The New Jersey Transit Board of Directors approved a new $3.8 billion fiscal plan Wednesday that includes safety equipment purchases and infrastructure improvements.
The agency adopted a $2.11 billion operating budget and a $1.68 billion capital program for the 2017 fiscal year. NJ Transit officials said nearly half of the revenue for the operating budget will derive from fares with the rest coming from a combination of state and federal reimbursements. Around 33% of the capital budget is from New Jersey's Transportation Trust Fund that lawmakers reauthorized this month.
"The operating and capital budgets represent balanced, fiscally-sound spending plans, which keep fares stable and allows for the critical investments needed as we continue our commitment to safety," NJ Transit executive director Steve Santoro said in a statement.
The capital budget includes $72 million dedicated to installing positive train control technology, which faces a late 2018 federal implementation deadline. The agency faced criticism at Oct. 21 State Senate hearings for delays installing the technology that some argue could have prevented a fatal Sept. 29 Hoboken. N.J., train crash that killed one woman.
Approximately $125 million of the capital program will fund track and bridge improvements and system-wide improvements. An additional $422 million is earmarked for capital projects to help N.J. Transit's resilience in extreme weather events.
Last year NJ Transit approved a 9% fare hike to balance a $56 million budget deficit. The 2016 NJ Transit fiscal plan included a $2.2 billion operating budget and $2.1 billion capital program.
