In a deal announced Friday, Sept. 30, NJ Gov. Chris Christie and legislative leaders ended their impasse on transportation funding.  The deal will increase the state's tax on gasoline by 23 cents per gallon, while reducing the state sales tax by one-eighth of one percent in 2017 and a further 1/4 of one percent in 2018, bringing the tax down to 6.625% at that point.  The agreement also eliminates the estate tax, eases taxes on retirement income, creates a tax deduction for veterans, and increases the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income taxpayers. The package seems to have something for everyone, although the total three-eighths of one percent sales tax reduction falls short of the full one percent the Governor had demanded in exchange for the increase in the gas tax.  Democrats said such a decrease would blow a big hole in the state's budget.

The gas tax increase is designed to replenish the state's Transportation Trust Fund; Gov. Christie said it would usher in a new era of $16 billion investment in the state's transportation infrastructure. The fund ran out of money months ago and work had been suspended on a long list of projects statewide, although "emergency" repairs could still move forward.

Reporting on the deal at nj.com by Samantha Marcus and Susan K. Livio can be found here.

In the wake of the fatal train crash at Hoboken on September 29, many speculated about how the crash could have been avoided. The New York Times, in an editorial the next day, focused on failure to install advanced safety technology, and particularly lack of support from New Jersey's government.  While the cause of the crash has not been determined, many speculate that an advanced safety technology called Positive Train Control (PTC) might have prevented NJ Transit Train 1614 from running through its bumper, crashing into the historic Hoboken Terminal, killing one bystander and injuring more than 100, mostly on board the packed rush hour train.

Congress mandated PTC in a 2008 law, with a 2015 deadline for its installation; but most railroads failed to meet the deadline and, facing threats that nationwide freight and passenger trains would be shut down, Congress extended the deadline three years. According to the Times editorial, "Commuter train systems like New Jersey's have struggled in large part because state and federal governments have not provided enough money to help them buy the necessary equipment and software." In the case of NJT, says the Times, none of its trains or routes was equipped with PTC by the end of June, and it will cost $225 million to complete the PTC installation.

In New Jersey, the Times says, one cause is the "squabbling" in Trenton over how to fund the state's transportation needs. Republican Gov. Chris Christie is at loggerheads with the Democrat-controlled legislature; the Governor is willing to increase the state's gas tax, one of the lowest in the  nation, but only if the Legislature agrees to decrease the state's sales tax, which legislative leaders say will blow a huge hole in the state's general budget. (Perhaps as a result of the Times editorial, state leaders reached agreement to end their impasse the same day. See above. - Ed.)

The Times points to "neglect and mismanagement of the mass transit system by Mr. Christie and other state leaders" which it said began long before the current gas tax standoff. Capital investment in the mass transit system fell 19% since 2002 even while ridership increased 20%. While train travel remains "incredibly safe," said the Times, reliability in New Jersey has suffered: the breakdown rate on NJT is four times that of Metro-North, and seven times that of the Long Island Rail Road, the other two suburban train operators in the New York area.

We at the Lackawanna Coalition were deeply saddened to learn about the accident this morning at Hoboken Terminal. We express our sympathy to the loved ones of the woman who was killed. We also express our hope that everyone who was injured in this unfortunate incident will have a speedy and complete recovery. 

We consider Hoboken Terminal to be a very special place. Historically, it was the center or service on our heritage railroad, the Lackawanna Railroad. It is a beautiful and well-designed building that has served the riding public well for 109 years. It continues to do so, as a major terminal, alongside New York's Penn Station for Morris & Essex, Montclair-Boonton and Gladstone Line riders. We hope that the damaged roof will be replaced soon, that the building itself did not sustain significant damage, and that Hoboken will again be a fully-active rail transportation center again soon.

Rail travel, whether for commuting, occasional short trips or long distances on Amtrak, is the safest mode of transportation. We are saddened to learn of today's unfortunate accident, but we also understand that such accidents occur very rarely. We urge the riding public to continue to use and support New Jersey Transit's rail services, along with other transit in the region.

We congratulate all First Responders for their quick and helpful actions at the scene. We also compliment NJ Transit for restoring so much service so quickly. We understand that Hoboken Terminal will be out of service for awhile, and we are impressed that NJT managed to serve many Hoboken customers through the Secaucus Junction Station and with bus service to and from nearby Hoboken City Hall. We also commend the PATH system for having Hoboken service running again so quickly.

On Thursday, Sept. 29, an inbound train failed to stop at the bumping block at NJ Transit's Hoboken Terminal and crashed through the block, traveling another 50 feet or across pedestrian access space and stopping at the edge of the historic terminal building.  One fatality was reported, and 108 injuries, some serious; most or all of the injuries were to passengers on the train, but the fatality was a woman on the station platform who was struck by debris. The New York Times identified the fatality as Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, 34, of Hoboken. The train was #1614, which originated at 7:23 a.m. at Spring Valley, N.Y. on the Pascack Valley line and was due at Hoboken at 7:38 a.m.; NJT said the crash occurred at 7:48.  The train arrived on Track 5, and smashed through the busy passenger access area connecting most tracks, the ticket office, and the adjacent PATH rapid transit station.

NJ Gov. Christie and NY Gov. Cuomo participated in a 2 p.m. press conference; Gov. Christie emphasized that speculation about the cause and what might have prevented the crash was premature, until it could be determined why the train failed to stop. 

Much of the information about the crash came from riders and witnesses. One said the train was unusually crowded, and train crew had apologized, saying that the train had fewer than the usual number of cars.  A Norfolk Southern locomotive engineer, on the scene, said he observed the engineer of the crashed train slumped in his cab and feared he had perished, at the. press conference Gov. Christie said that the engineer had survived, with injuries, and was cooperating with the investigation.  A rider in the second car of the train said that she thought there were few serious injuries in her car, but feared for the occupants of the first car of the train.  Another rider said the first car was "pretty crumpled" and that first responders were "triaging" its occupants. The New York Times reported that a transit worker said "The first car was pretty well destroyed. The roof was caved in."

An overhead canopy which covers the area between the end of the tracks and the station building collapsed, and there were reports of injuries from falling debris. Photographs suggest that the front of the train stopped approximately at the outside wall of the historic station building,, adjacent to the ticket office inside; officials said the building would be evaluated to determine if there was structural damage.

NJT immediately announced suspension of all service at Hoboken, but real-time train tracker information suggests that at least several trains departed Hoboken for various destinations in the half hour after the crash. PATH and Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service at Hoboken was also suspended.  (HBLR trains that normally terminate at Hoboken will instead terminate at 2d St for trains from Tonnelle Ave, and Newport for trains from Bayonne.) PATH service was reported fully restored by 4:15 p.m., with Hoboken customers directed to the "city" entrance to the PATH station, not the NJT terminal entrance.  Bus service that normally operates at the adjacent bus terminal was rerouted to Hoboken City Hall, but restored to the Hoboken terminal (with possible lane changes) the afternoon of the next day, Friday, Sept. 30.

In the afternoon, NJT announced that "modified weekend service" would operate on the Main, Bergen, and Pascack lines, but only to Secaucus.  Limited service was to be offered west of Montclair State University and Dover on the Montclair-Boonton/M&E lines.  Various ticket cross-honoring schemes were also in effect. A bus shuttle was to operate between Hoboken and the Secaucus transfer station, the normal first stop of many trains originating at Hoboken.

An article by Christopher Maag for northjersey.com says that NJT locomotive engineers say the safety system in effect at Hoboken is "antiquated."  As at other area terminals, a train exceeding speed limits triggers an alert to the engineer; at the other terminals, the engineer must acknowledge the alert or brakes are applied. At Hoboken, according to the article, there is no system requiring acknowlegement or provision for automatic braking.

Reporting by the New York Times can be found here; by the (Bergen) Record here;  by the Star-Ledger and associated papers here; and by the Asbury Park Press here.

New Jersey Transit's Board of Directors traditionally held public meetings once a month, more or less.  Although there were seldom any surprises in the official actions taken at the meetings, they were an opportunity for the public to be heard.  Although the Board itself seldom took action in response to public statements, press reporters often took note.  But there has not been an NJT Board meeting since June 8, 109 days by one count. NJT has not given any reason for the gap, and the state Department of Transportation and Gov. Christie's office have also clammed up, according to reporting by Christopher Maag for the (Bergen) Record and reported on northjersey.com. State Assembly Transportation Committee head John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) said "There's no excuse not to have public meetings. They have absolutely no reason to be operating in the dark." The mystifying gap in meetings comes against a background of budgetary uncertainty for NJT, stemming from the ongoing stalemate between the Governor and the Democratic-controlled legislature about replenishing the state's Transportation Trust Fund, which is empty; many capital projects have been suspended statewide. Some of the Fund's money was to go to help fund NJT.  "They're stuck because they don't have a real operating budget," said Lackawanna Coalition Chair David Peter Alan, quoted in Maag's story.

Perhaps prompted by public criticism of the lack of public board meetings, NJT finally held one on October13, apparently mainly to announce veteran employee Steven Santaro as its new executive director.

An expansion of the passenger facilities at New York's crowded Penn Station into the General Post Office across Eighth Avenue has been put on an accelerated basis and could open by 2020, according to plans announced on September 27 by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.  In an addition to the project, originally proposed by the late Sen. Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), Long Island Rail Road passengers will also be included in the Post Office addition; previously, only Amtrak was slated to occupy the space.  NJ Transit riders will not be part of the project, but moving some Amtrak and LIRR riders to the new space should help reduce congestion in the current Penn Station concourses. (Since a number of the platforms used by NJT do not extend far enough west, building access to them from the Post Office area might be impractical anyway.) Although Gov. Cuomo made the announcement, apparently New York State may not have to contribute much funding to the project. Developers Related Companies and Vornado will pay $600 million for the develpment rights, which will include retail space; $425 million will come from the LIRR, the Port Authority, and Federal sources; and, although New York State will contribute $570 million, most of that is expected to come from sale of the air rights over the space.  The plan includes a large skylight over the expansive passenger concourse; contractors will be the giant Skanska AB.  The story was reported here by Charles V. Bagli in the New York Times (Sept. 28)

We strongly object to the newly-enacted law, which gives New Jersey Transit the authority to cut service by up to two hours, without telling us or the riding public, and without holding a hearing, so people can object to those cuts.

We realize that the new provision hurts not only transit riders, but also the employees who work on the trains. Daniel J. O'Connell, the Legislative Director for the union which represents train crews, will appear our September meeting and present his views on what we can do, in an effort to change the law, so we will know when NJT plans to cut service in the future. We invite you to join us for this important meeting next Monday, September 26th at 7:00 at Milburn Town Hall.

Bar cars were common years ago on New York area commuter lines, but not, apparently, ever on NJ Transit's trains. They are fondly remembered on the Long Island Rail Road and on Metro-North Railroad, where the last cars bit the dust in 2014. The old cars were incompatible with new equipment, which was not ordered with the bar car feature.  Now Connecticut is planning for 10 new bar cars on its Metro-North New Haven line; the proposed purchase has sparked some controversy, as the drinking sections would replace seats, which are still at a premium on peak hour trains. Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy apparently will announce this week that 10 of 60 new M8-type electric commuter cars will have "cafe" or bar equipment. The 60-car purchase carries a total tab of $200 million. The story was reported by Patrick McGheehan in the New York Times.

There is a new state law which gives NJ Transit the power to reduce the level of service on any line by up to two hours, without notice to you and without being required to hold any hearings before implementing the cut.

Assembly Bill 227, as it was originally introduced, would have required NJT to notify the riding public and hold hearings before implementing any cuts in rail or bus service. The bill was changed first to allow NJT to cut service by one hour without giving notice or allowing a hearing, and later changed again to allow service cuts of up to two hours.

The bill was quietly passed by both houses -- the Assembly back in April and the Senate in August. It only came to our attention recently. Only two dissenting votes were cast, both in the Assembly.

Read more: NJ Transit Can Now Cut Your Service By Up To Two Hours Without Notice

The Board of Directors of New Jersey Transit normally meets on the second Wednesday of the month, but it will not meet this month. The meeting scheduled for July was also canceled, and there was no meeting schedule for August. The last meeting took place on June 8th, and the next meeting is scheduled for October 12th. That means there will a gap between meetings that exceeds four months.

This is important, because the Board meeting is the only forum where Coalition members and other members of the general public have an opportunity to comment "on the record" to NJT managers, the Board and reporters who cover the meetings.

We have not experienced such a long period between meetings, and believe that we, as representatives of the riding public, should be informed about why these meetings have been cancelled. We believe that the riding public generally has a right to that information, too.