Throwing Out Taxpayer Money An Inch at a Time

New Jersey Transit knows no bounds in spending taxpayer dollars and commuter fares. They spent hundreds of millions of dollars more on the Secaucus Transfer than they originally calculated, saddling commuters with decades of debt financing. They've bought rail cars that don't quite work right, forcing shorter trains while NJ Transit tries to fix the problems.

And the latest mess is that NJ Transit is in the process of purchasing dual level railcars to improve conditions on the heavily travelled Northeast Corridor, M&E lines and other trains that go into Penn Station.

A big problem loomed in the way though. The railcars are simply too big and hit equipment contained in the tunnels.

Did no one notice that before they bought the cars? NJ Transit claims that the problem can be fixed easily by moving some equipment out of the way in the tunnels that lead into NYC? How much more will it cost to fix this latest problem that delays the introduction of much needed added capacity to the NJ Tranist system?

Taxpayers should be demanding accountability for this and other cost overruns throughout the NJ Transit system, but it seems that most New Jerseyeans are resigned to mediocrity and higher taxes and fees.