Latest news with #commuterRail
New York Times
22-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
Corrections: May 22, 2025
A subhead with an article on Monday about a deal between New Jersey Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen reaching to end a three-day strike, misstated the number of passengers who use the commuter railroad each day. About 350,000 commuters use the system's buses and trains daily, not just its trains. Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Not satisfied with South Coast Rail service? MBTA hosting public meeting in Fall River
FALL RIVER — Residents who have been unsatisfied with the MBTA's South Coast Rail service can take their complaints right to the top when MBTA General Manager Phil Eng hosts a meeting in Fall River on May 22. Eng and representatives from the MBTA and Keolis, the company contracted to run commuter rail service, will host the meeting starting at 5:30 p.m. at Morton Middle School, 1135 N. Main St. According to the MBTA, the meeting will address 'concerns occurring since service began on March 24, including noise, weekend service cancellations, Keolis staffing, and other service challenges.' The meeting is open the public. Text alerts: Worried about late or cancelled MBTA commuter trains? How to be prepared The South Coast Rail commuter rail extension was a $1 billion project decades in the making and long-delayed. The new Fall River/New Bedford Line has been plagued by almost daily delays five to 20 minutes, or longer in extreme cases. Shortly after its rollout, weekend service faced multiple cancellations due to a lack of trained staff, inconveniencing riders for hours. Some weekend trains have been replaced by shuttle buses. Other residents have noise complaints due to idling trains and at road crossings. Free weekend service, originally set to last through April as a way to tempt riders into making the service a habit, has been extended until June as an apology for substandard service. Rides to and from any of the six South Coast Rail stations — Fall River Depot, Freetown, East Taunton, Middleborough, Church Street and New Bedford — are currently free through June 1. Parking at those stations is also free. This article originally appeared on The Herald News: MBTA to hear commuter rail complaints at public meeting in Fall River
Bloomberg
16-05-2025
- Bloomberg
New Jersey Transit Strike: What to Know
New Jersey Transit engineers went on strike May 16, shutting down all commuter rail lines and throwing travel into chaos for thousands. Now riders are scrambling for other ways to get to NYC. Sri Taylor explains. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Jersey Transit rail strike, first in four decades, begins as wage talks stall
By Joseph Ax PRINCETON, New Jersey (Reuters) - New Jersey's commuter rail engineers walked off the job early on Friday after marathon contract talks stalled ahead of a midnight deadline their union set for meeting its wage demands, igniting the first strike to engulf the third-largest U.S. transit system in more than 40 years. The strike, expected to idle trains serving hundreds of thousands of daily passengers in New Jersey and New York, came into effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on Friday. NJ Transit said its rail system was commencing "a safe shutdown" at 12:01 a.m., with no new departures started after that point, though trains already en route would finish their trips. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which represents 450 NJ Transit engineers who drive the agency's commuter trains, said a 15-hour, nonstop bargaining session on Thursday broke off when management negotiators walked out of the talks at 10 p.m.. The union strike declaration came as New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and NJ Transit's Chief Executive Officer Kris Kolluri held a news conference. They told reporters talks had paused but that management remained willing to resume negotiations at any time. "We must reach a final deal that is both fair to employees and affordable," Murphy, a Democrat, told reporters. "Let's get back to the table and seal a deal." Murphy and Kolluri said the U.S. National Mediation Board had reached out to both sides to propose reopening talks on Sunday morning, or sooner if the parties wished. The union statement made no mention of when talks might be restarted. It said picket lines would go up at 4 a.m. at several locations across the rail system, including NJ Transit's headquarters in Newark, Penn Station in New York City, and the Atlantic City rail terminal. The governor and the NJ Transit CEO also outlined contingency plans for dealing with the work stoppage, the first transit strike to hit New Jersey since a three-week walkout in 1983. WORKERS URGED TO STAY HOME The looming strike had already prompted the agency to cancel trains and buses to MetLife Stadium for pop star Shakira's concerts on Thursday and Friday nights. In an advisory, NJ Transit encouraged commuters to work from home starting on Friday if possible. The agency said it would increase bus services on existing lines and charter private buses to operate from several satellite lots in the event of a rail strike but warned buses would only be able to handle around 20% of rail customers. The labor clash came weeks after negotiators had agreed on a potential deal in March, but the union's members voted overwhelmingly to reject it. The union has said it is simply aiming to raise the engineers' salaries to match those at other commuter railroads in the region. NJ Transit has said it cannot afford the pay raises that the engineers are seeking because 14 other unions that negotiate separate labor contracts with the agency would demand the same, higher wage rates for their members. NJ Transit says the engineers currently make $135,000 on average and that management had offered a deal that would yield an average salary of $172,000. But the union has disputed those figures, saying the current average salary is actually $113,000. The parties have exchanged accusations of bad faith bargaining. Kolluri said last week that the union was "playing a game of chicken with the lives of 350,000 riders." "We have sought nothing more than equal pay for equal work, only to be continually rebuffed by New Jersey Transit," Tom Haas, the union's general chairman, said earlier this week. (This story has been refiled to add a dropped word in the headline)
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Jersey Transit rail strike, first four decades, begins as wage talks stall
By Joseph Ax PRINCETON, New Jersey (Reuters) -New Jersey's commuter rail engineers walked off the job early on Friday after marathon contract talks stalled ahead of a midnight deadline their union set for meeting its wage demands, igniting the first strike to engulf the third-largest U.S. transit system in more than 40 years. The strike, expected to idle trains serving hundreds of thousands of daily passengers in New Jersey and New York, came into effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on Friday. NJ Transit said its rail system was commencing "a safe shutdown" at 12:01 a.m., with no new departures started after that point, though trains already en route would finish their trips. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which represents 450 NJ Transit engineers who drive the agency's commuter trains, said a 15-hour, nonstop bargaining session on Thursday broke off when management negotiators walked out of the talks at 10 p.m. The union strike declaration came as New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and NJ Transit's Chief Executive Officer Kris Kolluri held a news conference. They told reporters talks had paused but that management remained willing to resume negotiations at any time. "We must reach a final deal that is both fair to employees and affordable," Murphy, a Democrat, told reporters. "Let's get back to the table and seal a deal." Murphy and Kolluri said the U.S. National Mediation Board had reached out to both sides to propose reopening talks on Sunday morning, or sooner if the parties wished. The union statement made no mention of when talks might be restarted. It said picket lines would go up at 4 a.m. at several locations across the rail system, including NJ Transit's headquarters in Newark, Penn Station in New York City, and the Atlantic City rail terminal. The governor and the NJ Transit CEO also outlined contingency plans for dealing with the work stoppage, the first transit strike to hit New Jersey since a three-week walkout in 1983. WORKERS URGED TO STAY HOME The looming strike had already prompted the agency to cancel trains and buses to MetLife Stadium for pop star Shakira's concerts on Thursday and Friday nights. In an advisory, NJ Transit encouraged commuters to work from home starting on Friday if possible. The agency said it would increase bus service on existing lines and charter private buses to operate from several satellite lots in the event of a rail strike but warned buses would only be able to handle around 20% of rail customers. The labor clash came weeks after negotiators had agreed on a potential deal in March, but the union's members voted overwhelmingly to reject it. The union has said it is simply aiming to raise the engineers' salaries to match those at other commuter railroads in the region. NJ Transit has said it cannot afford the pay raises that the engineers are seeking because 14 other unions that negotiate separate labor contracts with the agency would demand the same, higher wage rates for their members. NJ Transit says the engineers currently make $135,000 on average and that management had offered a deal that would yield an average salary of $172,000. But the union has disputed those figures, saying the current average salary is actually $113,000. The parties have exchanged accusations of bad faith bargaining. Kolluri said last week that the union was "playing a game of chicken with the lives of 350,000 riders." "We have sought nothing more than equal pay for equal work, only to be continually rebuffed by New Jersey Transit," Tom Haas, the union's general chairman, said earlier this week.
