In a joint statement Thursday night to the Amtrak CEO, the governors of New Jersey and New York said they want a private contractor to improve New York Penn Station.

In the statement addressed to CEO Charles Moorman, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Amtrak's lack of investment has caused the delays at Penn Station. The governors said changes are needed for commuters of NJ Transit and the Long Island Rail Road.

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“A professional, qualified, private station operator must be brought in to take over the repairs and manage this entire process going forward,” the statement from the governors said. “The current situation is not tolerable and change cannot wait any longer.”

Earlier Thursday, Moorman addressed a New York State Assembly committee that officials at Amtrak would go seek a private vendor to improve the area of New York Penn Station.

“The fundamental challenge at Penn Station standing in the way of transformative change is the bifurcated control and disjointed nature of the three railroad’s respective passenger concourses,” Moorman said in a prepared statement. “I’ve instructed my team to have Amtrak set up a new entity which will seek private sector partners to handle concourse operations, maintenance and deliver improvements.”

Transit commuters have experienced multiple delays and derailments since April. Moorman later said upgrades would happen to the busiest rail station, but commuters would expect track shutdowns beginning in July that could last nearly two months.

“I know that the road ahead is going to present challenges and that the path to meaningful and real improvement is long,” Moorman said Thursday.

State Legislative Oversight Chair Bob Gordon (D-Bergen/Passaic) and Assembly Judiciary Chair Jack McKeon (D-Essex/Morris) said they planned to visit New York Penn Station on Friday in what they dubbed as a “Fact-Finding Tour.”

"We will be asking questions and expecting answers, and we will want a full and detailed explanation about what both these agencies plan to do to make things better with as little inconvenience as possible for commuters," McKeon said.

Staff writer Nicholas Pugliese contributed to this article.