The man who came from the Long Island Rail Road to help fix NJ Transit’s rail system has died from coronavirus complications, officials said Saturday.

Veteran railroader Raymond P. Kenny, 69, became NJ Transit’s senior vice president and general manager of rail operations in January 2019, after a 50-year career on the Long Island Rail Road, where he rose through the ranks from ticket clerk to acting vice president.

Equally respected by management, labor and transit advocates, Kenny will be will be “deeply missed,” NJ Transit officials said.

"Ray's reputation and experience in the industry are unparalleled," said Kevin Corbett, NJ Transit President & CEO. "The leadership and incredible wealth of railroad knowledge Ray brought with him has truly made a positive impact on our organization. On behalf of everyone at NJ Transit, our thoughts and prayers are with Ray's family and friends at this difficult time."

Kenny was hired as the transportation agency coped with a shortage of engineers, aging equipment and an epidemic of canceled trains. During his tenure, NJ Transit embarked on a hiring and training blitz to give the agency what Gov. Phil Murphy called “a deep bench” of engineers to whittle down the number of canceled trains.

Jerome Johnson, General chairman of UTU local 60, said he looked at Kenny as a big brother.

“He brought honestly and integrity to NJ Transit. He was exemplary for his supervision and, to our members, he made you feel like he cared,” Johnson said. "He understands what the railroad does, he understands both sides (management and labor). He is a person who wanted everything to work.”

Kenny was someone that Johnson said he could talk to and reach a compromise with.

“He knew what it takes because he’s done it,” Johnson said. “He had 110% of my trust."

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Among the things that distinguished Kenny was his presence out on the railroad and talking to employees, whether it was attending the funeral of a veteran employee or talking and reassuring conductors who tested positive for the coronavirus, Johnson said.

“He was a man of the people,” he said.

Kenny also was praised by the union that represents locomotive engineers.

"The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen would like to express its sincere condolences to the Kenny family,” said James P. Brown, BLET general chairman. “Ray was by far the most knowledgeable executive at New Jersey Transit. He will be sorely missed.”

David Peter Alan, chairman of the Lackawanna Commuter Coalition, called Kenny “one of the few real railroad people around NJ Transit.”

“Ray Kenny went up through the ranks. I respect people like that,” Alan said. “He learned from the ground up.”

After rail service was reduced to weekend schedule last month due to declining ridership caused by the coronavirus, Alan said suggested to Kenny and other NJ Transit officials about changing to a President’s Day rail schedule to provide “mini-peak” service for commuters.

“On Monday morning, those trains ran. I was very impressed with that,” he said. “Ray listened to us. I’ll never forget that.”

MTA Chairman and CEO Pat Foye said Kenny’s legacy is felt by generations of LIRR customers and employees."

"Ray Kenny was a beloved and universally respected railroader who was laser focused on improving the lives of his customers and colleagues at all levels of the Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit,” Foye said in a statement. “Ray was a member of the MTA family and he will be deeply missed.”

Kenny’s nomination to head NJ Transit’s rail operations was announced on Dec. 17, 2018 when Murphy and NJ Transit officials said the agency met a critical deadline to have the first phase of a federally mandated safety system known as Positive Train Control installed.

The next and as critical Dec. 31, 2020 deadline fell to Kenny to achieve. NJ Transit went from being considered in danger of missing that deadline to getting good grades from the Federal Railroad Administration for PTC progress last November, based on progress made in the first three quarters of 2019.

That progress was marred when contractor Parsons Inc. announced PTC was knocked off schedule by 5 months because of a software problem. In April, Parsons announced they gained a month on the schedule.

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