NJ Transit cross-honoring in anticipation of more delays

New Jersey Transit is bracing for more delays on Monday morning by putting cross-honoring into effect prior to the morning commute.

A train on the platform at NJ Transit's Hamilton station (Dan Alexander, Townsquare Media NJ)

No delays are being reported yet on NJ Transit trains on the Northeast Corridor or North Jersey Coast Line. Last week, there were delays of at least 30 minutes in effect during four of the five business days.

NJ Transit buses and private carriers are cross-honoring rail tickets all day Monday along with PATH at 33rd Street, Hoboken and Newark Penn Stations and New York Waterway at Hoboken.

Amtrak, which maintains the Northeast Corridor tracks, worked all weekend to make repairs to an electrical substation off NJ Transit's Seventh Avenue Concourse. Spokesman Craig Schulz said in an email that Amtrak engineers are "actively monitoring the system to intervene quickly should the need arise."

Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman visited the site on Friday. "The problem is here, it's this station and its tunnels that are at capacity and they've been at capacity," he said. "We only have 55 hours a week from Friday night to Monday morning to work in the tunnels. It isn't just these cables that need to be repaired. It's the track, it's the ballast, it's the signals, it's the catenary, it's all the things that need to be done. So we have to juggle on a constant basis what we take down in order to get the work done."

The railroad has blamed damage from Superstorm Sandy for many of the wire problems but wasn't sure Sandy was the cause for Friday's problems.

In a statement, Executive Director Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim urges Amtrak to ”take every available action to resolve its continuing problems that are creating chaos for our customers" and said NJ Transit's emergency response teams are at the ready to deal with major delays.

Gov. Chris Christie (R) tweeted that "Amtrak’s failures were unacceptable this week and I am demanding accountability from them." He has asked the state attorney general's office to see what steps can be taken to ensure the money paid by NJ Transit to Amtrak for maintenance is used properly.

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