TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy and NJ TRANSIT President and CEO Kevin Corbett today announced that NJ TRANSIT’s latest Locomotive Engineer Training Class has completed the final stage of certifications and requirements necessary to become locomotive engineers. The class of 14 trainees completed a rigorous 78-week long program and passed extensive testing, including a final exam of more than 800 questions.

The graduation of this class advances the agency’s commitment to hire and train more locomotive engineers. The class will bring the total number of new engineers that have joined NJ TRANSIT since 2018 to 56 and brings the total active roster of engineers to 357.  NJ TRANSIT has increased the number of engineer training classes to a record-setting eight classes running concurrently.

“Investing in the next generation of our transit workforce to join the ranks of the agency’s highly skilled locomotive engineers is fundamental to restoring NJ TRANSIT to national prominence,” said Governor Murphy. “This is the right time to be a part of NJ TRANSIT’s continued renewal to get this system back to where we know it can be and where New Jersey’s commuters deserve it to be.”

 “Despite the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, NJ TRANSIT continues to ensure that engineer training classes are being held to achieve a full roster of locomotive engineers for the future, accounting for anticipated retirements,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett. “Increasing the number of locomotive engineers is an essential element to improving reliability on the rails for our customers.”

“Qualifying to be an engineer takes extensive training and commitment and we are proud to welcome these 14 new locomotive engineers to our ranks,” said Department of Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti.  “This is another example of the Murphy Administration fulfilling its promise to make the investment – whether it’s in personnel or equipment and infrastructure—that will provide long-term benefits to NJ TRANSIT and our customers for many years to come.”

The next locomotive engineer training class is set to graduate in September.