COVID-19 Claims NJT’s Ray Kenny
New Jersey Transit Senior Vice President and General Manager Rail Operations Raymond P. Kenny, 69, has died of COVID-19.
New Jersey Transit Senior Vice President and General Manager Rail Operations Raymond P. Kenny, 69, has died of COVID-19.
New Jersey Transit is upgrading its River LINE DLRVs (diesel light rail vehicles) with power plants from Cummins that adhere to current U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Tier 4 emissions standards for non-road engines. The River LINE fleet consists of 20 Swiss-built Stadler Rail GTW (Gelenktriebwagen, or “articulated railcar”) 2/6 DMUs (diesel multiple-units). The replacement engines are expected to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions by at least 57%, lower particulate matter (PM) by 90%, and result in fuel savings of 10% to 15%.
Railroads in many ways are unique because, regardless of how many years they’ve been in business, there is usually a storied history that can be recalled. The best way to do that is by applying classic paint schemes from predecessor companies, or “fallen flags,” to the railroad’s most visible public faces—its locomotives, among the largest land vehicles anywhere. Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, among others, have done this to much acclaim. Now, New Jersey Transit, which I like to call my “home” railroad, has joined the fold, and the results, in my opinion, are simply beautiful, inspiring.
New Jersey Transit (NJT) recently issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI) “to identify an experienced private developer or joint venture of developers to implement Transit Oriented Development (TOD) projects on NJT-owned property adjacent to the River Line Light Rail system.”
New Jersey Transit (NJT) is ramping up its Transit Oriented Development (TOD) efforts, reaching out to local communities that have expressed interest in new development to learn more about TOD opportunities with the agency.
The New Jersey Transit (NJT) Board of Directors recently announced that it has adopted a Fiscal Year 2020 (FY 2020) operating budget of $2.39 billion and a $1.42 billion capital program—the budget does not include a fare increase for FY 2020—that aims to support continued investments in personnel, infrastructure and equipment to maintain the system in a state-of-good repair, and enhance the overall customer experience.
July 17, 1979 was a momentous day in the annals of U.S. transit history. The New Jersey legislature passed, and Gov. Brendan T. Byrne (1924-2018) signed, the bill that became the Transportation Act of 1979. The legislation established New Jersey Transit (NJT), and in so doing, began the process of consolidating the state’s bus service under a single statewide umbrella. That step was considered radical in its day, but it set a model for bringing public transportation into the public sector, at a time when railroads and bus companies in the private sector were working hard to get rid of it.
New Jersey Transit is marking its 40th anniversary this month, and among other activities is rolling out six MultiLevel “Heritage Coaches” decorated with the logos of several predecessor railroads that came together to form the agency’s 660-route-mile, statewide regional/commuter rail network—Pennsylvania Railroad, Central Railroad of New Jersey, Erie-Lackawanna, Conrail, Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines—and the agency that created NJT in 1979, the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
In 1995, one of the alternatives of the original Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) Project would have developed a track connection for New Jersey Transit (NJT) trains to go to Grand Central Terminal (GCT) on the East Side of Midtown Manhattan. New Jersey riders, especially commuters whose offices are nearby, would have enjoyed convenient access to them for the first time. That alternative was eliminated in 2003, and the means for delivering new Manhattan capacity was downgraded to a stub-end deep-cavern station 20 stories below ground.
NJ Transit announced that it has hired Bilal Khan to serve as its Chief Technology Officer for Infrastructure and Operation (CTO – I&O).