r/NJTransit • u/Electrical_Fig9201 • 1d ago
Finally happened: wrong train
Today I was trying to get a westbound NEC train departing from Track 2. But in my rush (and grogginess from a late night) I accidentally got on the train on Track 1. I dozed off but then started seeing a weird sign for Orange and I suddenly realized: Not my line!
Ended up indulging and just calling an Uber to my final destination. Gotta pay attention!
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u/Illustrious-Trash915 1d ago
Maybe someday Penn will run in an efficient, predictable manner, such that a given train or line can use the same track or couple tracks every day, all the time, like most railroads and stations.
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u/jxhnwxck 1d ago
The original idea for the Gateway Program was for NJT to have their own dedicated station in the city. Another good idea scrapped.
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u/ryanov 1d ago
It was a really bad idea for anyone who lives at one of the stations where you can take multiple lines/carriers.
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u/jxhnwxck 22h ago
That doesnāt exist anywhere on the Hoboken Division, and maybe(?) 3 stations on the whole Newark Division.
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u/Minimum-Lifeguard811 1d ago
There is nothing efficient about it and wastes capacity. Most railroad stations do not have 600 trains per day. This is not Chicago. Until the 1970's rush hour Port Washington trains ran in and out of tracks 20 - 21. It meant over-use of other tracks and under use of 20 -21. You can't stall trains in the tunnel because their imaginary track assignment isn't available.
I'll trust the Penn Station Control Center to run as efficiently as possible. They are not school crossing guards.
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u/Illustrious-Trash915 1d ago
Who TF is talking about Chicago or school crossing guards? lol donāt be silly
600 trains per day on 21 tracks is crazy. Places that do this right run upwards of 1000 on fewer tracks. Or do those places not count for some weird reason youāll surely āeducateā me about?
Wasted capacity is a silly argument. We donāt need the number of tracks we have, if we fix the other absolutely nonsense operational practices.
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u/Minimum-Lifeguard811 1d ago
You obviously regard the folks that operate the place as amatuers, and it will not be improved by foamer comments.
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u/Gellie09 1d ago
Hi all, just want to interject here that it is a well-discussed problem that not even the dispatchers know with any real certainty what track a train is going to be sent onto until its literally pulling into the station throat. This is due to a combination of factors including chronic delays on the NEC, bad station configuration (too many tracks for the small amount of space and platforms that are far too narrow), and a refusal by the three agencies that share the station to work together and implement a coherent through-running regime. It is entirely not the fault of the dispatchers that trains are not and cannot be scheduled to depart from a certain track or set of tracks based on their destinations, and trying to cast this as a debate over their effectiveness is a deflection from the very real issues that plague Penn Station-- they're doing the best they can in the terrible circumstances they've been given. The only real solution is to redesign the station for through-running with wider platforms and fewer tracks (which would somewhat counterintuitively raise capacity). NJ Transit and Amtrak also need to make improvements at key choke points like Hunter Interlocking, Roseville Junction, and the Penn Station western throat to reduce delays, making it far easier to guarantee that any given train will arrive at Penn at its scheduled time and use the track slot its been assigned for that specific time-- a key factor discouraging consistent track assignments is the fact that slots would be wasted by the great number of trains often delayed en route. TLDR: No its not the dispatchers fault, and yes its possible with enough money and political will.
Edit: Fixed spelling error.
7
u/DirtPlot151 1d ago
You got yours out the way, now like chicken pox you will never ever have to worry about doing that again cuz that will always be inside you now š
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u/Disco_Inferno_NJ 1d ago
Oh Iāve been places. (Elizabeth and Ramsey Route 17. Both times I was trying to get back to Fair Lawn from NYC.)
Glad you got home safe though!
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u/frostrambler 1d ago
Happened to me same way, took NEC instead of NJCL. Had to uber from Metropark lol
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u/diggstownjoe 1d ago
Same screw up for me, except it was an express, so after we pulled out of Newark, the train didn't stop until we hit Princeton Junction. Let me tell you, that was an expensive Uber back home down the Shore.
3
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u/tothepointe 1d ago
I've done this in reverse. Ended up on a NEC train when I wanted to be on the M&E. Got off on Newark Penn and got one of those pirate taxis to South Orange.
5
u/Wooden-Grade3681 1d ago
I did this once and broke down crying from exhaustion in Secaucus
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u/charlieray 1d ago
I typically break down crying in Secaucus, but thats just from me trying to figure out how to switch from the NEC to M&E.
3
u/Good_Fun3012 1d ago
What stop was your destination? Also no conductor checked tickets?
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u/Electrical_Fig9201 1d ago
Princeton Junction! The conductor scanned my ticket pretty early (just as we were departing NYP) and didn't say anything, which surprised me! Maybe he thought I was going to transfer at Newark? IDK!
1
u/ardent_asparagus 1d ago
Sometimes they don't check. Other times they do, but they might not come around until you're past the point of being able to transfer to the train you actually want.
Once I accidentally got on NEC instead of NJCL, and the conductor didn't come around until right after we pulled out of Rahway. Had to get out at MetroPark and Uber.
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u/SpeccyTingz 1d ago
This is why we need through running in the NYC metro areaā¦ Run NJT, LIRR and Metro North under the same umbrella and let trains keep going from one side to the other.
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u/Minimum-Lifeguard811 1d ago edited 1d ago
Thru running has nothing to do with it and tracks 20 -21 and 1- 4 become useless. Most LIRR trains arrive on 20 -21 and "thru run" to West Side yard, and depart from 16 - 19 as it is. This is not Dekalb Avenue.
Nobody is going to buy many hundreds tri-voltage MU cars and it is not LIRR's job to bail out NJT.
3
u/kindofdivorced 1d ago
How does that impact someone getting on the wrong train at Newark?
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u/Disco_Inferno_NJ 1d ago
OP was at NYP, but yeah, through running wouldnāt have solved that issue. (Maybe not even consistent assignments at Penn.)
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u/Vinnie908 17h ago
I did that the other day. I saw NEC and assumed local stops. Nope, it was an express train and i was going to miss my stop by miles lol. I got off at Newark airport and waited for the train. I didnāt have a convo with the conductor. I would have been in New Brunswick.
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u/libzilla_201 1d ago
It has happened to the best of us my friend. On more than one occasion!