An NJ Transit crewman directs a passenger to a boarding location for a northbound Northeast Corridor train at Princeton Junction, N.J., on Aug. 6, 2019. The transit agency is adding to training to help employees deal with potentially dangerous situations.
TRAINS: David Lassen
NEWARK, N.J. — Responding to an increasing number of physical assaults on NJ Transit employees, NJ Transit will offer more training to try to help those employees avoid violence.
The “de-escalation training” will include a “Train the Trainers” program from Rutgers University’s National Transit Institute, offering techniques for bus and rail operators as well as NJ Transit police. An NJ Transit press release says all employees who work with the public on buses or trains, and as police officers, receive training on managing situations to avoid the possibility of violence. The new program “will be more robust and help to reduce assaults,” the agency says.
Bloomberg reports that 27 NJ Transit employees have reported assaults on trains or on rail property from January through July, according to Federal Railroad Administration data — four more than the combined total for calendar years 2016-2018.
