(The Associated Press circulated the following story on July 28.)
TRENTON, N.J. — Some NJ Transit trains were one car short for Monday’s commute, the result of inspections over the weekend that uncovered potentially faulty equipment.
Potential defects were found in the surge-protection equipment of 91 out of 230 Arrow III cars, according to NJ Transit spokeswoman Lynn Bowersox. All 91 were removed from service. The remaining 139 were allowed to return to service.
Trains on the Northeast Corrider, Morris and Essex lines were affected.
“We have enough equipment to run a full schedule,” Bowersox said. “A 10-car train may become a nine-car train in some instances.”
The faulty surge protectors, called brush boxes, will be replaced at a rate of about six cars per day, Bowersox said.
The inspection of the Arrow model was prompted by the failure Friday of a surge protector on a Northeast Corridor train from New York to Trenton. A sensor on the tracks indicated one of the train’s wheels was overheating.
Passengers were transferred to another train at the Hamilton station, and an inspection determined that one of the surge protectors had failed.
Bowersox said NJ Transit officials were considering the possibility that a failed surge protector could have played a role in the derailment of a Northeast Corridor train in Secaucus on July 14.
The derailment was found to have been caused by an overheated wheel. The investigation into the accident was continuing, Bowersox said.