that 116 non-management workers had been promoted to management positions, and that salaries had been adjusted to become more competitive.

NJ Transit has about 11,000 employees.

Lavell's letter was part of a safety compliance audit of NJ Transit the Federal Railroad Administration had launched in early 2016. The federal agency was wrapping up its effort when a commuter train crashed into Hoboken Terminal on Sept. 29, 2016.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

Among other factors, the board is looking at what role the engineer's undiagnosed severe obstructive sleep apnea, a sleeping disorder that can result in fatigue and drowsiness, might have played in the crash.

The NTSB is expected to reveal many of its findings in a hearing in Washington in February.

MORE DELAYS: Investigation: NJ Transit facing staffing crisishave younger people able to step into these roles. That’s pervasive within transportation."

That level of talent could explain why NJ Transit employees are in such demand from other agencies, who benefited from their departures. A number of senior NJ Transit employees left to work at Amtrak, Metro-North, Long Island Rail Road and PATH.

One project engineer with seven years at NJ Transit left to work for the City of Paterson.

The general superintendent of transportation at Hoboken, a 40-year employee, took a job at the Federal Railroad Administration.

Lavell's own chief of staff, a 16-year veteran, left to work at the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

An October 2015 press release from Connecticut DOT shows that it hired Richard Andreski from NJ Transit to be its public transportation chief. Andreski, who could not