NEWARK, N.J. — “It’s NJ Transit’s 3rd summer of hell,” read an August 2019 headline on NJ.com, a New Jersey local news website. For years, commuters endured overcrowded trains, late trains, canceled trains, and creaky 40-year-old Arrow III electric multiple-unit cars.
Frustration reached a boiling point, with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy feeling the heat. He’d campaigned on fixing NJ Transit, calling it a “national disgrace.” Among his first acts after taking office in January 2018 was to ask Kevin Corbett to run the agency.
Corbett is a Navy man, who continues to serve as a volunteer for the U.S. Naval Academy. In civilian life, he’s worked on high-profile economic development projects for New York state, including Moynihan Station and the recovery of lower Manhattan after the attacks of 9/11.
When Murphy called, Corbett was a vice president at the global transportation infrastructure firm AECOM. At first, he demurred, offering three other names to the Democratic governor. But Murphy wanted him.
“He said, ‘Just do what you got to do,’” Corbett told Trains News Wire in an exclusive interview. “‘But for god sakes, please do it as quickly as you can. I'm getting killed.’”
When Corbett came on board at the nation’s third largest transit system, following repeated turnover in the executive suite, the agency had no long-term strategic or capital plan. The new CEO led an assessment of most critical needs. In 2020, NJ Transit’s board of directors adopted a 10-year strategic plan and a $17 billion, 5-year capital plan.
“So right now we've got over $4 billion of work underway,” Corbett says. That includes the long-awaited, finally funded replacement for the Portal Bridge, a problematic structure on the Northeast Corridor.
Major capital investments start with 113 new multilevel electric multiple-unit cars, locomotive overhauls, and the purchase of 25 additional Bombardier ALP-45A dual-powered locomotives. Infrastructure projects include replacing the Raritan River bridge, new stations at Elizabeth and Lyndhurst, and a $190 million renovation of Newark Penn Station.
“Financially, we're in good shape. We don't have debt because we don't issue bonds,” Corbett says.
The Amtrak-owned Corridor hosts one of NJ Transit’s 10 commuter rail lines, from New York Penn Station to Trenton, N.J. There, too, Corbett faced an issue. “When I came in, we were at war with Amtrak,” Corbett reveals. He says the relationship is now much improved after he told his staff, “You've just got to make it work.”