NEWARK, N.J. — Kevin Corbett, president and CEO of NJ Transit since 2018, has resigned to take a university position.
The resignation is effective Jan. 15, just short of seven years after he was appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy on Feb. 14, 2018. Murphy announced the resignation in a press release earlier today (Monday, Dec. 9).
Corbett’s resignation letter cites a desire to spend more time with his family as well as “a new opportunity with one of our state’s prestigious universities that will allow me to remain deeply connected to the transportation sector.”
The letter did not name the university. NJ Transit does have a relationship with Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. and its Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation, through their involvement with the International Association of Public Transportation’s North American Regional Training Center.
Corbett said in the press release that his time at NJ Transit was “the honor of a lifetime. I am profoundly grateful for the trust Governor Murphy placed in me and for his unwavering support that has resulted in transformational improvements benefitting New Jerseyans for decades to come. I am also thankful for the opportunity to work alongside an extraordinary team of more than 12,000 men and women dedicated to serving the residents of New Jersey.”
Appointment of a replacement for Murphy is on the agenda of a Wednesday NJ Transit board meeting. The political news site New Jersey Globe is reporting that Kris Kolluri, a former NJ Transit board chairman who most recently headed the Gateway Development Commision, will be named as the new CEO . The Gateway commission oversees the major Northeast Corridor construction projects in the New York-New Jersey area, including the Hudson Tunnel and Portal North Bridge.
Corbett, who came to NJ Transit from consulting firm AECOM, has overseen a period during which the agency went from a period of significant underfunding to a five-year, $17 billion capital plan that has seen the agency deliver some $6 billion in capital spending so far. But it has also seen significant operational issues, most recently during a summer of infrastructure problems on the Northeast Corridor, and remains involved in often combative negotiations with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. BLET members have been without a contract since 2019 and voted to strike in 2023; that strike could finally come next year, barring an agreement through current mediation.
Murphy told NJ.com that Corbett “inherited a mess, and notwithstanding the summer that we went through, he’s done a hell of a job under extremely tough circumstances.”
— Updated Dec. 10 at 7 a.m. with report on new NJ Transit CEO.
