SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE TO QUESTION AMTRAK, NJ TRANSIT ON MAY POWER OUTAGE

TRENTON - The Senate Transportation Committee will hear testimony tomorrow from executives of Amtrak and NJ Transit on the power outage on the Northeast Corridor rail line on May 25 that left 15,000 NJ Transit passengers stranded for several hours.

"A service outage of this magnitude has fortunately been rare up to now," explained Senator Nicholas Sacco, D-Bergen and Hudson and Chair of the Committee. "We want to make sure that the events of May 25 are not indicative of more frequent outages in the future."Testifying at the meeting will be NJ Transit Executive Director George Warrington and Amtrak Senior Vice President of Operations William Crosbie. They will discuss the events that transpired on May 25 leading to the power outage as well as the steps taken to recover. The will also discuss early findings into why the outage occurred.

"Public transportation, especially by train, it crucial to the continued economic growth of the State," added Senator Sacco. "Our goal is to get more cars off the road and more riders onto the trains. Commuters need to know that they can rely on NJ Transit to get to there destination on time or they will never leave their cars at home."

The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in Committee Room 10 of the State House Annex.

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HEARING DETAILS:
WHO: Senate Transportation Committee, NJ Transit Executive Director George Warrington, & Amtrak Senior Vice President William Crosbie
WHAT: Hearing on Northeast Corridor Rail power outages on May 25, 2006
WHEN: Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Committee Room 10, State House Annex