NEWARK — A day after Gov. Phil Murphy announced short-term steps to improve NJ Transit service, over a half-dozen trains were canceled during Friday morning's commute.

The canceled trains on Friday were:

  • 8:56 a.m. from Summit on the Morris & Essex Line
  • 7:41 a.m.from Newark Broad Street on the Morris & Essex Line (mechanical issues)
  • 7:38 a.m. from Hoboken on the Morris & Essex Line
  • 6:30 a.m. from Montclair State University on the Montclair-Boonton Line
  • 6:07 a.m. from Mount Olive on the Morris & Essex Line
  • 5:55 a.m. from Dover on the Morris & Essex Line
  • 5:54 a.m. from New York Penn Station on the Montclair-Boonton Line
  • 5:45 a.m. from Dover on the Morris & Essex Line
  • 5:33 a.m. from Port Jervis on the Main Line
  • 4:44 a.m. from Montclair State University on the Montclair-Boonton Line

No explanation was offered for the cancellations. A message for NJ Transit has not yet been returned.

Eleven trains were canceled on Monday morning because of operational and staffing issues, according to NJ Transit.

During an event at Trenton Station on Thursday, the governor said while long-overdue action plans are being formulated, immediate improvements can and must be made.

"Commuters cannot wait on platforms for trains that never come, or suffer overcrowding on the ones that do come. The public deserves immediate relief to help ease their commuting headaches," Murphy said.

He said to help ease overcrowding, 20 passenger cars that had been removed from service for upgrades will be returned. Another 20 will be leased from a Maryland commuter line.

The agency is also under increasing pressure over its installation of positive train control and concern it will not meet a Dec. 31 deadline. Amtrak President Richard Anderson told a congressional transportation subcommittee on Thursday that any railroad that misses the deadline will not be allowed to use its tracks.

Amtrak owns and operates the tracks and facilities of NJ Transit's busiest line, the Northeast Corridor.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or on Twitter @DanalexanderNJ.

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