What a fatal crash reveals about the state of NJ Transit

Plus: NYC owns the subway. Why does the state own the MTA? [View this email in a browser.]( [On The Way - from WNYC and Gothamist]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( Inside today's newsletter: - Why does the city own the subway while the state owns the MTA? - What has the surge in subway policing and homeless outreach accomplished? - Attention kids: Win cash for telling drivers to slow down A New Jersey train crash highlights a failing transit system By [Stephen Nessen]( Train crashes, especially fatal ones like the one that [killed a train operator this week]( in New Jersey, are quite rare. But when there is a calamity on the rails, it often means something is wrong with the system. Take the NJ Transit Hoboken crash in 2016, which [killed one person and injured dozens](. It was later determined to have been caused by an operator with sleep apnea who dozed off as the train was pulling into the station. Afterward, NJ Transit lowered the speed limit for trains entering the station and issued regulations requiring train operators to be accompanied by another crew member as they pull into Hoboken. [the crash site at the Hoboken Terminal in 2016] The site of the 2016 Hoboken crash. (Image:Pancho Bernasconi/Getty Images) So, could anything have been done to prevent this week’s fatal crash on the River Line, which killed a 20-year veteran train operator who hit a downed tree? Jessica Haley, 41, was passing through a wooded area near Roebling Station in Burlington County around 6 a.m. Monday when she slammed into the tree. Nearly two dozen passengers were injured. A lawyer for Haley’s family said trees on the tracks were a known problem and conductors had previously suggested a track car should check the rails before trains with passengers trundled down the line. "At one point, certain dangerous trees were marked with X's, but nothing was done to remove those or make sure that they were cleared so they didn't fall on the tracks," Kila {NAME}, a lawyer for Haley’s family, [told Gothamist this week](. The family filed notice to sue. NJ Transit wouldn’t comment on how often trees end up on the tracks, what the agency typically does about them, or why the tree wasn’t detected before a train hit it this week. "The incident remains under investigation," NJ Transit spokesperson Jim Smith said. The River Line is a light rail line that runs between Camden and Trenton, and has a relatively small daily ridership of about 5,500 passengers. "For the people who do take it every day, it's a critical connection," Zoe {NAME}, the Vice President for State Programs at the Regional Plan Association, told Gothamist. "It connects job centers and in an area that otherwise doesn't have great transit service." The line is run by a private company, Aecom, which is not an uncommon situation. But {NAME} notes that like all of NJ Transit, it's wildly underfunded. "The state of New Jersey has not provided enough funding for the system to be upgrading in the way that would meet the needs of a current ridership, expanding in a way that would be functional for ridership, and also they're understaffed, which is going to directly affect the reliability of our whole system," {NAME} said. "So what this really comes down to is our financial decisions at the budget time." Gov. Phil Murphy [raised fares on the system]( by 15% this summer – the first hike in nine years. The agency is expecting a $917 million shortfall in the fiscal year beginning next July. NJ Transit just endured another summer of hell, with multiple electrical issues snarling commutes in and out of Penn Station. Service grew so bad Murphy ordered [a weeklong fare holiday in August as an apology](. The breakdowns have continued into the fall. "If we keep expecting NJ Transit to suddenly start making money, which no rail system in the world does, then we're going to be selling ourselves short," {NAME} said. "We really do need to understand that there are structural problems behind this that we cannot pretend will be fixed with anything like investment." There’s no guarantee a better-funded NJ Transit would have prevented a train from hitting a tree. But perhaps this recent accident will motivate Garden State politicians to try to prevent it from happening again. Curious commuter Have a question for us? [Use this form]( to submit yours and we may answer it in a future newsletter! “How does the city own the subway but the MTA runs it, while the MTA is state owned?” - Max in Manhattan The state’s control of the subway system dates back to the 1960s, when former Gov. Nelson Rockefeller shook up New York politics by wresting power away from Robert Moses, who had for decades held an iron grip over the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority and its profitable stream of toll revenue. Rockefeller wanted to use that money to subsidize the subways and Long Island Rail Road, which were in a state of disrepair. The subway at the time was owned by the city and run by the New York City Transit Authority. Rockefeller pushed through state legislation consolidating the city Transit Authority, the LIRR and Triborough Authority [into the newly formed MTA]( which was controlled by the state. The law made it clear the city would continue to own the physical infrastructure of the subway, but would lease it to the MTA to run. Curious Commuter questions are exclusive for On The Way newsletter subscribers. Did a friend forward this to you? [Sign up for free here]( to start asking your questions. What New York is reading this week - What would a Kamala Harris or Donald Trump presidential victory mean for mass transit in New York? In either case, experts say the era of “Amtrak Joe” Biden and his zeal for federal transit funding is likely over. [Read more](. - The city's transportation department has identified 13 sections of the Cross Bronx Expressway that — for $2 billion per section — could be capped and covered with green space. [Read more](. - In the year-and-a-half since F train rider Daniel Penny fatally choked fellow passenger Jordan Neely — who’d struggled with mental health issues and homelessness for years — Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams have flooded the subway system with more cops and deployed more homeless outreach teams underground. Has it helped? [Read more](. - The mayor’s latest addition to the constellation of homeless outreach programs: Teams of nurses — chaperoned by cops — who ride the trains overnight to try to connect homeless riders with services. [Read more](. - Attention New York City public school students: You can win cash for creating a public service announcement telling drivers to slow down. [Read more](. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [YouTube]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.