UPDATE: NJ Transit to Shut Down at 8 p.m.; Rail May Not Resume Until Thursday

NJ Transit will shut down at 8 p.m. and no one is sure when it will resume.

Governor Chris Christie made the announcement Tuesday that service would end at 10 p.m., but NJ Transit amended the announcement and said it would end at 8 p.m.

NJ Transit said on Twitter that rail service may not resume until Thursday. “Service may resume Thursday depending on the condition of the tracks,” according to the agency.

Limited bus service may resume Wednesday depending on the condition of the roads and equipment, the agency said.

Christie said he doesn’t expect rail service to resume Wednesday. “It is weather-permitting,” he said.

“We would like to make Wednesday productive for everybody,” he said at a press conference.

NJ Transit had announced it plans to operate on a regular weekday schedule and cross-honor tickets from Monday, Jan. 26 through Wednesday, Jan. 28 to “minimize delays, and ensure service reliability and safety due to the approaching winter storm.”

Cross-honoring gives “customers additional travel options during the expected winter weather conditions,” allowing them to use their ticket or pass on an alternate means of transportation, such as rails, light rails, buses or private bus carriers.

However, customers are advised to regularly check NJTransit.com for the latest service information, as “there is potential for significant shutdowns of NJ Transit’s rail, bus, light rail and Access Link service” due to the predicted severity of the storm.

NJ Transit also urges customers to use “extreme caution traveling in and around all transit facilities and when boarding or alighting buses and trains due to the expected icy conditions.”

And, according to their website, NJ Transit is “prepared to handle the impending winter weather.”

• • Rail and light rail crews and equipment are on standby to quickly respond to downed trees, power outages or other issues that may arise.
  • Snow plows and salt spreaders are ready for service and snow-removal contracts are in place with outside vendors.
  • NJ TRANSIT is well-stocked with 16,000 bags of snow-melting supplies, and hundreds of shovels and snow blowers.
  • NJ TRANSIT has performed maintenance and testing on its two rail-mounted jet snow blowers in the event they are needed to help clear train tracks of snow and ice, particularly in rail yards.
  • More than 750 rail switches, switch heaters and overhead wires have already been inspected as part of NJ TRANSIT’s preventative maintenance program.
  • Onboard heating systems, thermostats, weather stripping and electronic components have been inspected on NJ TRANSIT railcars, light rail cars and locomotives.
  • Bus maintenance personnel have inspected and performed necessary maintenance on a fleet of nearly 2,200 buses - from the heating and airbrake systems, to the engine fluids, tires, windshield wipers and doors.

NJ TRANSIT will also be monitoring the crowds at New York Penn Station, Hoboken Terminal and the Port Authority Bus Terminal to make adjustments to service.

Photo Credit: Gianpaolo Fabiano

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• STORM ALERT: School Closings/Dismissals List
• BLIZZARD 2015: What You Need To Know
• LIVE VIDEO: Nor’easter, Snow Hit New Jersey
• Getting Around The Blizzard Hitting New Jersey
• Here’s Where To Report Power Outages