GREG LEMBRICH STATEMENT ON NJ TRANSIT

As we all know, over the past few weeks, hundreds of thousands of New
Jersey commuters, including thousands from our community, have been
adversely impacted due to train derailments in and around New York Penn
Station.

Following the fatal accident at Hoboken Terminal last year, which left one
dead and over 100 injured, there now have been two separate derailments in
the past month that have caused major service disruptions, leading to
delays, limited service, and pervasive confusion that lasted several days.

These derailments threatened the safety of our residents and led to
numerous professional and personal difficulties for commuters, including
problems with employers, customers, clients, and childcare, among other
things.

The public transit system between NJ and NYC is a crucial part of our
state’s economy, and is particularly critical to Maplewood, South Orange,
and all of Essex County.  The lack of reliable public transportation
between our towns and NYC threatens devastating harm, economic and
otherwise, to our communities.

The recent incidents cast serious doubt on the state of maintenance and
repair of the area's tracks and signaling system.  Moreover, the inadequacy
of Amtrak's and NJ Transit's contingency planning shows the crippling
impact that such events can have.  NJ residents also have a right to expect
better communication and customer service from NJ Transit when accidents
occur, no matter which agency is at fault.

The poor condition of the tracks, signals, electrical systems, train cars,
and other equipment of both NJ Transit and Amtrak can be traced to
insufficient state and federal funding for infrastructure and public
transportation.  These recent incidents also highlight the need for the
state and federal governments to make the Gateway Project, including the
construction of new rail tunnels under the Hudson River, and the expansion
of Penn Station and the Northeast Corridor Line, an immediate state and
national priority.

During his tenure, Governor Christie has diverted nearly $3 billion in NJ
Transit capital funding to day-to-day operations, resulting in increasingly
unreliable service and overcrowded conditions.  State funding for NJ
Transit in the Governor's proposed Fiscal Year 2018 budget is now down to
less than half of the amount allocated for the state's transportation
system prior to the start of the Christie administration. Gov. Christie's
seven plus years of neglect have taken its toll on New Jersey's rail
system.

Had it not been for Governor Christie’s short-sighted and politically
motivated decision to abandon the ARC project, we would now be only a year
away from the opening of a new trans-Hudson tunnel, which would have
substantially relieved the congestion going into and out of Penn Station,
decreased wear and tear on existing tracks and tunnels, and provided
additional capacity to ease overcrowding of trains and mitigate the impact
of incidents such as those we have recently endured.  Meanwhile, as NJ
Transit has been severely underfunded for the last seven years, commuters
have been saddled with historic rate increases and declines in service
quality.

The state of NJ Transit is so troubling that it is now under federal
investigation, suffering the most accidents among the nation's major
commuter railroads. As our Assemblyman John McKeon has stated, "The
Governor needs to assume responsibility. He inherited one of the best rail
systems in the country and is leaving us with one of the worst." Commuters,
taxpayers, and New Jersey's economy all deserve better.

The federal government has similarly failed to provide adequate funding in
its budgets for Amtrak's capital needs.  NJ Transit makes payments to
Amtrak for use of the Northeast Corridor tracks and Hudson River tunnels,
and NJ has a right to expect a state of maintenance that keeps our
passengers safe and running on-time. Despite promises to focus on improving
our nation's infrastructure, President Trump's budget plan proposes the
elimination of the New Starts program, which was to be a principal source
of funding for the Gateway project.

I ask my colleagues on this Committee to join me in calling upon:

- NJ Transit to work, in conjunction with Amtrak, to develop better
contingency logistical, communication, and customer service planning to
prepare for any future accidents to avoid the mass confusion, loss of
service, and economic harm that resulted from the recent derailments;

- Governor Christie to revise his proposed 2018 budget to restore NJ
Transit funding to the levels that existed before his tenure and to make
the capital investments required to provide the safety and reliability that
NJ residents deserve; and

- Congress and President Trump to commit the federal resources, budgetary
and otherwise, necessary to maintain, expand, and improve the public rail
system in the NY/NJ metropolitan area, including adequate capital funding
for Amtrak and its tracks and facilities and the New Starts program and
Gateway Project.