So, I saw a play last night in New Jersey. Fine. Excellent. We had a wonderful dinner afterwards. I slept very well. The morning did not go so well.
NJ Transit: Friend or Foe?
I have taken this train before. Last time I raced from the car to make it on and was very surprised to find that the train was unbelievably crowded. No seats to be found. And if you've ever been on one of these commuter trains, they are all seat. The subway cars are designed for people to stand. These commuters are designed for sitting. So anyway, it was suggested that I arrive earlier to the station.
It was even more discouraging to be there before the train arrived. There were people in big clumps along the platform, which I assumed (correctly) were the exact location of the train doors. In between the clumps, on the empty parts of the platforms stood smokers, clearly banished from the tight groups waiting for the train to come and those doors to open so they could push and run to find an empty seat next to a not-so-strange stranger.
The ride was pretty uneventful except that there were little babies outside crawling faster than the train was moving.
I noticed this next terrible thing last time I rode in. When the train arrives at Penn Station there are just two skinny staircases leading up from the platform. This causes a huge crowd to form and delays progress by at least ten minutes. God forbid there be a fire down there. We'd all die. Within the time it takes to exit (and I am in the middle of the group, mind you), another train pulls up on the track that also deposits people on this platform. We've got transportation geniuses running these things, I'm sure. Luckily, I was nearly to the staircase already and did not have to put up with the FOT's (Fresh Off the Train).
I realize I have failed to mention that I was already riled after the trip out to Jersey yesterday. In the past, I left work a little early (don't tell nobody) to catch the "early" train. Yesterday, I missed that train. The next train leaves almost an hour after the "early" train. As I waited for the track to be posted on the big board, I looked down at my book for a second. Suddenly I heard the stampede of feet passing me all around. When I looked up, I noticed that 9 was the lucky track and that every man, woman, and child in the place had sandwiched him/herself between me and the entrance to the platform. I had been ten steps away from the entrance and now there stood a whole lot of people between me and where I needed to be. It turns out that this crowd was heading down a single-file escalator to take them to our train. About a hundred little baby steps later I made it to my destination. Why are there so few trains going to Jersey during rush hour?
This is all piled on top of an absolutely terrible web site. But that's for another time.
Fri 26 Oct 2001 4:14 PM
