RELEASE: Gottheimer Announces New “All Aboard Act” including “Rail Passenger Bill of Rights”

Above: Gottheimer announces new federal action to help reduce NJ TRANSIT delays for commuters, caused by Amtrak.

GLEN ROCK, NJ — Today, Monday, August 12, 2024, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), announced new federal action to address the pervasive delays and cancellations impacting NJ TRANSIT service, driven by Amtrak-owned and operated rails and infrastructure. 

• First, Gottheimer will be introducing the All Aboard Act, which includes a Rail Passenger Bill of Rights that guarantees refunds to Amtrak customers and NJ TRANSIT customers impacted by Amtrak infrastructure & who experience serious delays and cancellations.
  • The legislation will also transform Amtrak’s “Run to Fail” infrastructure strategy, ensuring Amtrak has the funding it needs to replace infrastructure on time.
• Second, Gottheimer called on Amtrak to deploy the infrastructure investment that he clawed back for the transit agency as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. 
• Third, Gottheimer will also be meeting with Amtrak and has requested a meeting with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

Video of Gottheimer’s announcement can be found here.

Train Delays Across Jersey:

• 657 NJ TRANSIT trains were canceled in June with 415 of the cancellations, well more than half, credited to Amtrak.
  • If it weren’t for Amtrak issues, NJ TRANSIT reports that 92.3 percent of its trains would run on time. 
  • Amtrak receives $100 million each year from NJ Transit to help maintain its tracks and infrastructure — on top of $6 billion they received for “State of Good Repair” maintenance investments on the Northeast Corridor Rail Line through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. 
• The vast majority of issues occur on our nation’s most important rail line, the Northeast Corridor Rail Line, which is home to a century-old tunnel and decades-old, faulty catenary wires.
• Last month, Jersey commuters were trapped on an NJTransit train for three hours due to an Amtrak infrastructure failure. 

Gottheimer’s New Federal Action to Address Amtrak-Driven NJ TRANSIT Delays Includes:

• A call for Amtrak to immediately deploy the $6 billion in federal investment that Congress allocated to maintain its Northeast Corridor rail infrastructure. Earlier this summer, Gottheimer joined the entire New Jersey Congressional Delegation in a letter to Secretary Buttigieg, demanding that the Department of Transportation investigate the Amtrak malfunctions causing the breakdown in rail service. He will meet with Amtrak and has requested a meeting with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to reemphasize the importance of acting quickly.
• New legislation, the All Aboard Act, which will include a new Rail Passenger Bill of Rights to support commuters who experience delays and improve Amtrak’s infrastructure strategy. First, the bill will implement a Rail Passenger Bill of Rights that guarantees Amtrak passengers and NJ TRANSIT passengers, impacted by Amtrak delays, receive automatic, prompt, and full refunds when their trains are canceled or significantly changed by more than three hours. This is similar to the recently adopted passenger bill of rights for airlines. Second, the bill will put an end to Amtrak’s “run to fail” strategy, which does not replace infrastructure until it is well beyond its known lifespan. Amtrak will be required to produce a report on alternative maintenance strategies to Congress in the next six months and phase out their “run to fail” strategy within the next two years. 

“These delays and cancellations are a headache for commuters, a real obstacle for our transit system, and frankly, a drain on our entire state. I hear from my constituents every day that something has got to give,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “Today, to help get our trains back on track, and help stop the misery for commuters and families, I’m announcing new action to help reduce the NJ TRANSIT delays. For the sake of our Jersey and our entire region, it’s time to start solving problems.”

Gottheimer fought for a total of $66 billion in rail investments — including $4.5 billion for Jersey public transit, specifically, and $11 billion for the Gateway Train Tunnel Project by helping craft and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.

Gottheimer was joined by Assemblywoman Lisa Swain and Glen Rock Council President Jill Orlich.

Below: Gottheimer announces new federal action to help reduce NJ TRANSIT delays for commuters, caused by Amtrak.

Gottheimer’s remarks as prepared for delivery are below:

Good morning and thank you for joining us today here at the Glen Rock Boro Hall Station. On a typical weekday, nearly 200,000 NJ TRANSIT riders pass through train stations like the one behind me to get to work, see a doctor, or visit their family or friends. NJ TRANSIT is one of our state’s greatest and necessary assets, making it possible for so many people to raise their families in Jersey, and get to and from work, whether that’s around our state or in New York. 

When it was launched in 1979, it was considered one of the most comprehensive, cutting-edge transit systems in the entire country. Times have clearly changed — and it’s having a real impact on families and commuters. To be clear, it’s not just NJ TRANSIT. It’s also Amtrak, which operates the rails that NJ TRANSIT trains run on. 

Today, I’m here to announce new federal action to help reduce train delays and ease the stress on Jersey commuters.

On a perfect day, if all is running like clockwork, you can go from right here in Glen Rock to the heart of Manhattan in an hour by train. You can drop your kids off at school and still make it in for your 9 am meeting with time to spare. Commuters rely on NJ TRANSIT’s reliability. You shouldn’t have to plan for traffic or train stops because our trains follow the same route and schedule, rain or shine.

Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to count on the train’s schedule this summer, or frankly often for the months in between. We’ve read the nightmare headlines and heard the stories: “downed power lines strand thousands for hours,” “a hellish week for commuters,” and “three hot hours stranded on New Jersey Transit with livid passengers.” That’s completely unacceptable.

On July 31, NJ TRANSIT commuters were trapped on board a train for three hours because of an Amtrak power outage in the Hudson River Tunnel. Amtrak had to send multiple rescue vehicles to finally get the train on its way. Being trapped in a dark tunnel without power for three hours sounds like a nightmare, but because of these infrastructure issues, it’s happening right now to our commuters.

Delays and cancellations seem to be inevitable, but they shouldn’t be. Not for what we pay in taxes or for the cost of a train ticket. It’s expensive. In June, thousands of trains were delayed or cancelled across our state. The worst performing line is the busiest and most important line in our nation: the Northeast Corridor Rail Line. Twenty percent of our nation’s GDP runs on the Northeast Corridor. Commuters from Bergen rely on this line to get into New York, transferring at Secaucus Junction. 

It ran on time just seventy-five percent of the time – that means it was late twenty-five percent of the time. If you commute five days a week, you can expect a delay once a week, on average. Let’s just hope it’s not a Friday.  

These delays aren’t just a minor inconvenience. Because of a train delay, you might miss the doctor’s appointment you spent months waiting for. You might miss the pickup window for your child’s after-care program. You might have to spend $100 on a taxi or Uber to get back to Fairlawn from Penn Station because you don’t have the luxury of being late. 

I wish that I could say this was a new problem. But, the summers of 2017, 2018, 2019, and now, 2024 have all been called “summers of hell” for rail commuters — the only real respite was the pandemic, which was a “summer of hell” for different reasons. These delays and cancellations are a headache for commuters, a real obstacle for our transit system, and frankly, a drain on our entire state. I hear from my constituents every day that something has got to give. After being stranded at Penn Station a few times, they’ve started to contemplate commuting via car or moving out of Jersey altogether to be closer to work. That’s not a good solution.

We can’t let that happen. We need to reduce these delays and give commuters in our state some peace of mind, so they stay in Jersey. Trust me, we’re far better than Long Island. I won’t pretend that every delay or cancellation is preventable, but the data tells us that a significant portion of them are. We certainly have to invest more in technology, safety, capacity, and train car upgrades – and the Governor and legislature have and are doing just that. 

We need federal investment, too, and that’s why I helped write, negotiate, and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which included $4.5 billion to invest in Jersey’s public transit, specifically. That’s on top of $11 billion dollars to build the new Gateway Train Tunnel, more on that later.

But, and this isn’t well known — of the 657 cancellations that occurred in June, NJ TRANSIT categorizes just 46 as unpreventable. 415 of the cancellations, well more than half, can be credited to Amtrak. Amtrak is such a significant driver of delays that NJ TRANSIT has started to calculate its on-time performance, adjusted for Amtrak. If it weren’t for Amtrak issues, 92.3 percent of NJ TRANSIT trains would run on time, a game-changer for daily commuters. 

So, what exactly is an Amtrak delay? That might seem confusing. But Amtrak owns the actual passenger train tracks that NJ TRANSIT and others ride on. The wires above, the rails below – all Amtrak.  More than sixty percent of NJ TRANSIT’s daily trains use Northeast Corridor track, which is owned by Amtrak. It’s the single busiest passenger rail line in the nation — and for good reason, as it connects Washington, D.C. to New York to Boston. 

But, it’s also home to aging, faulty infrastructure. And when Amtrak has a delay on one of their trains, or when there is a problem with the tracks or wires, it causes NJ Transit trains, which use the same tracks, to be delayed. 

Every time there’s a major heat wave, the overhead catenary wires, which date back to the 1950s, sag, making it harder to deliver electricity to trains. The bridges and the tunnels along this route are more than 100 years old on average. They barely work on a good day, and they’ve sustained some major damage over the years — including from Hurricane Sandy.

Amtrak cannot control the weather, but it can and must control the infrastructure that it and regional operators like NJ TRANSIT rely on and pay for the right to use. In fact, NJ TRANSIT pays Amtrak more than $100 million a year to maintain its tracks and overhead wires. Right now, Amtrak just isn’t doing enough to keep this infrastructure in good shape, which is driving more than half of the delays for NJ TRANSIT. They may have plans to do better, and we’ve given them resources to help. But, plans for the future won’t get people to work on time. 

We shouldn’t have to deal with this dysfunction anywhere in the United States, but especially in the New York City Metropolitan Area. If the main train tunnel that connects our region were to crumble, our region’s economy would lose $100 million a day. That’s precisely why I was proud to lead the fight in Washington for the Gateway Train Tunnel Program. We’ve clawed back more than $11 billion in federal investment via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to replace the century-old tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York. That’s the biggest federal grant in U.S. history.

It’s critical that Amtrak address more infrastructure problems right now, including those overhead wires and signal issues, to deliver immediate relief to commuters. Here in Jersey — after our “summers from hell” — we saw these issues coming. It’s exactly why I helped claw back more than $6 billion in “State of Good Repair” improvements for the Northeast Corridor Rail Line through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. These grants do exactly what the name suggests, keep the rail line in good shape for everyday use. We have the funding in place: now, it’s time for Amtrak to use it. 

Today, to help get our trains back on track, and help stop the misery for commuters and families, I’m announcing new action to help reduce the NJ TRANSIT delays. For the sake of our Jersey and our entire region, it’s time to start solving problems. 

First, I’m renewing my call for Amtrak to immediately deploy the $6 billion in federal investment that we’ve allocated to maintain its Northeast Corridor rail infrastructure. No more delays.  Earlier this summer, I joined the entire New Jersey Congressional Delegation in a letter to Secretary Buttigieg, demanding that the Department of Transportation investigate the Amtrak malfunctions causing the breakdown in rail service.

I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but we know the culprit behind these delays: bad infrastructure. It’s time for Amtrak and the Department of Transportation to start spending the resources we allocated to fix these issues. I’ve requested meetings with both Amtrak and Secretary Buttigieg to make that crystal clear. And, I will promise to do whatever I can from the Congressional side to help get the dollars we’ve allocated released to them, so we can fix the rails, overhead wires, and whatever else is in the way of getting the train moving and back on schedule.

Second, I’ll be introducing new legislation, which I’m calling the All Aboard Act, to make sure we are all hands on deck to support Jersey commuters. This legislation will do two critical things. 

In the same vein as airlines, we will implement a Rail Passenger Bill of Rights, modeled after the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights that the Department of Transportation introduced earlier this year. The legislation will guarantee that passengers receive automatic, prompt, and full refunds when their trains are canceled or significantly changed by more than three hours. Same as the airlines. 

The Rail Passenger Bill of Rights will apply to Amtrak and ensure that, when Amtrak is to blame for the NJ Transit delay, Amtrak will foot the bill for refunds. To improve service, you need both carrots and sticks. We’ve already given carrots in the form of infrastructure investment. This new measure will compel Amtrak to prevent delays for commuters to the greatest extent possible.

My All Aboard Act will also address infrastructure issues in a more systematic way by putting an end to Amtrak’s “run to fail” strategy. Right now, in a bid to save money, Amtrak does not replace its infrastructure until it is well beyond its known lifespan. If a piece of infrastructure is meant to last until 2024, they might plan to keep it in place till 2025 or 2026. Failure is just part of the equation. 

I don’t see how this approach makes sense — and based on the abysmal performance of the Northeast Corridor Rail Line, it clearly isn’t making sense for riders. You can’t wait until your roof is leaking to fix it – especially when you’re trying to do that in the middle of the storm. That storm is the summer of hell. Now isn’t the time to start fixing the rails, after things are broken and people are sitting in hours of delays. 

The All Aboard Act will also require that Amtrak produce a report on alternative maintenance strategies to Congress in the next six months and phase out their “run to fail” strategy within the next two years. 

But, let me be clear, it won’t only be on Amtrak: my bill will ensure that Amtrak has the funding it needs to change strategies. If we can act faster to improve infrastructure, commuters, and our economy will benefit. I plan to call for new resources to help fix and improve Amtrak, on top of what we allocated through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.  We can’t have a 21^st Century economy with 20^thCentury rail. We can’t continue to allow China and Europe to outpace us on mass transit and rail. This will take smart investment, but, as we see, if we don’t invest, we will have even more delays and an outdated rail system. 

We can do this. We can work together in a bipartisan way and get this done. 

I know that by working together to address these delays and update our infrastructure, we can ensure that next summer will be a summer of fun, not hell for our commuters. I know that by investing in our transportation infrastructure, our best days — as a region and as the greatest country in the world — will always be ahead of us.

Thank you. May God bless you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.

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