NJ Transit replaces company that built, ran Hudson-Bergen light rail for 30 years

The company that designed, built, maintained and operated NJ Transit’s first light rail system for 28 years won’t run it any more.
On Wednesday, the agency’s board of directors voted to replace The 21st Century Rail Corporation, which has run the Hudson-Bergen light rail system since it was awarded a contract in 1996 to build the state’s first light rail system.
The board awarded a $1.56 billion, 15-year contract to ACI-Herzog Joint Venture of Boston, Massachusetts, to operate and maintain the light rail line in Hudson County that is owned by NJ Transit and operated under contract that expires in 2025.
Three companies bid, another joint venture between Keolis America/ Kinkisharyo International/ Shimmick Construction/ Twenty First Century, and Alstom Transportation Inc., which runs the River Line. Keolis America runs Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail service in Boston and Kinkisharyo built the Hudson-Bergen light rail trains.
The contract for what will be the second operator in Hudson-Bergen light rail‘s history will “focus on maintaining the high standard of service Hudson-Bergen Light rail customers continue to expect,” said Kevin Corbett, NJ Transit CEO at the meeting.
The contract includes three main components, including Rail Operations, Maintenance of Way, and Vehicle Maintenance. An additional scope includes work to bring the system to a state of good repair and capital work.
That capital work is defined in a Capital Plan, which describes work that falls within a Capital Asset Replacement Program and Capital Improvement Projects on the system.
The ACI-Herzog Joint Venture operates and maintains the Tren Urbano transit line in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The closest operation to Hudson Bergen in Herzog’s rail portfolio is the “Capital Rail system” in Austin Texas, a system that is a hybrid between a commuter and light rail line.
Herzog is known in the rail industry as a construction and contracting company, but it has expanded in to transit operations which includes maintenance of passenger rail equipment services to New Jersey Transit on its Atlantic City Line, according to the company website.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry.