NJ Transit today (July 7) apologized for weather-related delays and equipment failures Tuesday night that left commuters stranded in train cars that felt like saunas, the Newark Star Ledger reports.
In a statement on its website, the company said its newer locomotives have a system with temperature sensors designed to protect the equipment from damage caused by extreme heat. When the temperature reaches 130-135 degrees, the locomotive automatically shuts down.
In the future, the transit agency will shut down equipment during layovers at endpoint terminals and turn down air conditioning systems when possible to conserve energy.
John W. Nabial Sr. of West Windsor, an accountant who commutes to New York City, said his usual 90-minute trip home to Princeton Junction took four hours after the train already combined with a canceled local train became disabled without air conditioning just east of Elizabeth Station at 6:33 p.m.
Nabial said that when he noticed the fans shutting off in his train car as it pulled out of Newark Liberty International Airport. "I kind of had a bad feeling."
After 18 minutes, the crew was able to restore power long enough to move the train into Elizabeth Station, NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel said.
Eventually, Nabial said, the train was cleared and the 1,500 passengers were herded to the platform. They were stranded in Elizabeth for 90 minutes. EMS workers, who Nabial praised, treated people for heat-related injuries.
"Everybody was hot, but everybody just realized that everyone was annoyed, so we just tried to get along," he said. "It was standing room only, body-to-body. As you moved forward, it was like a bunch of lemmings taking baby steps."
A rescue train arrived at 7:37 p.m. and departed at 8:18 p.m., making combined stops on the way to Trenton, where it arrived at 9:36 p.m. three hours after the train initially broke down.
Nine trains were canceled today as the heat wave continued, but were expected to run as scheduled tonight.
(This item appeared July 8, 2010, in the Star Ledger.)
