Legislators: Governor Must Take ‘Whatever Action is Necessary’

Senator Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso (both R-Monmouth) today called for immediate action to resolve NJ Transit’s ongoing issues:

“Governor Murphy must take expeditious action to address the major issues plaguing NJ Transit,” Senator O’Scanlon said. “I’m calling on the Governor to take whatever action is necessary, whether it’s declaring a State of Emergency, bringing in out-of-state engineers, or any other solution. We must treat this exigent situation with the seriousness that it demands.”

“We have been hearing from numerous constituents about their never-ending arduous encounters with NJ Transit: delays, safety concerns, and the lack of service entirely,” DiMaso continued. “They should not have to pay for a service that fails to meet basic operation standards on a consistent basis.”

“Any and every action needs to be taken to expedite a resolution. We must improve the rider experience. Continuing to cancel trains, sometimes the same one over and over again, is simply unacceptable,” O’Scanlon added. “NJ Transit must release clarified schedules that we know we can stick to, and stop regularly cancelling trains or converting express trains to local trains, which both adds severe delays and piles too many people into deficient space. If at all possible we should add more double-decker trains to high volume lines, such as the coast line. Our commuters have waited entirely too long for these remedies.”

“We, along with our constituents, have been extraordinarily patient while giving the administration a very fair amount of time to resolve these challenges. However, that time has long since passed. We must focus on getting major lines right, before opening lesser-used lines. Our constituents cannot, and should not, have to wait any longer for a resolution.” DiMaso concluded.