NJ TRANSIT CONTINUES RAIL OPERATIONS’ 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WITH EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION

Current or Recently-Retired Employees Who Have Been With NJ TRANSIT Rail Operations Since Its Start In 1983 or Earlier Recognized at Board of Directors Meeting

September 14, 2023

NEWARK, NJ – As part of its 40^th anniversary celebration of NJ TRANSIT Rail Operations, NJ TRANSIT honored the “Forty Year Club,” which consists of 30 employees who have been with the railroad or its corporate predecessors since the initiation of Rail Operations service in 1983. At today’s Board of Directors meeting, a proclamation was presented to this distinguished group by NJDOT Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett and Senior Vice President and General Manager of Rail Operations James A. Sincaglia.

“Congratulations to these longtime dedicated NJ TRANSIT employees who are essential to the successful operation of our rail service,” said New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti. “We applaud their decades of public service to the people of New Jersey.”

“Today, we recognize employees who have been instrumental to the success of NJ TRANSIT’s rail operations over the past 40 years,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “Their long-term commitment and dedication has been a cornerstone of our work to provide safe and reliable rail service to our customers.”

The following rail servce employees have 40 or more years of service (listed by year of hire):

1967

John Boyington, Block Operator

1968

Edward Jocelyn, Chief Engineer Signals
George Burke, System Power Supervisor

1970

James Watson, Machinist

1972

Junus Eruhow, Signal Inspector

1973

Bobby Hill, Conductor
Andrew Mercogliano, Superintendent
Donald Winters, Machinist

1976

Michael Kubicki, Maintainer

1977

Victor Sanchez, Locomotive Engineer
Andrew Youngclaus, Hoboken Car Shop Technician

1978

Robert Younger Sr., Roving Bridge Operator

1979

Joseph McMahon, Track Foreman
Edward Clifford, Supervisor Communications & Signal
Lorna Day, Tech/Inspector
Gerald Thomas, Locomotive Engineer
Gregory Golden, Supervisor, Communications & Signal

1980

David Carter, Chief Equipment Strategy, Design & Engineering
Tyrone Wilcher, Assistant Chief Power Supervisor

1982

Barbara Wiliams, Mechanic A Substation
Rosalind Evans, Lead Clerk
Ingrid Burnett, Supervisor Crew Assignment

1983

Richard Johnson, Carman
Laura DeShong, Senior Chief Clerk
Manuel Pena, Director Rail Infrastructure Construction
Christopher Beluch, Tech-Communications
Donald Bogen III, Plumber Foreman
Shirelda Hardwick, Office Supervisor
Robert Timmerman, Lead Tech
Janice Terry, Lead Clerk

In addition to this recognition, as part of the 40^th anniversary celebrations, NJ TRANSIT has partnered with The United Railroad Historical Society of NJ to operate a special excursion train entitled the “40th Anniversary Express.” On Saturday, September 30, the train will depart New York and Newark Penn Stations in the morning and will conclude at Hoboken Terminal in the late afternoon. Customers who previously purchased a ticket will travel down memory lane on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Lines in a special train with historic and conventional equipment, recreate the “South Amboy engine change,” and ride the Bay Head loop track in a unique railroad experience. Tickets for this one-of-a-kind event have sold out, but photographers are welcome to (safely) snap pictures along the route.

There’s still another chance to take part on railroad history. On Sunday, October 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., all members of the public are invited to historic Hoboken Terminal to see and photograph a special display of NJ TRANSIT’s heritage decorated locomotives. This event is free and open to the general public.

NJ TRANSIT Rail Operations Timeline

Shortly after midnight on January 1, 1983, the first “NJ TRANSIT” trains departed Hoboken and Penn Station New York with crews who were now officially NJ TRANSIT employees. Over the past 40 years, NJ TRANSIT has steadily improved New Jersey’s rail network by investing in modernized equipment, rebuilding the infrastructure and right-of-way, increasing service to Midtown Manhattan, introducing one-seat rides to Penn Station New York on three rail lines, increasing overall capacity, extending electrification on two busy rail corridors, and much more. We look forward to achieving another 40 years of progress as we continue to enhance the travel experience for all NJ TRANSIT rail customers.

1983 – NJ TRANSIT Rail Operations replaces Conrail as the operator of commuter rail service throughout New Jersey
1983/1984 — New Comet II and Comet IIA railcars arrive and Overhaul of Arrow II railcars
1984 — Modernized electrification system debuts on the Morris & Essex Lines; 50+ year-old coaches replaced by modern Arrow railcars.
1986-1988 — Overhaul of Comet I railcars and conversion of Arrow I cars to Comet IB cars
1987 — Meadows Maintenance Complex opens
1988 — North Jersey Coast Line electrification extended from Matawan to Long Branch
1989 — Atlantic City Rail Line (ACRL) opens between Lindenwold to Atlantic City
1989-1995 — Arrow III railcars rebuilt
1990 — New ALP-44-0 electric locomotives arrive
1990/1991 — New Comet III railcars arrive
1993 — GP40PH-2-A locomotives rebuilt
1993 — Atlantic City Line service extended to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station
1993-1997 — GP40PH-2-B locomotives rebuilt
1994 – Cherry Hill Station opens
1994 — Morristown Line/Boonton Line extended to Hackettstown
1996 — MidTOWN DIRECT debuts (M&E one-seat ride to NY) utilizing further deliveries of ALP-44 locomotives and new Comet IV railcars
1999 — Hamilton Station opens
1999 – Rollout of new system map with matching color coded rail line timetables issued
2001 — Newark Liberty International Airport Station opens
2001/2002 — New ALP-46 electric locomotives arrive
2001-2004 — Comet II railcars rebuilt
2002 — 7th Avenue Concourse opens at Penn Station New York
2002 — Montclair Branch and Boonton Line consolidated, renamed the Montclair-Boonton Line and new Great Notch Yard opens, allowing debut of MidTOWN DIRECT-Montclair
2002-2004 — New Comet V railcars arrive
2003 — Frank R. Lautenberg Station at Secaucus Junction opens ( linking 11 of 12 NJ TRANSIT rail lines)
2003 — High-density signal system completed on eastern segment of NEC, increasing train capacity to/from NY
2003 — Rail Operations Center opens in Kearny
2003 — Union Station opens
2004 — Ramsey Route 17 Station opens
2004 — Montclair State University Station opens
2004 — Morrisville Yard opens
2005 — New PL-42 diesel locomotives arrive
2006 — Multilevel railcars, designed with the help of customers, begin arriving
2007 — Expanded service on the Pascack Valley Line
2008 — Wayne/Route 23 Transit Center opens
2008 — Mount Arlington Station opens
2009 — Penn Station New York 31^st Street entrance opens
2009 — Meadowlands Station opens
2009 — Trenton Transit Center renovated
2011-2013 — New ALP-45 dual-mode locomotives arrive
2013 – Pennsauken Transit Center opens
2016 — Wesmont Station opens
2018 - Elevator modernization program initiated to upgrade electrical and operating components of elevators systemwide
2019- Heritage fleet of coaches and locomotives decorated to honor NJ TRANSIT’s predecessor rail companies
2020 — Positive Train Control system successfully made operational and certified by the FRA
NJ TRANSIT breaks ground on the Raritan River Bridge Replacement Project
2021 — Portal North Bridge $1.5 billion construction contract approved and awarded
2021 – Locomotives decorated in tribute to armed services unveiled as NJ TRANSIT provides service to the Army-Navy game at the Meadowlands
2022 – Locomotive decorated in “Ride with Pride” scheme debuts, along with a heritage tribute scheme from the NJ Department of Transportation on GP40PH-2 41O1.
2022 – NJ TRANSIT breaks ground on the construction of the Portal North Bridge

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 925,000 weekday trips on 253 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through Access Link paratransit service. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 166 rail stations, 62 light rail stations and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.