What a Mess This Morning

[CrudeBoy]

It's truly amazing how rain can destroy one's commute.

This morning, the 6:25 AM M&E train to NYPS arrived 10 minutes late in Madison. My friend commented that since it had rained, we can't expect NJ Transit to be even close to on time. We moved along slowly to Chatham, Summit, Short Hills and Millburn (our last stop before NYPS). Then the train picked up speed.

As we made our way through to Newark Broad Street, our train came to a lurching halt. We sat for about 10 minutes, then the engineer gets on the intercom and said there's a problem up ahead and we'll have to single-track all the way into NYPS. About five minutes goes by, then the conductor says that we'll have to back up to make the switch. We do that, then we're on our way.

We made our customary stop under the turnpike bridge (I'm thinking about opening up a convenience store or beer store there, since all the trains stop there now almost every day - I'd make a killing I bet), then proceeded very slowly towards Secaucus. Once through Secaucus, we crept along and were going so slow, it was as if you could hear each revolution of the wheels. At last the tunnel came upon us and several people got up to stand near doors, thinking the odyssey was complete. But, no, we stopped several more times in the tunnel.

We finally pulled into NYPS at 8:20 AM, nearly 1 hour late.

Upon getting off the train, which very conveniently was parked on Track 1, commuters sprinted through NYPS to get to the red line subways, only to find they were shut due to flooding. The crowd dispersed onto the streets of Manhattan and I heard several discussions along the line of "This is intolerable. The Governor better fix this mess soon or else."

I can't wait to see what NJ Transit has in store for me tonight on the way home. My train last night was 15 minutes late getting home, which meant that my daughter was the last one picked up at daycare. Yesterday morning, my train was 15 minutes late getting in. The delays are starting to become a built in part of the commute.

I wonder why NJ Transit even bothers to publish a schedule, since it cannot seem to stick to it.

[mhnj]

All things considered, my commute wasn't too bad. I got the 7:24 from PJT, and we were fine until Newark, but then it was stop and go to NYP. But we were only 30 minutes late. It could have been worse though. At least the tunnel didn't flood. Practically every subway in Manhattan was shut down. And I heard that the center tube of the Lincoln Tunnel was closed. The Garden State Parkway was closed in at least one spot. I would rather be on the train than trying to drive somewhere. As the train was rolling, we could see some pretty bad road flooding, especially in Secaucus.

[Ripper]

I can accept the fact there were delays today.  NJT wasn't the only one and as stated above, all in all it could have been a lot worse (even though it took me almost 3 hours).

My problem is the same as it's always been with the way NJT communicates.  Their alerts are absolutely USELESS.

Like this:
NEC #3712, the 7:36 am departure from Jersey Avenue is cancelled. passengers may use train #3714.
Sent: 08:10 AM

They communicate there are 15-20 minute delays but what they don't tell you is they just cancel trains and it still looks like things have minor delays.  I got to Jersey Ave at 7:45 and it looked like a train hadn't been there in 2 hours.  It was mostly full leaving the station.

Then the best line was this over the PA after leaving Edison:

We were just told we aren't stopping at metuchen. Hope nobody was planning on getting off.

Oh and yet ANOTHER day where no fares were collected.

So far this week:

Monday am - good
Monday pm - good
Tuesday am - delays
Tuesday pm - delays
Wednesday am - delays
Wednesday pm ...

[slavetothecommute]

The announcements could have been a lot better this morning.  We had one train pull into our station and as we all lined up, it pulled away.  No one had any clue what time train was coming through, but then again, communication has never been this company's strong suit.

We had torrential downpours this morning and it's going to be 105 with the heat index this afternoon.  Can't wait to see how they ruin my ride home tonight!

[mhnj]

Ripper, Speaking of ticket collection, last night on the 6:13 my car had people standing in the aisle through the entire car, but the conductor managed to collect tix before Newark and after Newark. A job well done, and unexpected.

[RVL_Girl]

Slavetothecommute, I got the same effing train!

First, I I got an alert at 6:28am about delays. No wonder, considering I woke up at 6:00am thinking I was in a warzone from all the thunderstorms. Then at 7:12am I got an alert about delays in the range of 15-20 minutes. That was it. So I dressed, arrived at the station and waited. Approximately 15-20 minutes later a train appears and we all sigh with relief as we step towards the platform edge. As it approaches, it slows and we prepare to board, and then WHOOSH!, it guns it past our station without warning and disappears into the distance.

After much grumbling and cursing, the PA comes on and explains in broken crackles that all trains are delayed 15-20 minutes. This doesn't help, so I check my phone and the website, no updates. Just 15-20, no cancellation notices. So then the PA comes on and it's a different voice who apologizes to all Netherwood passengers for the delays. This isn't Netherwood, not even close.

So after 40 minutes and zero accuracy, a random train pulls up and lets us board. It travels full (but certainly not crowded) all the way to Newark with not a single conductor in sight. When we arrive, I call the office but no one's there, so I assume the subways are flooded. I take the Path to WTC and hike it the rest of the way. Overall wait and travel time, 2 hours. But hey, it could be worse. My co-workers apartment is totally flooded...

[JerseyAveVet]

I'm rather ashamed to admit that for once I had no problems.  The 7:13 left Jersey Avenue on time, made good speed, and I was treated to lovely views of Newark under 4 feet of water.   

[Ripper]

Just wait til later.

I'm rather ashamed to admit that for once I had no problems.  The 7:13 left Jersey Avenue on time, made good speed, and I was treated to lovely views of Newark under 4 feet of water.   

[Ripper]

woo hoo.  My comment made the homepage on nj.com

[lyra]

I caught the 7:50 Dover train to Hoboken, then took the PATH to WTC (the 33rd trains were way too packed).  Then I ended up hiking to the J train, and catching that north.  Left my home at 7:25 AM, made it to the office at 10:50 AM.  I have to say that shockingly the NJT train ride was the smoothest part of that whole commute. I'm shocked.

[slavetothecommute]

I'm rather ashamed to admit that for once I had no problems. 

Let's file this one under "Speak Too Soon?" and revisit in the morning.

[slavetothecommute]

woo hoo.  My comment made the homepage on nj.com

yeah, and did you see that one apologist go off on you?  The one with the "get off the train and drive a car" comment?  To me her argument was the most unintelligible line of crap that I think I've ever seen.

DISCLAIMER: the following rant is no reflection on today...apparently the only way you were getting to work on time today is if you had a catamaran.

This argument about "take your car if you don't like the service" is such a crock.  When you pay for a service, you expect service back.  You expect trains to arrive at the station consistently at its posted time.  You expect your tickets to be checked (after all, why did you spend the money for a monthly?).  It's not a luxury, it's (depending on your circumstance) an environmental, budgetary, time efficient or essential need.  And what do people get in return?  A proverbial laugh in the face from a corporation who deflects blame on a national service that's underfunded (and we're blaming everything else wrong in this country on the federal government, so throw Amtrak under the bus as well.  Not that they're innocent all the time, but I bet they've been blamed for more than they should be).

The whole idea of customer service in general has gone down the shitter in the past 5 years.  The arrogance at which corporations have taken away the "customer is always right" ideal and replaced it with "Customers?  F*ck them!" is the reason why we scream.  We deserve better and NJ Transit has failed us miserably.

[Ripper]

The issue isn't with the shitty service (granted, it sucks).  I get the fact that they have no money, a busted infrastructure and people are working without contracts.  All that's well and good.  If I was able to be notified in a timely matter about the status of the service, I'd be fine.  The problem is it is impossible to plan to be somewhere.  NJ PR spins everything their way (which is what PR people do), pass the blame and don't accurately report service.

From the outside, it looks like today there were a few cancelled trains and 15-20 minute delays.

Believe that and you are a fool.

This has nothing to do with be finding a different way to commute.

[mhnj]

I put in a comment on the NJ.com thread also, responding in a similar manner. We can expect delays due to weather, etc., and we know it's probably worse if we drove on a day like today, but one of our main gripes is just getting people to do their jobs (timely info, collect tickets, have the escalators running in the right direction, etc.). And more investment in mass transit. But the "car people" start crying if we ask to increase their gas tax by a penny.

[Ripper]

I hate everyone today.