Gov. Murphy Slams Amtrak For Train Track Logjam In NJ, NY

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy sent a scathing letter to Amtrak executives on Thursday after an “infrastructure failure” sabotaged the rush hour train commute between New Jersey and New York City earlier this week.

Amtrak and NJ Transit riders traveling across the Hudson River were hit with delays topping an hour on Tuesday morning, including a stuck train that saw a rescue effort from NYC firefighters. Read More: New Jersey Train Riders See Ugly Delays Into NYC

NJ Transit said the delays were due to “Amtrak overhead wire issues” – which Murphy also mentioned in his letter.

According to Murphy, the fate – and performances – of both agencies depend on each other. And Amtrak needs to make sure it is following through on its end of the deal.

“Yesterday evening, a complete system failure caused an unmitigated disaster during the rush hour commute for thousands of passengers in the NJ-NY region,” Murphy wrote. “Some commuters were stranded for hours at New York Penn Station, while some passengers were even stuck on trains in between tracks for over three hours. These delays are not only an inconvenience — they are incredibly disruptive to the lives of New Jerseyans. They cause commuters to miss important family events — from graduation celebrations to birthdays, or simply dinner with their loved ones.”

Murphy pointed out that NJ Transit pays Amtrak more than $100 million to upkeep a section of the busy railway corridor:

“Yesterday's incident was the third infrastructure failure in two days from Amtrak, cutting off power on the tracks, that NJ Transit, as a tenant, pays Amtrak over $100 million to maintain between New York City and Trenton. It made it impossible for commuters to get home on time. And it caused a domino effect of delays and cancellations, on both rail and bus, stranding commuters as far away as Washington D.C.”

“As governor of New Jersey, I refuse to accept these Amtrak infrastructure challenges as an inevitable part of operating integrated mass transit systems,” Murphy continued. “We can and must do better for our customers and constituents.”

The governor said that Amtrak needs to make “immediate short-term and long-term investments” to address infrastructure vulnerabilities. Amtrak also needs to updated emergency management plans to provide more robust alternate modes of transportation when equipment failure occurs, he said.

Some commuters agreed with Murphy.

“It was still a nightmare even at midnight, thank you,” a frustrated passenger vented.

“Thank you – it’s getting ridiculous!” another commenter wrote.

But the governor’s letter also stirred up some criticism, including comments from people who pointed out that there is a controversial, multi-billion dollar plan underway to widen the New Jersey Turnpike.

“Bro, you are lighting $10 billion on fire to widen a pollution-spewing highway while letting rail infrastructure decay statewide,” a commenter quipped.

Other people questioned whether Murphy’s outreach will have any teeth.

“A strongly worded letter?” someone wrote. “So stunning. So brave.”

Amtrak released a response to Murphy's letter on Thursday evening:

"We apologize to Amtrak and NJ Transit customers for the impact yesterday’s wire issues had on their travel. We hold ourselves to a high standard in terms of the reliable service we provide our customers and the customers of our commuter partners, who deserve better than their travel experience yesterday evening. Governor Murphy is one of the country’s biggest champions of rail, and we appreciate his support and commitment to everything from the Gateway Program to advocating for New Jersey’s residents and visitors who were disrupted by yesterday’s incident. An investigation continues into the cause of yesterday’s incident. We will implement any changes to avoid a similar incident like yesterday from happening again."

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