Friday, July 26, is signed by U.S. Reps. Mikie Sherrill, Robert J. Menendez, Frank Pallone Jr., Josh Gottheimer, Andy Kim, Donald Norcross, Bill Pascrell Jr., and Bonnie Watson Coleman, all Democrats. It asks that the Department of Transportation require Amtrak to provide a schedule for use of $6 billion provided under the Bipartisan Infrastructure to address a backlog of state-of-good-repair projects on the corridor, “to address the breakdowns and malfunctions that are compromising Amtrak and NJ Transit’s ability to provide passenger rail service that functions consistenly, reliably, and accountably.” It also asks that a plan be developed to better inform commuters about plans for outages, repairs, and other work affecting service.
The letter did praise Amtrak and NJ Transit for their agreement to work together to address the corridor issues [see “Amtrak, NJ Transit pledge to work together …,” Trains News Wire, June 28, 2024] and their efforts to pursue grant money for infrastructure improvements.
Sherrill’s tone was somewhat less polite in publicizing the letter on social media. “I’m sick of having a ‘Summer of Hell’ year after year,” she wrote in posts on Facebook and X.com. “I’m demanding that Amtrak use the $6 billion … to repair these lines so NJ Transit commuters see fewer delays.”
Amtrak, in a statement to NorthJersey.com, said it shares its plans with its railroad partners and the Northeast Corridor commission, which “includes coordination of necessary planned track outages and service impacts to support local work sponsored by Amtrak, commuter agencies, and state and local highway projects.”
The latest letter comes a month after all 11 members of New Jersey’s delegation in the House of Representatives asked Buttigieg to launch a DOT investigation into the Amtrak issues on the corridor [see “New Jersey congressional delegation seeks investigation …,” News Wire, June 26, 2024]. Shortly after that came a meeting involving New Jersey Gov. and Amtrak and NJ Transit officials that led to the two operators’ pledge to work together.
Unlike the earlier letter, the state’s three Republican representatives, Thomas Kean Jr., Christopher H. Smith, and Jefferson Van Drew, did not sign on to the latest message.
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