First of NJ Transit’s new railcars reach New Jersey

by Nikita Biryukov, New Jersey Monitor

NJ Transit on Monday received the first of 374 new railcars intended over the next five years to replace an aging fleet that has become one of the main drivers of the agency’s train delays and cancellations.

The two new railcars are set to undergo testing and could come into service sometime this summer, with the remaining railcars due to arrive through 2031, said NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri.

“By the end of the cycle, as I’ve said before, we’ll be the most modern transit agency in the country,” Kolluri said during a press conference at an agency maintenance complex in Kearny. “This doesn’t happen by accident.”

Officials said updating NJ Transit’s fleet is key to restoring reliability on a system that, for years, has faced waves of delays and cancellations spurred in part by the worsening state of its trains.

Mechanical failures and a lack of available equipment were the top causes of NJ Transit train cancellations last summer. Together, mechanical issues and equipment availability were responsible for 922 canceled trains between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2025.

The new Multilevel III railcars, which include railcars that can run on their own power on electrified portions of track rather than being driven by a locomotive, are set to replace single-decker Arrow II cars that first went into service 52 years ago.

They’re expected to significantly increase the distance NJ Transit trains travel before encountering mechanical issues. The railcars are expected to average 400,000 miles between failures, the agency said last year, up from the nadir of 46,803 miles in February.

“Just to give you an example, last week, the biggest source of delays were mechanical problems associated with Arrow cars. We have 159 of those, so for every car we can put in service that is not an Arrow, that increases reliability,” Kolluri said.

The new railcars include modern amenities, including USB ports, and are faster and more energy efficient than their predecessors, said Michael Keroullé, CEO of Alstom Americas, the railcars’ New York-based manufacturer.

The procurements began under former Gov. Phil Murphy, whose administration ordered 118 rail cars in 2018 before later expanding its purchase to 374 coaches.

NJ Transit authorized the purchase of more than 1,400 buses under Murphy, enough to overhaul the state’s fleet.

“Our rail fleet is literally one of the oldest in the nation, and for too long, riders have been promised change. Today, we are continuing to deliver on just that,” Gov. Rebecca ‘Mikie’ Sherrill said in Kearny Monday.