Senator Kristin M. Corrado (R-40) sent a letter today to New Jersey Transit (NJT) Executive Director Steven Santoro expressing concern that outreach from local officials on safety matters have gone unanswered.

Sen. Kristin Corrado contacted New Jersey Transit to express concern that outreach from local officials on safety matters have gone unanswered. (SenateNJ.com)

“Local officials from throughout District 40 have begun to contact me to express concern regarding NJT’s infrastructure at stations within their municipalities,” Corrado said in the letter. “Some relayed concerns about passenger safety, including the need for repairs to platforms that they believed to be unsafe. There was a general sense that their previous attempts to bring attention to and remedy those concerns directly with NJT have gone unanswered.”

Corrado requested information from Santoro on the process through which NJT reviews and responds to outreach from local officials.

“To help improve the flow of communications, I would like to know how you believe local officials can most efficiently relay safety concerns to NJT,” Corrado wrote. “Additionally, I would appreciate if you could provide information on the protocols that NJT has in place to undertake inspections based on that input and to relay findings and any subsequent actions to local officials.”

Corrado’s efforts are critical, she said, in light of the large number of rail commuters in the legislative district and a string of recent incidents throughout the NJT network resulting from maintenance issues that were not properly identified or addressed.

“I’m working on behalf of our towns to ensure that safety concerns at our local rail stations are properly addressed,” Corrado said. “I want to be sure that New Jersey Transit listens to and addresses problems identified by our mayors and local officials, to prevent small problems from becoming real threats to passenger safety.”

Click here to view the full letter from Senator Corrado to NJT Executive Director Steven Santoro.