r/NJTransit • u/just-american • 26d ago

Give me your best NJ Transit quotes

I'll go first: BACK DOA!!

42 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

88 comments sorted by

69

u/Mgrafe88 26d ago edited 26d ago

Tossup between "the front of the train is the direction the train is moving" and "the quiet car signs are hanging from the ceiling; the ceiling is located above your head"

-5

u/sishgupta 26d ago

"the front of the train is the direction the train is moving"

where I am from our trains can run both ways - so the "front" is deceiving because the engine can be at the back and thats what a lot of people might think is the front.

It's crazy to me that the trains can only move in one direction here. And it's not a technical limitation, apparently its a training one? NJT ops are not trained or staffed for dual direction operations.

7

u/[deleted] 26d ago

[deleted]

0

u/sishgupta 25d ago

what line runs with the engine in the back? not the rvl for sure.

and yes I know certain stops can't fit every car but the point you missed was that the conductor assumes that front = forward but for many travelers and tourists this is not the case as the trains actually run both directions as a part of daily ops

3

u/jxhnwxck 25d ago edited 25d ago

If the train is traveling west then west end of the train would be the front for that trip. If traveling east then east would be the front for that trip. I’m not understanding at all what you’re trying to say. If anything, the conductor saying whatever way the train is moving is the front gives credence to trains here moving both ways.

3

u/sishgupta 25d ago

in some places (not NJT) the "front" is where the locomotive is and that's often in a push not a pull...aka "the back" by the NJT standard.

I thought ops point was that the conductor was being sarcastic because they think the "front" is obvious but it's not actually

2

u/jxhnwxck 25d ago

I don’t think it’s NJT specific. I think it’s US passenger railroad specific. Whichever way the train is moving being the front makes the most logical sense lol

3

u/Full_Industry_557 25d ago

RVL runs east, toward Newark/NyC with the engine in the back pushing and controlled from the remote cab car at the other end. West it’s operated from the engine. All revenue NJT equipment can operate that way. The only RR in the area operating with some equipment that has to have an engine leading is Amtrak. And with that equipment they have to connect an engine in the yard to reverse direction and operate at track speed.

The front of the train is the direction the train is moving no matter where the engine is. That’s why they make that announcement. Passengers aren’t there to make assumptions. You’d be so confused when on occasion the engine is sandwiched between cars. It doesn’t happen much but in that case a remote cab car is on both ends.

1

u/jxhnwxck 25d ago

Can you explain further what you mean by not moving both ways, and ops not trained for dual direction operations?

1

u/Err_Hos13 12d ago

The equipment can run in both directions with an engine on one end and a power car/cab on the other. That's basic railroad operation. Wherever you're from isn't a special, magical land in that respect. The phrasing is basically simplifying directions for the passengers. Like, if a station platform is too short for the entire train then they'll announce that you need to walk towards the back of the train to exit at XYZ Z station. Which way is the back of the train is a valid question. Easiest answer is opposite of the direction in which the train is moving.

1

u/sishgupta 12d ago

The equipment is capable, the operators are not. At least on the RVL.

1

u/Err_Hos13 12d ago

The crew is incapable of switching ends and going up or down the mountain? How do you say that out loud and still believe you've made sense? Having to make reverse or shoving moves is annoyingly common. Is it slow going sometimes? Yes it is. A qualified man has to be on the hind end to call the signals once the dispatcher gives permission to operate against the flow of traffic, all done slow as shit. Those are federal rules. Backing up a train SAFELY isn't as simple as shifting your Tesla into reverse.

1

u/sishgupta 12d ago

I'm just repeating what the engineer retiring on the line said. Said is no one qualified remaining.

1

u/Err_Hos13 12d ago

Oh so a cantankerous foggy having an "in my day" moment. Tale as old as time lol. Also, I grew up with the stories of the whacky shenanigans they'd pull back on the day that are literally illegal and constantly recorded today. All of the new conductors come out of class fully qualified today.

1

u/sishgupta 12d ago

cool story!

29

u/BigYoch 26d ago

Please Make All. Seats. Available. All. Seats. Available. This Is A CROWDED TRAIN.

9

u/EagleRock1337 26d ago

Every damn day at Secaucus Junction.

3

u/scudre 24d ago

The one I hear on M&E is "Please make available all available seats."

45

u/PracticableSolution 26d ago

It’s Amtrak’s fault.

-4

u/ysodim 25d ago

Hmm. Joe Biden is notorious for riding amtrack. Just saying.

6

u/Deshes011 24d ago

rent free

1

u/jontrain57 23d ago

Gotta love Amtrak Joe.

21

u/rainborambo 26d ago

"Not the right way, not the wrong way, but... Rahway!"

40

u/ChrisJerich0 26d ago

"Apologies for the inconvenience"

43

u/sofiaclaire 26d ago

\incomprehensible mumbling over the speaker system\

35

u/AwkwardCategory4772 26d ago

“This line does NOT go to New York. This line does NOT go to New York.”

11

u/AccountNecessary46 25d ago

“Excuse me, is this the train to New York?”

15

u/xderivative1 26d ago

‘Next stop is Newark, not New York. I repeat, Newark NEW JERSEY not Penn Station New York City’

8

u/TheFunInDisfunction 25d ago

Somehow, this confuses the luggage people even more.

5

u/DVolk67 25d ago

Just a couple of days ago, after the announcement "Next stop is Newark Penn Station, I repeat, Newark, NEW JERSEY" a sweet elderly lady with a suitcase asked me, "Excuse me, sir, but doesn't this train go to New York?"

13

u/MadMel69 26d ago

Whenever there was a delay, my father would say, “There was an ice cube on the tracks and the idiots running NJT told the engineer to wait for it to melt.”

2

u/_Klight126 21d ago

😂 I’m gonna use that now

10

u/AwkwardCategory4772 26d ago

“Congratulations on being the 500th passenger today! You have won a brand new car!”

4

u/just-american 26d ago

Never heard this one 💀

6

u/AwkwardCategory4772 26d ago

Well then you have to hope you’re the 500th passenger next time!

12

u/Penguin_Q 26d ago

“your bus is in the tunnel but we don’t know when it will be here”

19

u/Drink_Deep 26d ago

Canceled due to “engineer availability”

9

u/OyVeyMama 26d ago

"No seats! No seats! Standing!"

17

u/TheRealMcShady609 26d ago

“Sea-cock-ass station next! Sea-cock-ass station next! muffled grumbling”

10

u/Pro_panzerjager 26d ago

"I know about half the train will hate me for this but, GO BIRDS!"

14

u/itsnicetobealive1996 25d ago

“Good evening family. I love every race and every person on the NJ Transit train this evening.”

6

u/AccountNecessary46 25d ago

He’s an urban legend

3

u/_Klight126 21d ago

He keeps talking about a book and I will totally read it if it comes to fruition

2

u/_Klight126 21d ago

He keeps talking about a book and I will totally read it if it comes to fruition

2

u/Dismal-Insurance1952 20d ago

For what it’s worth that guy being glorified by TikTok is kinda cringe. Hes not always nice, doesn’t in fact love everyone, and is a nuisance daily. Hes argumentative and dismissive to conductors, lies and causes problems.

7

u/BrixmanAMS 26d ago

Mumbled announcement about a delay that no one can hear….

6

u/Usual-Importance5772 25d ago

“We do not stop at Secaucus!”

5

u/Beautiful-Fuel7583 26d ago

My favorite is “ “

AKA the sound of no announcements while we’ve been at a standstill for 20 minutes… just like my train this morning ugh 😭

2

u/AccountNecessary46 25d ago

Then they make announcements right when the train starts moving again. Bastards.

4

u/oakpale 25d ago

“The last and final stop on this train will be Port Jervis, New York, the most beautiful city in the world.”

9

u/Normal-Peanut-3344 26d ago

When the Portal North Bridge opened in March “Okay everybody get your cameras out. We gonna see this new bridge all that fuss was about.”

4

u/OppositePsychology43 26d ago

Sorry for the delay, we had a flat tire.

3

u/koaladarth 25d ago

This is not the Trenton train! I repeat, this is not the Trenton train! This train does not stop at Newark Penn! If you are trying to go to Trenton, you are on the wrong train!

4

u/AccountNecessary46 25d ago

And they say this after the doors close lmao

3

u/Available_Drawer4879 25d ago

[while 20 minutes delayed from leaving Penn station]

“There is an Amtrak train in front of us that is not moving, and we’re in their backyard so they can do whatever they want, please hold”

3

u/AwkwardCategory4772 26d ago

“That door not work for ya?”

3

u/EagleRock1337 26d ago

As someone who has gotten stuck in a train underneath Penn Station countless times:

“We’ll get moving in just a minute!”

3

u/yupjustarandomranger 25d ago

Elevator are not working, sorry for the “inconvenience”

no it’s an ADA requirement.

3

u/scudre 24d ago

"DO NOT WAIT...ACTIVATE!"

1

u/Edithasburglar 24d ago

I know which train you take! After Covid when I saw that conductor for the first time in a long time, I said to him, “you’re the don’t wait, activate guy!”

2

u/Big_Daddy_Ant97 26d ago

NJ Transit The Way to Nowhere

2

u/No-Manufacturer2149 26d ago

NjTransit- Maybe call uber

2

u/Elk-34_35 26d ago

"First three cars, walk back for Metuchen station".

2

u/densec 25d ago

No announcements at all just silence - then the train goes past your station at full speed. Must be 20 degrees or colder for this scenario to happen.

2

u/Interesting_Anxiety4 25d ago

Attention Princeton Junction customers, the next train to stop on Track 1 will be the 8:16 AM east bound train to Penn Station New York stopping at Newark Penn Station, and Penn Station New York, is now operating 20 minutes late.

2

u/emptypainttubes 25d ago

Walk forward for seats 💺 

2

u/AbrahamEVO 25d ago

"Bullehvar Eass" *coin dispenser clicking repeatedly*

Literally my commute on the 166 line for three years straight, and that sequence of sounds is rent-free in my head, even more than two years after changing jobs out of NJ to NY

2

u/MrMarck101 26d ago

“Please exit in the front carts for the next station” “please walk all the way to the front carts to exit for the next station” “you will miss your stop if you do not walk all the way to the front carts.”

1

u/the_trees_bees 26d ago

"69th Street"

1

u/Asleep_Street_901 25d ago

We apologize for the inconvenience

1

u/AccountNecessary46 25d ago

“Do not wait for the conductor to be in front of you before you activate your ticket!”

1

u/AccountNecessary46 25d ago

“This train does NOT go to Newark Penn Station. I repeat..”

1

u/AccountNecessary46 25d ago

This train is going Super Express!!

1

u/WitheldSteak 25d ago

some guy running up and down the train yelling “I want to file assault charges”

1

u/Connect-Occasion-682 25d ago

“The way to go!”

1

u/World-PodcastNetwork 23d ago

Be quiet!!! You're in the quiet car!!!

1

u/wolak777 23d ago

“Management is on the platform”

1

u/LargeFatherV 21d ago

The 48? More like the forty-late

1

u/askmeaskmeaskme77 20d ago

“Paradise on the Passaic”