New Jersey Transit - NYC/Princeton Junction train - delayed travel experience

# 1 for February 19, 2002

Complaints.com received the following e-message on February 18, 2002:

From: Paul L. Castaldi [Email User]

New Jersey Transit - NYC/Princeton Junction train - delayed travel experience

On Saturday evening, February 9, 2002, I and four other family members boarded the 6:03PM leaving Penn Station in New York City. We had spent the afternoon in New York City for a birthday meal and some sightseeing, and were returning to Princeton Junction, NJ, where my brother-in-law had parked. We expected to be back home in the Philadelphia suburbs before 11PM.

After a delay of several minutes, it was announced that "a Conrail freight train had damaged four of five power lines south of NYC, and no tracks were available." During the next hour, this announcement was repeated. It was also stated that it appeared that it might be a "long" delay, but there was no way to estimate the time frame. Passengers could leave the train if they wished; when the train was able to depart, they would "re-announce" the train.

By about 7:30PM, all attempts at customer service were abandoned. No NJ Transit personnel were on hand to provide information or clarification. There was an announcement at about 9:30PM to the effect that passengers could take a PATH (?) shuttle to Newark, NJ, but there were no special arrangements or recommendations regarding travel options from Newark.

This announcement seemed pertinent only to those travelling to the Newark Airport-- there was no explanation. One uniformed crew member, when stopped by exasperated fellow passengers, explained that "AMTRAK owns the tracks, so even when the power is restored we're at their mercy. They will probably give all the AMTRAK trains priority."

It was not until after 11PM (I don't recall the exact time) that passengers began to crowd into the train. Apparently an announcement had been made in the upper concourse, but those of us waiting on the train were left to figure things out on our own. Of course, after over five hours of delay the train was packed. The train left the station at about 11:30, almost six hours behind schedule.

There were several unexplained and unscheduled stops and delays once this train departed Penn Station. We arrived at Princeton Junction at about 1:45AM on Sunday, February 10.

Yes, this obviously was an exceptional situation. All southbound train service, AMTRAK and NJ Transit, was stopped cold. Penn Station was filled with frustrated travellers. However, the lack of adequate emergency plans and the overall lack of consideration for riders was abysmal. Some backup arrangement should have been made, such as using shuttle buses. If it was not feasible to use Penn Center as a staging area, we could have used other local transportation, e.g. subways, to proceed to a shuttle staging area.

If it was truly "impossible" to make alternative arrangements, which is doubtful, the NJ Transit authorities should have simply taken the train out of service or announced a clear-cut timetable. It is simply cruel and unusual punishment to abandon riders to their own best guess as to how to handle this emergency. Had we known the delay would be over five hours, we probably would have left and arranged for overnight accommodations.

Even cattle are watered after being penned up for that many hours, but NJ Transit extended no courtesies or even apologies. Except for the few vague announcements described above, there was absolutely no concern or regard for the well-being of their passengers. We were simply left twisting in the wind.

They did NOT collect fares, but this is probably because the train was so crowded that the conductor would have been at considerable risk had he dared show his face in that lion's den.

So much for all the money being spent to woo visitors to New York City. There were certainly no New Jersey Transit "heroes" working in Penn Station that night. We won't be going back any time soon.