Brian Murray, Governor Chris Christie’s press secretary, released the administration’s latest anti-Amtrak salvo on Monday following yet another highly-publicized transportation system meltdown involving a train stuck in a tunnel for hours.
“Amtrak’s failure to adequately maintain its facilities was again on display last week, as was its total lack of concern for the commuting public when 1,200 people waited two hours for EMS personnel to respond to the scene during the three hours they were held hostage in an Amtrak tunnel on Friday,” said Murray. “This situation remains unacceptable, and Amtrak needs to step up and fix the problem.”
N.J. Transit didn’t point the finger:
NJ Transit meltdown Friday: Cause review "inconclusive," ex dir says to reporters. Christie putting full blame on Amtrak, though.
— Elise Young (@EliseOnDeadline) April 17, 2017
Governor Christie ordered N.J. Transit officials to help supplement normal staff during the original meltdown earlier this month.
Another New Jersey politician — Rep. Tom MacArthur of NJ-03– echoed Christie’s concerns before the Easter holiday weekend.
“Many of my constituents rely on a dependable and functioning transit system to get to work and care for their families—unfortunately this is not happening because of Amtrak’s failed leadership,” said Congressman MacArthur opined last Monday. “Last Monday’s incident was the second derailment in less than two weeks—and to makes matters worse, Amtrak admitted that it knew this specific track was experiencing problems, but did not fix the track’s condition. I am requesting that the Federal Government reconsider its financial relationship with Amtrak if it continues to exhibit this lack of leadership and disregard for its passengers.”
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