What has been happening since the so-called “summer of hell” for New Jersey rail commuters?

Rail riders got an update from Amtrak and New Jersey Transit on Wednesday about the repairs that have been made, plus plans for $300 million in grant money to improve the ride for commuters.

The focus of repairs has been along the Northeast Corridor Line which runs from Trenton to New York. That's the line on which commuters saw mass delays and cancellations while waiting for and while stuck on board trains during the heat wave in May and June.

It is an experience not forgotten by Gov. Phil Murphy who spoke in Newark on Wednesday.

“They made commuters late to work, late to dinner, robbed them of countless hours of family time,” Murphy said.

The governor in June called on Amtrak and NJ Transit to fix the issues. Five months later, News 12 was told that Amtrak had inspected 241 miles of catenary wires, which were often the cause for delays as they sagged in intense heat.

“Through that inspection, more than 2,000 hardware components were repaired or replaced,” Murphy said.

NJ Transit inspected 82 miles of catenary wires, repairing as needed.

Following these inspections and repairs, NJ Transit CEO Kevin Corbet said there wasn’t a single cause for those failures.

“We haven’t identified a proverbial smoking gun as what caused that series of incidents,” he said.

Neither of these entities wants a repeat of what happened in May and June.

“All that matters are the people who get on our trains and get safely and efficiently from point A to point B that is our mission,” said Amtrak Chairman Tony Coscia.

It was also revealed that a $300 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration will be used on signal upgrades between New Brunswick and Elizabeth. There will also be catenary and track upgrades on the Northeast Corridor.

All said they must do better for rail riders with plans to meet again in April before the summer heat arrives.