Hell Ride Exposes Poor Incident Response by NJ Trainslate

[PJrider]

I took the 5:01 NEC train to Trenton from NYP today.  Train was about full.  The scheduled arrival time in Princeton Junction is 5:53.  Of course I was specifically leaving 40 minutes earlier than usual to meet someone so you know where this is going.

We were just past New Brunswick on Track 3 when the train just stopped and died.  This was at about 5:45. After a few minutes we got a garbled announcement that the problem was being investigated.  Then eventually we were told that they hoped to have the problem fixed.  Meanwhile, we had the low lighting and no air.  We can see the crew members walking around outside - where there was a breeze.  We eventually are told that the problem is the overhead wire and they are working on it.  Not long after that, there was a boom and a bright flash.  At this point, the train is heating up with no air.  We eventually are told that they have to get a diesel engine to tow the train.  We also got a garbled announcement that they wanted to open the doors for some air, but were not allowed.   After a looooong time, we are told the diesel rescue engine is at Linden and will arrive in 15 minutes (HaHa).   About 25 minutes later it goes past and we are told they just need to hook it up and we'll be off.  Meanwhile the windows are completely fogged up, people are dripping with sweat and some are even taking outer layers of clothes off.  One women pushes the emergency intercom and gets NO response.  And not once did a crew member come through.  Then they tell us the engine is docked and they "just have to hook up the hoses" - that took at least another 15 minutes, during which time we lost the lighting except for two small lights at the end of the car.  There were at least two people that were about a minute away from breaking open the emergency windows for fresh air.  We finally started moving at 7:20 and ran dark the rest of the way. 

Arrival time at Princeton Junction 7:38 - 1:45 minutes late.

1.  The conflicting and garbled messages were inexcusable.

2.  Leaving us sweltering on a train for an hour and thirty five minutes while the crew was outside in the cool air and ignoring emergency calls is inexcusable.

3.  Why on earth does it take so long to get a rescue?  Poor poor poor planning and execution. 

4.  If the problem was the wiring, why didn't the lights and air come back once we we on Track 4?  and for that matter, why didn't we cross at Jersey Ave instead of Midway?

5.  When will I get an apology and partail refund from NJ Trainslate?  (yeah,  i know, the 5th of Never)

[Johnny Mac]

PJ -

Though I can't say for sure, the horrendous response to the problem on your train may be related to another NJT clusterf*** that happened last night, at NYP and Secaucus. The record-setting crowd for the U2 concert gave NJT a chance to show off their "improved" service to the Meadowlands, and guess how NJT did?

When we got to NYP last night about 6 o'clock to board the new Meadowlands train service, we were dismayed to find lines just to buy tickets that stretched all the way out to the Duane Reade. We strongly considered just boarding the train and paying whatever we had to later, but everyone around us in line was saying you wouldn't even be able to so much as board without showing a ticket first. After waiting in line almost an hour, we finally got to the machine to make our purchase. When we got to the machines, there was an NJT front-line employee helping people work the machines, though something tells me that this hadn't been the case from the beginning. And just before we got to the machines, a man in a suit, no doubt an NJT honcho, said something to the NJT guy helping with the machines, after which that front-line employee told the crowd that they were waiving the surcharge for buying a ticket on the train. Beautiful. Nevertheless, we decided to buy from the machines.

So we get on the train to Secaucus, which was very crowded and left a few minutes late, but that leg of the trip was otherwise uneventful. Not surprisingly, no tickets were collected, but in this case, if you took the NJT employee's advice and didn't buy at a machine, you'd want a conductor to come through so you could buy a ticket to get through the gate in Secaucus. And when we arrived in Secaucus to make the transfer, the fun began anew. Sure enough, I saw more people waiting at ticket machines, probably because they hadn't yet bought one and needed to get through the gate there. After going through the gate to reach Track H, things came to a stop. It was wall-to-wall people in the waiting area just adjacent to the platform (I assume the platform was packed too, though I couldn't see it from where I was) stretching up the stairs and back behind the gate. After waiting for a half-hour and seriously beginning to wonder if we'd see the concert at all, the line moved and we got to board our train. Not shockingly, it was packed like sardines. After the train eventually got moving, we arrived at Giants Stadium about 8:30 or so.
Two and a half hours from the time we arrived at NYP to reach the Meadowlands. Simply unacceptable. Clearly, NJT was not at all ready for this. We felt compelled to leave the concert a little early to avoid a repeat; we weren't alone - other concertgoers had the same idea. My wife and I will think twice about taking NJT to any event at the Meadowlands for the foreseeable future. 

So PJ, in dealing with the mess I just described, NJT may have simply dropped the ball in dealing with your mess. 

[mhnj]

So THAT's what the big line for tickets was for! I figured it was something at the Meadowlands. What they need is a bunch of ticket machines that just sell tickets to the Meadowlands. Everyone wastes too much time on the regular machines trying to punch in station codes, type of tickets, etc. They need something like a Metrocard machine. How many tickets? Put in your money. Boom. Your tickets. Were the ticket windows open, by the way?
I suspect the reason for the crowds on the train was that it was a weekday. On the weekend, they can run special trains between HOB-SEC-Meadowlands, but at peak weekdays, all the train sets are being used.

[rubengineer]

PJ, first the rescue engine is in Hudson yard (before Newark) They give the crew a chance to liven up the train before they even think about a rescue. And when they finally decide to rescue the train engine can only go 30mph to get to you.

As far as train crew not making any announcements that is simply unacceptable. Trainman are there own worst enemy. Why should management put more on trains when the ones that are on there don't do there job.

[Johnny Mac]

Were the ticket windows open, by the way?

At least some of them were, but those lines didn't look any shorter.

[PJrider]

PJ, first the rescue engine is in Hudson yard (before Newark) They give the crew a chance to liven up the train before they even think about a rescue. And when they finally decide to rescue the train engine can only go 30mph to get to you.

As far as train crew not making any announcements that is simply unacceptable. Trainman are there own worst enemy. Why should management put more on trains when the ones that are on there don't do there job.

I suspected that is where the rescue came from - but why the speed restriction?  Any word on whether it was actually the wiring or the engine (the flash and bang made me think that they shorted out the engine while trying to fix something).  What if we had died closer to PJ?  Is there a diesel in Morrisville?

The crew did make some announcements, but under the circumstances, they were not enough and not always clear.  And we could see that at least several of the crew were off the train while we were stuck sweating.

[MoBoCo]

We felt compelled to leave the concert a little early to avoid a repeat; we weren't alone - other concertgoers had the same idea.

You're lucky.  By all accounts, the ride home was even worse.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Transit-Nightmare-U2-Fans-Stranded-for-Hours-After-Concert-61084987.html

I especially love NJT's response, which basically blames people for taking the trains in the first place.

[ThirdRail]

PJ, first the rescue engine is in Hudson yard (before Newark) They give the crew a chance to liven up the train before they even think about a rescue. And when they finally decide to rescue the train engine can only go 30mph to get to you.

As far as train crew not making any announcements that is simply unacceptable. Trainman are there own worst enemy. Why should management put more on trains when the ones that are on there don't do there job.

I suspected that is where the rescue came from - but why the speed restriction?  Any word on whether it was actually the wiring or the engine (the flash and bang made me think that they shorted out the engine while trying to fix something).  What if we had died closer to PJ?  Is there a diesel in Morrisville?

The crew did make some announcements, but under the circumstances, they were not enough and not always clear.  And we could see that at least several of the crew were off the train while we were stuck sweating.

There was nothing wrong with the wire. It was a broken pantograph on the engine. The flash you saw was probably them trying to raise the other one and the line shot since the broken one wasn't properly grounded.

The 30mph speed restriction was put into place due to two collisions...Chase 1 and Chase 2 at Gunpowder Interlocking in Chase Maryland.  Both involved lite engines and Amtrak. Chase One caused 16 deaths and 187 injuries when 3 Conrail engines ran a stop signal and stopped in front of a speeding Amtrak train. This horrific accident result in a slew of changes, including numerous restrictions for freight trains and non passenger movements between 6am and 10pm. They are all but banned, and the ones that are allowed are restricted to 30mph.

Lesser known is Chase Two,  which occurred at the exact same interlocking. This involved Amtrak Lite engines colliding with a Conrail coal train, resulting in two injuries. This made them realize that Lite Motors didn't have the braking potential of a train. So, they slapped a 30mph speed restriction on all lite engine movements between 6am and 10pm and permanently lowered the Multiple Lite Engine speed from 80mph to 50mph. 

You can imagine how much of a nightmare it is trying to dispatch a 30mph engine in the middle of rush. Electric engines are even worse, because they need absolute block protection, which is a fiasco.

As for the trainmen, I would be interested in knowing how many were on board.  During a rescue, a trainman must flag the opposing rescue motor, and one of them probably went to assess the damage to the wire and check to see if the a transfer was feasible.

That accounts for two.

Assuming the conductor went out to check on his engineer (and that a generous assumption  ) that could account for three.

Any more than three and I assume they were hiding from the angry mob, which is decidedly unprofessional. I can't tell you how many times I had to go down with the sinking ship when I was a trainmen. I always found that if you kept people informed, and gave real updates, MOST people were understanding.

Of course, I worked for Amtrak. 1:45 minutes late is almost on time! 

[Johnny Mac]

We felt compelled to leave the concert a little early to avoid a repeat; we weren't alone - other concertgoers had the same idea.

You're lucky.  By all accounts, the ride home was even worse.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Transit-Nightmare-U2-Fans-Stranded-for-Hours-After-Concert-61084987.html

I especially love NJT's response, which basically blames people for taking the trains in the first place.

Wow. Glad we left early - the ride after the concert was OK for us, but I can't say I'm shocked that others weren't so lucky. Sounds like NJT is already preparing its riders for more fun tonight.

[Johnny Mac]

. Sounds like NJT is already preparing its riders for more fun tonight.
[/quote]

My bad - the second concert was last night. Hope those people are home by now. 

[Ripper]

I drove and getting out of there was a breeze. 

Taking the train to Secaucus to connect somewhere else is just inconvenient.  I can't imagine that ever making sense especially with the volume of people.