New Jersey Transit, Battery Electric Bus Garage Modernization

Burns delivers engineering services to prepare a Northern New Jersey bus garage for the upcoming deployment of battery electric buses.

New Jersey Transit (NJT) plans to transform 16 agency garages as part of a clean energy strategy that will convert their entire bus fleet to zero-emission operations by 2040.

The country’s fifth-largest bus transit system is undertaking a multi-stage electrification overhaul at five maintenance garages, including Hilton Bus Garage. The 180,000-square-foot facility serves the Newark region.

Burns is supporting AECOM to design and oversee fleet electrification systems, structural upgrades, and a building systems overhaul. The modernization project involves:

• Pilot of inverted pantograph system
• Assessment of utility supplies, electrical service infrastructure, and structural capacity
• Design of charging infrastructure, pantograph support system, and related electrical system upgrades
• Structural design for removal and elevation of a portion of the facility’s roof, as well as related modifications to existing foundations, floor slab, walls, and structural framing
• Design of a new roof-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) system
• Replacement of involved building systems, including power, lighting, plumbing, drainage, ventilation, fire protection, public address, and communication systems

The Hilton Garage renovations are scheduled to complete by the end of 2025.

Burns is also conducting State of Good Repair surveys to identify facility upgrades across the agency’s 15 other garages. The surveys will ensure charging and power-supply infrastructure can be integrated while maintaining uninterrupted mission-critical operations.