Woman stuck on NJ Transit train has no one to blame but herself

Would you like some cheese with that whine?

A 26-year-old Woodbridge woman is complaining about NJ Transit after she says she was stuck on one of its trains for 90 long minutes. One morning last week she got on the 7:56 a.m. North Jersey Coast train to get to her job in New York City. The train made it from Woodbridge to Newark Penn Station, where an announcement was made that it was being taken out of service and everyone was to get off and switch to a different train.

NJ.com quotes an NJ Transit spokesperson as saying, “On August 26th, at approximately 9 a.m., North Jersey Coast Line train 3224 was taken out of service at Newark Penn Station for mechanical reasons. Customers were instructed through the train’s public address system to exit the train and board a following train to complete their trip to New York.”

What does the woman say about that?

“I did not hear the out-of-service announcement, but regardless, not one crew member checked the train to see if I was still on board,” said Tohfa Hasni.

Okay, so all trains with adults commuting to the city are now to be treated like school buses where a conductor has to walk the length of the train to make sure it’s empty? Turns out yes, that’s supposed to be the policy, which I found a little silly.

What happened next is the woman then realized at some point she was all alone on a train that wasn’t moving and had no way to get out. She walked car to empty car as her situation dawned on her. She says she had a panic attack and was crying at the weight of her predicament. In tears she called her father and 911 and was further upset to see her phone battery dwindling.

“I couldn’t even explain to the police where I was, because all I saw around me were other parked trains and railroads,” Hasni said. The train was at a rail siding.

So how did the woman not hear a public address announcement? How did she not see every other person get up and get off that train?

“I could have been sleeping.”

Yep. I’m sorry but if you fall asleep on a train I feel like that’s your own fault. I get that NJ Transit says it should have checked the length of the train for anyone left on, but still. This wasn’t a child. If you fall asleep on a train and miss your stop is that also NJ Transit’s fault? I’m sure someone will end up disciplined over this but if I were this woman I wouldn’t be complaining. I’d only be blaming myself.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.