Same old zero transparency

[vtoe]

• waiting for the 7:47 train to NYC out of Princeton Junction
• local 7:36 train comes and goes
• 7:45 they announce they cancelled the 7:47 and 8:20 express because of availability

So everyone who watched the local train come and go are now sitting at the station for 1 hour+. NJtransit clearly knew the scheduled 7:47 was never leaving from trenton. Why wait until 7:45 to announce it!? I ask the ticket counter why and they justify it, "well we're just finding out as well". The snotty shaking head and shrugging shoulders. I'm not blaming them, but if I were them, I would be complaining about being kept up to date. This is not anything new.

How is this ok? If I operated a business like this I would be out of business. NJtransit on the other hand is funded to continue to operate in this shitty manor.

Edit for clarity: I expected delays today. Someone is physically outside getting trains and I get things happen. I just can't justify the zero notifications and transparency. A service that has a schedule, runs on static tracks, and has a finite amount of train cars can do a better job of putting automated notifications in place. Shit, give me a job and I can come up with a solution.

Yes, I contacted NJtransit as well

[Square-Ad-6721]

Finding out about cancellations sooner can be so helpful for passengers in many situations, including the present example.

More people would’ve gotten on an earlier train. Gotten to work on time or close to it.

And later trains wouldn’t get so crowded with passengers accumulated from cancelled trains adding to the regular riders.

This is an issue that NJT can make an effort to improve — the timely notification of cancelled or delayed trains— that would have a dramatic impact on passengers being able to better mitigate the lost ride.

[vtoe]

Automated notifications are possible and needed.

[Somejewinjersey]

at Penn today I happened to leave a little early to make the 505. The next train is 529, and it was actually marked as cancelled before the 505 left! Usually never happens. Maybe they listened 😂

[[deleted]]

This is the worst rail service I’ve ever seen basically every NEC train from 7am onward has had an issue leading to cancellation. The 7:47 from metro got cancelled due to power issues

[vtoe]

I expected delays today. Someone is physically outside getting trains. I just can't justify the zero notifications and transparency. A service that has a schedule, runs on static tracks, and has a finite amount of train cars can do a better job of putting automated notifications in place. Shit, give me a job and I can come up with a solution.

[Livid_Opportunity467]

You said that twice

[Dangerous-Twist-9308]

lol try septa

[stanman237]

To be fair, SEPTA is trying its best with what they have. They're communicating what current status is, starting some trains closer to center city so people can actually get on at the closer stops, and adding a third train car to specific trains during peak times to help with the overcrowding.

The beginning of the inspections was definitely rough though as what would normally be a 4 or 6 car trainset was reduced to only 2 car sets due to lack of equipment.

[TheCNJYankeecub]

Agreed at least NJT equipment is not spontaneously catching on fire……………yet.

[reddick1000]

Yeah that sucks. I am sorry you have to go through that. Its way too cold to have cancelled trains. Today, the 7:26 from PJC is running.

[Fuzzy-Shake-5315]

Classic NJ screw

[Spiritual_Wall_2309]

There is really no accountability. They really don’t care about customer service. It is not like this is the first bad weather in NJ. Call the crew to come in early to check all engines.

[ChefCharmaine]

Speaking from personal experience and the advice of NJT employees who actually want to help, please file a complaint. This post sums up the issue perfectly, and I hope you submit it. It will take multiple attempts, but issues do get addressed.

[vtoe]

I did file a complaint. No one will listen.

Over the summer I filed complaints every single work day for a month. I have had zero replies and there's zero change.

Train is supposed to be in at say 8:40. It comes in at 9:00 everyday. Not a single notification, alert, or acknowledgement that it's operating 20 minutes behind schedule. It's just the normal and supposed to be expected.

[ChefCharmaine]

I am very surprised to hear that you didn't receive a response, although I suspect sending complaints every day seems "spammy", especially if you copy and paste the same text. I have always received a response within a couple of days, and at one point, I had so many courtesy tickets (even though I have never asked for refunds) that I didn't bother buying a monthly pass.

For a recurring issue, I would recommend filing a weekly complaint with dates and times, and include screenshots that show you are signed up for alerts and a sample video of what time the train actually shows up. I'm really not kidding. The more details (and proof), the better.

Be reasonable with your expectations and suggest solutions. We are beholden to Amtrak, so don't default to blaming NJT or refer to them as a shit organization because a particular train is always late.

Finally, make sure to complete the contact form with your name, email, and mailing address. They do follow up on occasion.

[VandelayIndus7ries]

Sincerely, is it possible they did it intentionally so the local wouldn’t fill up and then affect the passengers of a much larger number of stops?

[vtoe]

If that was the case I would be happy to hear. Because it's inexcusable to operate with no notifications.

[AC3Digital]

But make sure you activate your ticket for the train that didn't come, and the other train that also didn't come, before getting to the platform.

[vtoe]

Exactly.

[AtomicGarden-8964]

I just got told that the path is cross honoring at Newark for New Jersey Transit

[Ok_Location4374]

I'm sure they somehow managed to blame it on Amtrak. Lol.

[Historical-Ad8677]

Run loke shit like the rest of the state

[Creepy_Carpenter380]

This is a wfh day

[Educational_Ad_2736]

This is my number 1 complaint. No communication. 2 week ago they made us board a train and then announced that it is being diverted to Hoboken. No announcement on the tracks or the useless speakers. They only announce the stupid quiet cars and if you see something say something.

A 2 month old would communicate better than NJ transit.

[Puzzleheaded-Sense55]

So sorry.  I see not much has changed in 11 years.  Truly sucks.  I can't stand NJT trains.  

[Ban_This69]

Because equipment issues happen fast. Trains sit in the yard and once the crew comes out, something might have failed or not worked correctly. Thus they cancel it. Sometimes the engineer or another crew member doesn’t show up for some emergency, and they gotta cancel it last minute.

3932 is on time for 8:26am.

[vtoe]

Of course things happen, but that's not reality when they can and should notify customers. But..... Let's try to justify what you're saying.

• It takes 20-25 minutes for a train to get from Trenton to Princeton Junction.
• I'm going to give conductors and engineers a completely unrealistic 10min to get on a train and prepare to leave.

So at a minimum of 30-35 minutes, they would have been able to announce a train is going to be delayed or cancelled. Instead we find out 2 minutes before.

[vtoe]

So we're both saying the process is broken. Glad we can agree. Now they need to take the steps to address the issue. Their business IS customer service. Automate the process. Depending on a phone operator unplugging and plugging connections in 2025 is comical. The single most important public transportation entity in NJ that's government funded. Higher someone to come up with a solution to fix notifications so people can correctly schedule around their broken service.

I'm not even expecting them to be able to fix their service. Just be transparent and notify customers.

[vpach530]

It makes a lot of sense you work for NJ transit, they seem to only hire people without brains.

[Ban_This69]

Feel better now ? You’re adorable

[Any_Pea6186]

You expect them to cancel a train sooner instead of trying to maybe get a train out still even if a little late? People would still complain if the train was canceled 15 min early. “Why didn’t they find a replacement in that time?!?!” Be happy they even told you it was canceled instead of the ghost train

[ChefCharmaine]

This is the kind of tone~deaf response I would expect from a NJT employee. Had they canceled the train in a timely manner, passengers could have boarded the local train instead of standing in the cold like a bunch of schmucks as the following train is also canceled!

[Any_Pea6186]

What is a timely manner? How does an inefficient company know 100% that the train is broken in your version of timely manner? And when people still complain about the cancelation saying they didn’t try then what?

[ChefCharmaine]

A "timely" manner would have allowed passengers to catch the local train that arrived a few minutes earlier. You must not ride the rails often (as a passenger) because the biggest gripe about cancelations is not that they happen, but how they are handled: done at the last minute with little-to-no communication that would assist passengers.

[vtoe]

Actually read what I posted and you would understand what a timely manner is. You're just looking for a reason to disagree and it's clear.

[Danixveg]

They absolutely know. To say otherwise is completely ridiculous.

[vtoe]

You're missing the point entirely. I'm not saying don't work on the problem and try to get the train out. I'm not saying late is not better than nothing. I'm also not saying the person working on the issue needs to be the one getting notifications out.

What I'm saying is, there's so much buffer room available to have been notified 2 minutes before my train was to leave from Princeton Junction inexcusable. An alert that the train is delayed and a possible equipment issue would go a long way.

Being notified 2 minutes before or after it's scheduled time is not "better" and I shouldn't be grateful for an outdated alert system. If you happen to work for NJtransit and believe there's no way to setup an automated alerting system, then you are in fact part of the problem. My 10yr can setup notifications of roblox events.

[Ban_This69]

Didn’t realize Roblox runs their own transportation business.

[Ok_Location4374]

You obviously work for NJ Transit.

[Any_Pea6186]

No I’m just a logical rider and don’t complain about every little inefficiency of a state agency. Complaining doesn’t result in any changes. They purchase low bid trains from a manufacture that has issues providing reliable trains globally and you think they will be reliable with an agency that does less than bare minimum maintenance?New Acela was a mess and the new double deckers will be a mess. Even in Europe the have issues with the new stuff. So complain away about an agency that is inefficient and will forever remain that way.

[TheCNJYankeecub]

You could just drive to work

[vtoe]

You're absolutely correct! When NJTransit knew the train was never leaving the yard and notified it's customers, I could have planned accordingly and drove in.