New Jersey Transit

NJT was created on July 17, 1979, as an offspring of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), mandated by the New Jersey Legislature to address many then-pressing transportation problems. It came into being with the enactment of the Public Transportation Act of 1979 to "acquire, operate, and contract for transportation service in the public interest." NJT originally acquired and managed a number of private bus services, one of the largest being those operated by the state's largest electric company, Public Service Electric and Gas Company. It gradually acquired most of the state's bus services. In northern New Jersey, many of the bus routes are arranged in a web. In southern New Jersey, most routes are arranged in a "spoke-and-hub" fashion, with routes emanating from Trenton, Camden, and Atlantic City.

In 1983, NJT assumed operation of all commuter rail service in New Jersey from Conrail, which had been formed in 1976 through the merging of a number of financially troubled railroads. Conrail had operated two extensive commuter railroad networks in northern New Jersey under contract to NJDOT; in turn, these lines were the successors of numerous commuter routes dating from the mid-19th century. NJT now operates every passenger and commuter rail line in the state except for Amtrak, the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), which is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the PATCO Speedline, which is owned by the Delaware River Port Authority, two SEPTA Regional Rail lines, the West Trenton Line the Trenton Line, and a handful of tourist trains in the southern and northwestern parts of New Jersey. Since inception, rail ridership has quadrupled.

In the 1990s, the rail system expanded, with new Midtown Direct service to New York City and new equipment. On October 21, 2001, it opened a new station at Newark Liberty International Airport. On December 15, 2003, it opened the Secaucus Junction transfer station, replacing the former Harmon Cove station, connecting its two commuter networks in northern New Jersey for the first time. The new station allowed passengers on trains to Hoboken Terminal to transfer to trains to New York Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan, saving an estimated 15 minutes over connecting with PATH trains at Hoboken. On October 31, 2005, NJT took over Clocker (NY–Philadelphia) service from Amtrak. Four new trains were added to the schedule, but cut back to Trenton.

From 2009 to 2011, NJT operated the Atlantic City Express Service (ACES) from New York Penn Station to Atlantic City Rail Terminal as a seasonal/weekend train under contract with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.

During Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, the rail operations center of NJ Transit was flooded by 8 feet (2.4 m) of water and an emergency generator submerged. Floodwater damaged at least 65 locomotive engines and 257 rail cars.

On May 16, 2025, a strike by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen caused the suspension of the entire NJ Transit rail network due to pay disputes. An agreement was reached on May 18 to end the strike, with full train service resuming the following Tuesday, May 20, after safety inspections.

NJT splits its operations into three classes: bus, light rail, and commuter rail, operated by four legal businesses: NJ Transit Bus Operations, Inc., subsidiaries NJ Transit Mercer, Inc. and NJ Transit Morris, Inc., and NJ Transit Rail Operations, Inc..

Bus

NJT Bus Operations operates 253 bus routes using 2,356 buses. Its subsidiaries NJ Transit Mercer and NJ Transit Morris operate those routes concentrated in Trenton and Monmouth and Morris counties. 696 additional buses are also leased out to several private New Jersey operators, including Coach USA, Lakeland, Transbridge Lines, and Academy.

Light rail

NJT operates three light rail systems:

Hudson–Bergen Light Rail – Three lines comprising a total of 24 stations and 20.6 miles (33.2 km) in length, running along the Hudson Waterfront from Bayonne to North Bergen in Hudson County.

Incidents

In December 1985, a train crashed into a concrete bumper in Hoboken Terminal, injuring 54 people. The cause was a lubricant that was applied onto the tracks to test the train wheels.

On February 9, 1996, NJ Transit Bergen County Line train 1254 collided nearly head-on with Main Line train 1107 near Secaucus. Both trains' engineers and a passenger were killed. The collision was caused when the eastbound train ran a red signal due to the unreported color blindness of the engineer of train 1254.

On July 14, 2003, a Northeast Corridor train derailed just east of the Portal Bridge in Secaucus during the morning rush hour disrupting service on the Northeast Corridor for nearly 12 hours. Amtrak service was terminated at Newark during this time. All of NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Morris and Essex trains were diverted to Hoboken Terminal. The cause of the derailment was a lost wheel on one of the Arrow III cars causing NJ Transit to temporarily take all 230 Arrow III cars out of service for inspection. They were all deemed safe and returned to service days later.

On February 21, 2007, a Bergen County Line train suffered a minor derailment after passing over an improperly repaired switch at Ridgewood Junction.

On the morning of September 29, 2016, a Pascack Valley Line train failed to slow down as it approached Hoboken Terminal and crashed into the passenger concourse. One person died, with around 100 people being injured.

On August 19, 2016, two New Jersey Transit buses collided in Newark on Broad St & Raymond Blvd during the morning commute. Bus 5612, operating on route no. 59 with no passengers, ran a red light, colliding with bus 5784, running was on route 13, which was crossing the road safely. Two people died and 18 were injured in the crash. The driver of 5612 died at the scene. A passenger onboard bus 5784 was also pronounced dead at the scene.