Travel right now is treacherous in many areas of the state, and it looks like it will remain that way for some time.

Obviously there is concern about federal support to ensure they have the resources to keep the line in a state of good repair.

For residents of these densely populated communities, the light rail will provide unprecedented mobility and convenience. This is a huge day for Union City, West New York and North Bergen.

It's a first step. It's not a total shutdown.

The shelters will have push-button, on-demand heating. On cold winter days, customers will be able to push a button and heat will come on in the shelters. Two additional ticket vending machines will be installed. The main station building is also being redone with a larger waiting area, and will be open 24 hours.

Normally there is a diversion of 2 to 3 percent. Instead we saw an increase. We bucked the trend and swung to get 5 percent.