Governor signs order calling for New Jersey Transit audit

The order comes after Murphy called the agency a "national disgrace" before becoming governor on Tuesday, succeed Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

Associated Press

January 22, 2018

In this Tuesday, July 25, 2017 photo, a New Jersey Transit train traverses the tracks in New York's Penn Station. At peak times, when about 24 trains per hour move in and out of Penn Station, a disabled train in one of the Hudson River tunnel’s two tubes can lead to misery for hundreds of thousands of commuters. But significant delays can occur even if a train breaks down in the tunnel during off-peak times. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is ordering an audit of the state’s beleaguered transit agency.

Murphy, a Democrat, signed the executive order calling for an audit of New Jersey Transit alongside Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Monday at a rail station in Summit.

The order comes after Murphy called the agency a “national disgrace” before becoming governor on Tuesday, succeed Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

It also comes after an Associated Press report found NJ Transit had more accidents and paid more in fines for safety violations than any other commuter railroad in the country over the previous five years.

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The report came after a September 2016 train crash in Hoboken that killed a woman and injured more than 100 people.

Monday’s order is the fourth Murphy signed since taking office.

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