Lawmakers announce $112M in federal funding to improve NJ Transit, Amtrak
The funding comes following multiple issues with both NJ Transit and Amtrak, including delays and cancellations.
Major upgrades are coming for New Jersey Transit and Amtrak.
Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone announced Thursday that the transit agencies would be getting $112 million in federal funding.
The funding comes following multiple issues with both NJ Transit and Amtrak, including delays and cancellations. Officials say a large portion of that federal funding will be used for improvements in central and northern New Jersey.
“This is a 90-year-old system. I don't think it's going to last too long unless they replace it. So I'm just happy were getting the grants to do that,” Pallone says.
The congressman says the upgrades will reduce service interruptions, improve train speeds and enhance reliability for daily commuters. Officials will use $18.6 million of the funding to upgrade the signal systems between New Brunswick and Elizabeth, $80 million for upgrades at the Kearny substation and $13.4 million for electrical upgrades across a 23-mile stretch in North Jersey.
Pallone says that these aren’t just repairs – but replacements.
“You have to replace the system and that's why the grants we're announcing today are so important,” he said. “This would replace the system in this area between New Brunswick or North Brunswick and Newark."
Pallone says those replacements will take a few years to complete. He says that the repairs that Amtrak has already begun working on have already been helping to prevent significant delays.
