NJ Transit officials took the final step in delivering on Gov. Phil Murphy’s promise to rid the fleet of older less reliable trains and buses by an authorizing $917 million to overhaul the oldest multilevel I and II rail cars.
NJ Transit’s board of directors authorized the funds Wednesday night for an “Overhaul and Modernization Project” which will rebuild older multilevel cars to have the same features as new multilevel cars.
Awarding a contact to a qualified contractor to do rebuild the 429 rail cars will happen in early 2026, said NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri.
And it may be among Kolluri’s final actions as CEO.
Kolluri said in response to a question that he will leave the agency as planned in early 2026 and not seek reappointment in the Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill administration.
Some officials and lawmakers expressed hope before the election that Kolluri would remain as CEO.
“I said I’m leaving at the end of January, and I have not changed my mind,” he said. He added that he’s not been contacted by the governor-elect.
Instead, Kolluri is focused on the final phase of delivering Gov. Phil Murphy’s pledge made earlier this year to replace all of NJ Transits aging buses and trains by 2031.
This program rebuilds the multilevel I and II cars over 10 years with an estimated 2036 completion, Kolluri said.
Manufactured by the Bombardier Transit Corporation, the multilevel I cars were delivered between 2006–2009 and were followed by the multilevel II from 2012–2013.
They were followed by a 2014 fleet plan that moved away from single level rail cars and called for an all multilevel rail car fleet.
Wednesday’s approval allows NJ Transit to put out its specifications for the rebuilding program out to the market to determine which companies are interested and qualified.
“My instinct says there are not that many,” Kolluri said. “We’re trying to understand how many manufacturers are interested in rebuilding our rail cars.”
“We’ve got to push for the best result we can, otherwise we’re going to languish for another 5 years,” he said.
But he is optimistic it can be done based on the accelerated train and bus purchases that NJ Transit made the past 10 months, exercising options on existing contracts to meet Murphy’s 2031 goal.
In May, NJ Transit’s board approved a plan to purchase $1.7 billion in new rail cars and locomotives.
The rebuilt multilevel I and II cars will have the same passenger amenities as the multilevel III cars.
That includes charging ports for phones and devices at every seat, where a USB and USB-C receptacle are available, brighter LED lighting that can be automatically dimmed or brightened according to conditions.
All the running gear and electronics will be the same, bringing them up to multilevel III standards, said James Sincaglia, NJ Transit rail operations general manager.
“By 2036, if all goes the way we are hoping, we will have an entire fleet of multilevels,” he said.
Some of the single-level Comet and Arrow III cars will be retained in case they’re needed. “I hope not,” Kolluri said.
Larry Higgs is the transportation and commuting reporter at NJ.com and the Star-Ledger, covering a wide range of topics affecting how we travel in one of the most congested states in the country. Whether on… more
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