(The Star-Ledger posted the following article by Joe Malinconico on its website on February 6.)
NEWARK, N.J. — Humbled by a communications breakdown during a derailment last July, NJ Transit went out and spent $1.7 million to get 1,000 cell phones for its train crews.
Transit officials say the phones — equipped with a walkie-talkie option — will be vital during emergencies and also will come in handy on routine matters.
For example, officials said, crew members using the cell phones recently were able to alert passengers on the Atlantic City Line of an impending delay so that riders could switch trains and avoid the problem.
There was one thing about the cell phones, however, that transit officials did not mention when they announced the deal back in December. The agency’s contract with Nextel Communications allows conductors and trainmen unlimited use of the phones during nights and weekends and 500 free peak minutes per month for their personal use.
Some rail riders are wondering whether the crews will abuse the perk.
“Of course, I feel it’s a joke. My company issued me a phone and it’s for business only. I don’t get any free minutes for personal use,” said Anthony Baldo, a passenger on the North Jersey Coast Line. NJ Transit “says they don’t have the money for this or that, and that they’re going to institute fare increases every two years. Why? So we can pay for phones for personal use.”
Passengers also say there has been little evidence that the phones have improved communications on the trains.
“I was on the 8:42 a.m. on the North Jersey Coast Line the other day, and it stopped and sat in the Meadowlands for 20 minutes,” said commuter David Manning. “Not one announcement came. Not one conductor walked through the cars to tell people the situation or to answer questions.”
NJ Transit started distributing the phones to its crews in mid-January.
Officials say Nextel offered the free minutes during negotiations without inflating the cost of the contract. Under the deal, NJ Transit has agreed to pay Nextel 40 cents for every minute of use during peak periods that exceeds the monthly limit of 500.
Employees who exceed the limit will be responsible for paying NJ Transit for the extra time, agency spokeswoman Penny Basset Hackett said. The agency will monitor individuals’ use of the phones through a computer program, she said.
“Are they free to use the free minutes to make personal calls while they’re working? Absolutely not,” Hackett said. “These devices are a way for us to get real-time information to our crews.”
But Montclair-Boonton line commuter Mitchell Dvoskin said he has seen conductors making personal calls on the trains.
“The conversation I remember most was the conductor talking to someone about problems he is having with his girlfriend,” said Dvoskin. “What was annoying is that when we rolled into Towaco station, the exterior doors to the first car were not open. Apparently his conversation was more important than the job.”
On the North Jersey Coast line Wednesday evening, a passenger car was library-quiet as homebound commuters slept or read. Above the silence rose the voice of someone talking loudly into their cell phone. It was the conductor, standing next to the end doors at the beginning of car No.6563.
The conductor seemed to be making plans for his day off. He talked for about five or 10 minutes before hanging up.
Doug Bowen, vice president of the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers, praised NJ Transit for getting “cutting-edge business technology.”
“What do NJ Transit’s critics want?” Bowen said. “Do they want NJ Transit to be part of the 21st century or do they want them to stick with radios?”
Metro North Railroad happens to be doing just that. Spokesman Daniel Brucker said the railroad is buying 533 radios for its conductors at a cost of $281,000.
Before NJ Transit’s cell phone purchase, communications between different trains and between trains and dispatch centers pretty much went through the radios in the locomotives’ control rooms, where the engineers work. Engineers then used an intercom system or radios to pass information on to the conductors in the passenger cars.
The engineers, who are at the controls of the trains, are not getting the cell phones.
During the derailment in Secaucus last July, in which more than a dozen people were injured, the train’s public address system broke down, causing problems during the evacuation. Without clear instructions from crew members, some passengers got off the train and walked near tracks, a dangerous area where other trains might have come along.
During a 90-day test program with the phones last year, crew members used them an average of three times per day for work reasons, Hackett said. None of the 30 workers in the pilot program used the phones for more than 100 minutes per month for personal reasons, she said.
Passengers say they would welcome any improvement in communications on the trains.
“I think it is a good idea so they can communicate better, not only with each other but with the main office, etc.,” said commuter Brian Gebauer. “Sometimes the P.A. doesn’t even work well enough for them to use.”
“I think it’s a good idea for the conductors to have instant communication available, as long as there is no abuse of the phones,” said rail rider Elizabeth Winters. “Do they really need 500 minutes, though? That does seem to me to be very tempting, especially if there’s no way to trace the calls.”