NJ TRANSIT CONTINUES RESILIENCY UPGRADES IN HOBOKEN
Renovations Enhance NJ TRANSIT’s Ability to Withstand Impacts of Extreme Weather Events at Hoboken Terminal and Rail Yard
October 20, 2021
HOBOKEN, NJ — The NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors today approved the continuation of efforts to protect and improve Hoboken rail service by awarding a contract to upgrade the signal power and yard power in Hoboken Rail Yard. The improvements include replacing and elevating equipment that was inundated with storm waters from Superstorm Sandy.
“Upgrading the signal power and yard power in Hoboken Rail Yard is a critical resiliency project that ensures we can maintain rail service for our customers during increasingly more frequent events of severe weather,” said NJ TRANSIT Board Member James D. Adams. “These upgrades are part of our continuing commitment to meet the needs of our customers and ensure reliability.”
“Superstorm Sandy hit our Hoboken Terminal hard, but – as evidenced by our ability to resume most of our service within 24 hours following Tropical Storm Ida – today’s NJ TRANSIT has learned from the hard lessons of the past,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett. “I am grateful to our Board for recognizing the urgent need to protect this historic, multi-modal transit hub from the impacts of future storms for the thousands of customers who travel to and from Hoboken every day.”
DMR Construction of Waldwick, NJ was awarded the construction services contract for $39.9 million. AECOM will provide construction management services for $4.1 million.
This project will provide storm flood resilient aerial distribution of the Signal and Yard Power Feeders including aerial distribution of one of the primary 2.4kV Signal Power Feeders, installation of steel monopoles, aerial distribution of 15kV Power Feeders from the new Henderson Substation and the new Depot Substation, and the replacement of Days Yard Wayside Power System.
On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy’s storm surge caused significant damage to Hoboken Terminal and Yard. The equipment in the yard consisting of underground cables, pad mounted transformers, and wayside power equipment were inundated with storm surge waters.
NJ TRANSIT’s Hoboken Terminal and Rail Yard serves approximately 30,000 customers daily (pre-COVID-19 ridership). This major terminal is an intermodal facility served by nine NJ TRANSIT commuter rail lines, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rapid transit system, bus service, and New York Waterway ferry services. The Hoboken Rail Yard is located in the cities of Hoboken and Jersey City in Hudson County, New Jersey.
NJ TRANSIT’s comprehensive Resilience Program aligns with the mission to make the transit system and infrastructure stronger and more reliable for the people and communities NJ TRANSIT serves each day. Extreme weather events such as 2012’s Superstorm Sandy helped identify vulnerabilities within the transportation infrastructure of one of the country’s most densely populated regions, the Northeast. The likelihood of more frequent severe weather events underscores the need to build a stronger, more resilient transportation system a high priority for the area.
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 18,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.