5 years later, commuters are still waiting for NJ Transit to fix escalators at busy station

🚆Both escalators at NJ Transit's Hamilton station have been out of service for 5 years

🚆NJ Transit signed a $5.1 million contract in 2025 to replace the aging escalators

🚆The original manufacturer went out of business, forcing a full replacement project

HAMILTON (Mercer) — A longtime NJ Transit project will take a bit longer than planned.

One of the two escalators on the outbound side of the Hamilton station has been broken since September 2021, according to the Asbury Park Press. The other went out of service in July 2024.

Long a source of irritation for commuters, NJ Transit signed a $5.1 million contract in April 2025 with Hall Construction Co to fully replace both escalators by summer 2026. That date has been delayed.

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Escalator replacement at NJ Transit's Hamilton station Sun., June 28, 2026

Why a replacement not a repair

The catch with the project was that all the parts required had to be made, which NJ Transit described as a "complex process" that was expected to take up to 10 months. Work on the new escalator could not begin until all the parts were ready.

Friday, NJ Transit updated its advisory to show that the escalators would remain out of service until "approximately October of 2026."

The agency told the Asbury Park Press that the company that manufactured the escalator went out of business in the early 2000s, which is why the escalators are being replaced.

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