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  • September 23, 2009 10:27 PM EDT by Brian Sullivan

    New Jersey Transit Still Figuring Out New-Fangled Train System

    train2

    (Rant alert: As you read this, keep in mind its being written 90 minutes into the steamy confines of our broken down train - and note I took the above picture)

    Apparently, train travel is such a new technology that the kinks are still being worked out.   But even in the short annals of  American rail history (okay, I'll end the sarcasm) New Jersey Transit is infamous for its subpar performance and frequent problems.

    I have received and documented too many train problem service advisories too mention in just the last few months.   Most of these emails detail 20-30 minute delays, adding 50% or more to travel time.   Occasionally we've had hour-plus problems, and twice in the last few months I've either had to change trains or had refugees from other downed trains join mine, creating nearly impossibly crowded conditions.

    With all these problems in my four years of commuting, tonight may have taken the cake.

    Heading home, our train mysteriously just stopped between stations.   After about 10 minutes of silence, a garbled message from the conductor said something about us "breaking down.".   What insight!

    About 30 minutes later, there was a loud "boom", followed by a flash of light (fire?) and a stench.   Apparently a massive fuse blew as they tried to restart the train engine.   Being in the first car, I had a front row seat to the event and the scared look of passengers trotting toward the back, eager to get away from the engine.   As the train died so did the recycled air system.   With no windows and probably a 90 degree interior temperature, the air quickly became fetid.

    With a broken down train and sweatbox train cars, the passengers around me discussed the possibility of getting off the train for some fresh air.    At the minimum, be permitted to open a door or a safety window.   Wrong.  Because we broke down in the middle of the three tracks, we had active tracks on each side of us.   Clearly the train crew feared someone may lose a limb leaning out to breathe, so the conductor announed they could not open the doors for safety reasons.   Understandable, but it didn't make the hot and claustrophobic passengers feel any better.

    In all, we sat for the better part of 90 minutes, finally being hitched on to by what the conductor called a "rescue diesel," all the while spewing engine smoke into our car.   Many tried to move back, only to be turned away by standing only crowds in the cars behind us.

    So what's the recourse?   Squat.   Anyone to hold responsible?  Nope.   Anything we can do?    Sadly no.  Think we'll get any kind of credit for this miserable journey?   Heck no.  And its all thanks to the wonderful government monopoly on train travel.   Unlike recent airline trips I've taken with multi-hour delays or canceled flights, there is no hope of any kind of travel voucher or even a real apology.   They know we are stuck without options.  Even the worst airlines sometimes cough up a travel voucher now and then.

    New Jersey Transit consistently blames Amtrak for its dismal record.   It argues - correctly, I'll add - that Amtrak owns the tracks and has so many problems of its own that those subordinate to it, like NJT, are forced to suffer first.   While that may be true, it doesn't make us hapless commuters any less angry.    If you get sick from a dinner out, it wouldn't make you feel better that the chef explains it wasn't he who made you ill, but rather that the power went out and spoiled the food before he cooked it.

    While Amtrak may not be important to many in America, it is vitally important in the BosWash corridor.   Amtrak is also surprisingly massive in size, carrying more than 28 million passengers per year over 21,000 miles of track.   Yet the President of Amtrak isn't elected or subject to any kind of passenger or shareholder vote.    It is an appointed position, completely immune to any passenger control.   The Chairman of Amtrak, Thomas Carper, is the former mayor of Macomb, Illinois (a city of less than 20,000 residents and with no mass transit system) and serves with no pay.  Like Amtrak, the head of New Jersey Transit is also an appointed, not elected, position

    The President has rightly called for a modernization of America's passenger rail system, especially in the busiest regions.    While high-speed rail isn't appropriate for all regions of the country due to our sheer size, there is no reason we cannot have a world class transit system in urban areas.   Anyone who has traveled to Europe and Asia knows that trains there are fast, clean, safe, reasonably priced and on time.   It is a shorter distance from Rome to Paris than from New York to Chicago.

    Its time to bust up Amtrak and New Jersey Transit and let outside bidders come in to attempt to build a real train system, with private company service and accountability.  Someone like Richard Branson, whose Virgin Rail has changed rail travel in England.  Sure, Amtrak loses money every year, but the heavily trafficked northeast corridor between Boston and Washington can easily be profitable.   200 million people travel on that line each year.   The problem is that Amtrak subsidizes so many unprofitable routes.   But who can blame Amtrak for losing money on the run across America's vast West.  Until we get a high speed rail that can take people from Los Angeles to Seattle quickly, few people will take the slow, old rail we have now and taxpayers will continue to throw good money after bad.   And many commuters in the Northeast, just looking to get to work on time or see their families before dinner, will have to suffer through countless delays for problems for which no one is accountable.

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Dennis

Just went from trenton to NY r/t two weeks ago,. was told there was no overnite parking at Hamilton so we schlepped to trenton. trains were delayed over an hour in NY on our Return due to bridge issue. last time for me for train. next time: we drive or, more likely, take a bus. Until someone starts to take trains seriously.

September 24, 2009 at 2:17 pm

Rb

Same experience, took the "advertising pitch", of easy parking and fast service to Giants Stadium. My 16 yr old son and i parked at 15x, off the NJTPK northbound.. Paid $20.00 to park, waited in line for almost 40 minutes, to be advised by NJ Transit, that they werent sure when the next train would arrive..We left the Lautenberg Station, drove the Turnpike N, to Lombardi exit , took NJTPK south, to wait 25 minutes more to Park @ Izod Center. The inability to plan for massive crowds has always been a issue for NJ Transit, ( The Far Hills Hunt, Thanksgiving Day Parade, weather related events, just to bring to mind a few) its nothing short of a third world system..No reason for the delays, the system should be on par with Japan & Europes, starting with mechanics union, accountable and resposnible for all maintenance & malfunctions (or does the union protect them too much )2.) collection of fares, the Nigerians that sell passes for NYC tour Buses , have a hand held device to print tickets and take credit cards. The punch stamp method is the equivalent of the 8 track, being deemed hi end audio. Clean house.. Start a new..

September 24, 2009 at 1:39 pm

Galina

I was on this train last night and, be honest, was thinking about the people who was on this train and have heart condition. Being with no fresh air at all for almost 2 hours you can get the heart attack. I felt like I was in sauna for 2 hours, and had a teribble headache from heat and stress till next morning.The passengers tried to push a few times the emergency button in the car, as we could not breathe, but there were no responses.

September 24, 2009 at 12:51 pm

Ray T

You are correct in your assertion that the real problem here is Amtrak. As a 20yr+ commuter on a non-Amtrak owned NJT line, I can count pretty easily the number of times there was a serious issue and most of them were not NJT related (the Nor'easter of '93, the Blizzard of '96, the Blackout in '03 come to mind). However, your assertion the Metro-North is far better has les resonance with me. As a frequent, although not daily, rider on bother the Harlem and Hudson lines, the percentage of major issues as you have described have occurred much more frequently for me on those lines than NJT. Sometimes its just the luck of the draw.

September 24, 2009 at 9:47 am

Mike

John, Do you work for the railroad? I get your point as well. Breakdowns happen from time to time, but clearly last night several hundred people were without ventilation for 1.5 hours and ineptitude of NJ transit crisis management was clearly evident. If this happened on Jet Blue or another jet sitting on a tarmac this would be newsworthy. What is more newsworthy for this event is that hardly anyone in the news media picked this story up in the midst of recent terror arrests targeting trains. As we saw last night, NJ Transit management who left their paying passengers stranded could have pulled up several passing trains to evacuate those stuck on the disabled train. Instead there was no sense of urgency to resolve the situation. We were close to Jersey Avenue which warehouses spare trains. However the "rescue deisel" came from Queens NY over an hour away. As the train continued it's journey there was another 45 minutes of no healthy breathable air (aside from the asbestos filled air from the braking system). Thankfully someone put this on a website. Sadly it needed more reporting. Especially as I called 911, Amtrak, and got noone to pick up at NJ Transit Police. So much for 1-800-NJT-Tips..... Shame on NJT!

September 24, 2009 at 9:19 am

Mike

Regarding last night's 90 minute stall with ZERO fresh air. With the stressful exhaled sighs of many passengers any fresh air was being sucked out. In car 3 there was a woman who passed out. I called 911. They told me they had no jurisdiction over a NJ Transit situation. I tried in vein to contact NJ Transit however calls to the 800 number were on perma hold. Finally I used more of my air supply to call Amtrak police who said the call to open the doors and get ventilation to the passengers, was the call of NJ Transit Management (sitting in an air conditioned office), or the conductors on the train (getting paid overtime and not motivated to make this a more urgent situation). We were stopped just before Jersey Avenue south of New Brunswick. However the rescue train came all the way from NY's Sunnyside yard in Queens. Several trains had passed us by in which NJ Transit management could have moved us. This has been done quite effectively in the past. NJ Transit Management should be held accountable for the incubation of ill health, stress, and a hellish commute last night. Clearly if this had been a terrorist attack on a 10 car double decker train with several hundred people trapped with no air circulation, they would have contributed to a very sad event. Clearly NJ Transit after all these years is NOT the safest Transit System and ill equipped to handle any crisis situation.

September 24, 2009 at 7:01 am
(1 Reply)

John

You write this story every time you have a problem on your train. Nice objective reporting. I hate to tell you this, but the trains break down on occasion. It happens. Nice objective reporting. I was on the same train. Stop whining. This has been a problem far longer than you have been riding the train. I've heard you bellowing about the injustices on the train every time there is a problem.

September 24, 2009 at 6:42 am
(1 Reply)

Chris H

The Northeast Corridor (NEC) already makes an operating profit but when you factor in capital costs, its at a loss, just like almost every transportation system in the world. The road network in the United States always looses money (the interstate highway system cost $425 billion in 2006 dollars). Bringing in Richard Branson's Virgin Rail will do nothing to fix the backlog of capital expenses on the NEC which are in the tens of billions of $ and are the real reason for delays on the corridor. In the UK, they tried privatizing the rail infrastructure with Railtrack. After 8 years of poor maintainance and mounting losses, it was partially renationalized in 2002.

September 24, 2009 at 4:26 am

about this blog

  • Brian Sullivan joined FOX Business Network (FBN) in April 2008 as an anchor. He co-anchors the 10am-12pm ET hours of the FOX Business block. Prior to joining FBN, Sullivan served as an anchor for Bloomberg Television where he hosted the programs Morning Call and In Focus.

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