On my long journey to work, have a very short trip on the 1, 2, or 3 train one stop from Times Square to 34th Street on 7th Avenue. Almost all of the time it takes no more than 2 minutes to make this connection to NJ Transit. Today it was stuck for 20 minutes between the stations. What was the problem? SIGNAL PROBLEMS.
I think there should be a Nobel Prize for Engineering awarded to anyone who can permanently solve the signal problems on subways and commuter railroads.
It is bad enough when we encounter train delays during the week, but they actually suck more when they happen on weekends when we are on the way to leisure activities that start at a specific time. This weekend the #7 train ended at Queensboro Plaza so riders had to change for the N or W train there to continue to Manhattan. We planned to go to a Broadway show that started at 2 PM. I even told Karen that we should leave a little early since you never know when there will be a train delay.
Everything was fine until the train stopped just before the 33rd Street station. It just sat there for 20 minutes. When it got to 33rd Street, it sat for another 5 minutes. Since we had to be at the show by 2 PM, anxiety started to set in. It finally reached Queensboro Plaza where we changed for the W Train. We arrived at the theater about 10 minutes before show time.
Murphy’s Law – You will always encounter a train delay when you have to be at your destination on time.
At 9 AM this morning while I was already at work an Amtrak Acela train derailed and collided with a New Jersey Transit Train in New York Penn Station. Fortunately, only two people suffered minor injuries. Of course, havoc on Amtrak, NJ Transit, and the Long Island Railroad followed. Partial service on NJ Transit resumed at 4 PM.
When an incident like this happens PATH and private bus lines cross-honor NJ Transit tickets. I left my office a few minutes early and luckily made good time on the PATH Train. I assume that the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
I was scheduled for a vacation day today so thankfully I didn’t have to face the nonsense that NJ Transit imposed on its customers today. There was a big snowstorm in the NY/NJ area, but most people stayed home. For today, the “powers that be” at NJ Transit decided to run a modified weekend schedule. This article written by Larry Higgs in NJ.com best describes the misery imposed on customers today.
I will be retiring at the end of 2017. So only 9 1/2 months more of this nonsense.
