> not being able to see which station the train is at, especially if no announcement is made Wait, they're admitting they know this is a problem? It's such a pain having inaudible announcements or none at all. Is it really so hard to get on the PA for each stop? Then why not have it automated? Or an overhead sign in the car showing eta and name of next station? Ideally both.
I hate PA systems, especially if they are not automated and some poor drone mumbles the announcement 500 times per day. Give me digital signage every time.
It’s not an issue with dirt on the windows, but rather etching/clouding of the window glass which makes it appear dirty. It’s certainly not unique to NJ: it happens on a lot of older trains in Europe, but I’ve never seen it so bad as in the NJ photos. I guess something about the coating they use on the glass (to improve safety, insulation, etc) makes it vulnerable to clouding and scratching over time. Climate, air po…
From the end of the story: "Metro-North Railroad and NJ Transit use a single pane of polycarbonate glazing almost a half inch thick, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. "NJ Transit isn’t alone in this problem. "“The south side of the (Long Island Rail Road) M-7 fleet of 830 cars is also opaque,” Versaggi said." LIRR trains run predominately east-west routes, and (I assume from this comment) apparently d…
Right, LIRR trains don't turn around at any terminus, so the same side is always the south side. I think the only balloon loop in the system capable of turning a train is at Sunnyside Yard, but that's a maintenance/storage facility and not really a terminus; it turns Amtrak trains but never LIRR. There is a wye capable of turning an engine but not a full-length train at the ends of the Montauk and Port Jefferson branches, and perhaps others.