[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23846]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO GEORGE WARRINGTON

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, in light of today's historic 
vote on the Amtrak reauthorization legislation, I wish to honor a great 
transportation leader and a son of New Jersey George Warrington, who 
passed away at his home in Mendham, NJ, on December 24, 2007. During a 
public service career that spanned more than 30 years, Mr. Warrington 
held an influential and decisive role in the development and continued 
success of public transportation systems not just in our State of New 
Jersey but throughout the entire region. His role in the early 
development of NJ Transit helped make the agency what it is today one 
of the largest and most successful transit agencies in the country.
  George Warrington's contributions to public transportation cannot be 
overstated. His work to secure funding for NJ Transit in the 1970s was 
crucial to the creation and early development of the agency. He later 
served as vice president and general manager of NJ Transit's rail 
operations and brought a necessary focus on customer service, ontime 
performance, and repairing the rail system's infrastructure. He worked 
tirelessly to expand regional rail capacity by adding additional 
seating in cars and parking spaces at stations across the State. He 
also promoted the development of new rail lines, such as the Midtown 
Direct Montclair service and Newark Light Rail extension, and he 
spearheaded the addition of key rail stations such as Hoboken Terminal 
and Secaucus Junction. These initiatives were central in creating and 
maintaining a successful public railroad transportation system in New 
Jersey and the surrounding region, and I was proud to secure Federal 
funding for these efforts.
  George's efforts on one project, in particular, will help secure the 
economic future of the New Jersey-New York region and that is the new 
Hudson River Rail Tunnel. Also called the Trans-Hudson Express, THE, 
Tunnel, part of the Access to the Region's Core, ARC, Project, this new 
rail tunnel will ensure that travel between New Jersey and Manhattan by 
rail will be available well into the future. Existing tunnels are 
already at capacity during peak hours, with trains moving through them 
at a rate of one every 2\1/2\ minutes. Without this new tunnel, our 
region's economy will suffer. New Jerseyans would lose out on a 
convenient and environmentally friendly way to commute to work into New 
York City and New York City would lose out on a strong and dedicated 
labor pool of New Jersey workers. George garnered critical early 
support for the new tunnel project from both sides of the river, a feat 
acknowledged by many experts as vital to the project.
  George Warrington also listened to passengers and employees, a 
critical feature of any successful organization. He considered their 
input in new rail car designs, such as the popular new multilevel cars. 
These rail cars eliminate the dreaded ``third seat,'' while adding to 
the overall number of seats in the car.
  For several years, George also served as executive director of the 
Delaware River Port Authority, which governs the Delaware River port 
system, four major vehicle bridges in the region, and the PATCO rail 
system. He is credited with speeding up project delivery times and 
managing the conversion to collecting tolls in just one direction on 
the bridges.
  George Warrington must also be recognized for his significant 
contributions to national transportation as Amtrak's corporate 
president and CEO and chief executive of its Northeast corridor. He was 
instrumental in the launching of Acela Express, the nation's first 
high-speed rail line, as well as carrying out the completion of the 
electrification of the entire Northeast corridor rail line between 
Boston and Washington, DC, another project I was proud to secure 
Federal funding for. The Northeast corridor now offers the country's 
premier high-speed rail service and carries more passengers than all of 
the airlines combined between key northeastern cities. George will 
always be remembered as an important advocate of a strong national rail 
system.
  Mr. President, while George Warrington passed away on December 24, 
2007, his legacy lives on through his family and through his lasting 
contributions to the rail industry both in New Jersey and throughout 
the Nation. On behalf of the people of New Jersey, I am proud to 
commemorate his many achievements to make New Jersey and our Nation a 
better place and convey our best wishes to his family and 
friends.

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