John WR I don't think it is as complicated as "leadership," Wayne. NJT management didn't bother to take the weather reports seriously. You don't have to be a leader to know enough to read the weather report.
I don't think it is as complicated as "leadership," Wayne. NJT management didn't bother to take the weather reports seriously. You don't have to be a leader to know enough to read the weather report.
Hi John! No, you don't have to be a leader to read a weather report, but you DO have to be a leader to take the information handed to you and make the decision to act on it. Look at it this way, Metro-North, the Long Island Railroad, and the New York subway system had the same info NJ Transit did, they acted on it, and didn't lose any equipment.
For a while I was willing to give NJT officials the benefit of the doubt, neither Hoboken or South Kearney had ever flooded like that, at least within living memory. But given what I know now and the way other transit agencies in the area acted I find NJT's actions incomprehensible. Maybe they just didn't want to pay the overtime to have extra crews come in and just kept their fingers crossed hoping for the best. Who knows? No ones talking.
From what I've read in "Railpace" when the NJT brass finally woke up and tried to get crews in it was too late. None of the crews called wanted to risk their cars, to say nothing of their lives to get to the yards. Can't blame them.
sandyhookkenSince this is a gubernatorial election year in New Jersey, it's sometimes hard to figure out if the legislature (controlled by D's) is serious about this, or just another swipe at the Governor (R) who's running for re-election.
Senators Loretta Weinberg and Robert Gordon, both Democrats from North Jersey are certainly serious. However, Senator Steven Sweeney, also a Democrat and leader of the Senate, is taking a wait and see approach. Clearly he is less serious than some of his Democratic colleagues.
"Consider" is the operative word. Somehow I think the NJT top brass is too well connected or they'd have been gone by now.
Another article from the Bergen Record. Since this is a gubernatorial election year in New Jersey, it's sometimes hard to figure out if the legislature (controlled by D's) is serious about this, or just another swipe at the Governor (R) who's running for re-election.
There's been some speculation in the papers that Gov. Christie will address the NJ transit fiasco after the election, when he no longer needs to maintain his Sandy-Heroman persona.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/NJ_lawmakers_consider_hearing_on_why_NJ_Transit_ignored_hurricane_plan.html
Why John? Well, I'll tell you why. No-one had the guts to make a decision, probably because they were afraid to make the wrong decision.
"OhmyGodifIhavethetrainsmovedtohighgroundandthestorm'snotasbadastheysayit'sgonnabeandtheMonday
morningcommutesamessit'llbeallmyfaultandI'lllosemyjobandlooklikean idiotand".....yada, yada, yada.
What ever happened to leadership?
I think there are some important new details here. A document, not previously released, shows NJT had a plan to store equipment on high ground. For example, at least some locomotives and cars for the Main and Bergen County lines could have been stored in the Waldwick yard. NJT management ignored there own plan which they themselves had put in place. Why?
If NJT management doesn't answer the criticism then their own plan condemns them. Of course since Governor Christie isn't interested in the issue nothing specific will be done. But these kinds of facts as they are released erode public confidence in both NJT and in Governor Christie's administration.
Another article in the Bergen Record about NJ Transit and Sandy. There doesn't seem to be that much new information, but the Record is keeping the pressure (harassment?) on NJ Transit.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/NJ_Transit_didnt_follow_its_own_storm_plan.html?page=all
Stringin' wire is not necessary for an emergency refuge....a couple of old "goats," could haul an arriving refugee to safety on a wire-less rail.....and there's lots of old SW's around...just keep the batteries charged and the coolant at 50 degrees F.
Thanks for the editorial, Sandy. My newspaper is The Star-Ledger, which has not kept the heat on New Jersey Transit about this issue. But The Record isn't going to let it die out.
I read the Bergen Record's editorial today as well. Looks like they're no going to let this one go as yet, but you're right sandyhooken, how much good it's going to do is questionalble.
Mind you, I'm old enough to remember when they hammered Richard Nixon every chance they got, but of course they had plenty of company. They may be a "voice crying in the wilderness" on this one.
Today, the Bergen Record newspaper ran the following editorial.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/213443661_The_Record__Transit_and_Sandy.html
Just keeping the pressure on; how much good it will do is questionable.
How much of Conrail's Linden yard is electrified? Would NJT need to do much work there so that things would go smoothly if they needed to store a lot of electrics there in an emergency?
Bergan record has NJ Transit's plan for future predicted storm situations.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/NJ_Transit_retools_storm_strategy_shifts_rail_stock_to_safer_storage.html
sandyhookkenCan anyone find the "Security" issues in this Plan that NJTransit used to redact the entire document? I read the document twice, and couldn't find any.
Surely, Sandy, you do not suggest New Jersey Transit claimed security concerns to cover up their own incompetence when dealing with the storm.
John
The Bergen Record finally got a "clean" copy of NJTransit's Hurricane planning document.
http://dng.northjersey.com/media_server/tr/2013/05/16transit/NJTransitRailHurricanePlan.pdf
The following article does a nice comparison between the plan's contents and what NJTransit management stated after the storm.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/NJTRANSIT.html?page=all
Can anyone find the "Security" issues in this Plan that NJTransit used to redact the entire document? I read the document twice, and couldn't find any.
I read the North Jersey.com article a few minutes ago. Don't you just LOVE NJ Transits disaster plan, compared to New Yorks?
If the Record has adopted the NJ Transit Sandy fiasco as a "cause" it's a cause I can agree with. Some of the causes they adopted in the past had me calling it "The Wretched", but I won't argue with them on this one.
So far The Record has not been able to get to the truth about NJT. However, in its unrelenting attempts it does weaken NJT's efforts to defend itself. In the absence of another scandal NJT may well be able to keep its response a secret. But if another scandal does emerge then its strategy could lead to political disaster.
Today's (Monday) has another article on NJTransit's refusal to provide information on their storm planning, again raising the "security" claim. The comparison with New York MTA is revealing.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/NJ_Transit_is_silent_on_how_it_prepared_for_superstorm_Sandy.html
North Jersey Media, the parent company of the Bergen Record, over the recent years has treated several major news stories as "causes", especially when stonewalling by government officials occur. NJ Media devotes considerable resources (legal, additional staff, etc.) to these "causes". Some of these, like the Ford hazardous waste dump in Ringwood, have been going on for years. Politicians are well aware of the continuing publicity of these "causes", and definitely do not want to be portrayed as part of the problem.
The tone of today's article suggests that NJTransit's Sandy planning and response has now become a "cause".
John WR MidlandMikeThose 12 units that had not been accepted yet, were still on NJT property, and if they were under the control of NJT, I would think Bombardier might like to be compensated if negligence could be shown. This could be the spark that blows up the whole mess... or maybe not. In local newspapers I have seen several mentions by NJT of insurance coverage for storm damage. I don't have a sense of how much damage insurance did cover but it could be substantial and it could cover the Bombadier owned locomotives... or maybe not.
MidlandMikeThose 12 units that had not been accepted yet, were still on NJT property, and if they were under the control of NJT, I would think Bombardier might like to be compensated if negligence could be shown. This could be the spark that blows up the whole mess... or maybe not.
In local newspapers I have seen several mentions by NJT of insurance coverage for storm damage. I don't have a sense of how much damage insurance did cover but it could be substantial and it could cover the Bombadier owned locomotives... or maybe not.
I think you are right in thinking insurance coverage is behind this controversy. But I interpret the thing a little differently: if NJT did not legally yet own those Bombardier locomotives, then the insurance that would cover them would be Bombardier's and not NJT's (which is already hammered enough!) and I can very, very easily see why NJT would leap on the idea of establishing that a legal transfer of ownership had not formally taken place!
I suspect that Bombardier's insurance would cover the actual cost to Bombardier, exclusive of profit, which would be less than what NJT's coverage would have to pay. Bombardier might then have further recourse to recover the amount of the profit or other amounts such as delivery ... but that would be between Bombardier and their insurors. Subsequent recovery of damages from NJT for negligence or whatever would also be something Bombardier (or its insurors) might, and probably will, consider, but that is (and perhaps should be) a different claim from the one NJT makes for its own storm-damaged property...
sandyhookken I found clarification to this article in another blog. The 11 locomotives do not include the Bombardier "owned" locomotives. NJTransit had received all 35 ALP-45DP locomotives in the current order from Bombardier. 23 had been accepted and are NJT property, while 12 had not completed evaluation and titles remain with Bombardier. These 12 locos also have flood damage. It seems like NJTransit management has escaped from their fiasco without even a slap on the wrist.
I found clarification to this article in another blog. The 11 locomotives do not include the Bombardier "owned" locomotives.
NJTransit had received all 35 ALP-45DP locomotives in the current order from Bombardier. 23 had been accepted and are NJT property, while 12 had not completed evaluation and titles remain with Bombardier. These 12 locos also have flood damage.
It seems like NJTransit management has escaped from their fiasco without even a slap on the wrist.
Those 12 units that had not been accepted yet, were still on NJT property, and if they were under the control of NJT, I would think Bombardier might like to be compensated if negligence could be shown. This could be the spark that blows up the whole mess... or maybe not.
Firelock76 guess Mr. Weinstein must play golf with the right people, huh?
Hello Wayne,
My sense of the attitude toward Jerome Weinstein is that on the whole except for this one episode he has done an excellent job and the elected officials who oversee him are willing to forgive him this one error. I haven't seen or heard anything that even suggests his job is in danger.
Hi John!
I guess Mr. Weinstein must play golf with the right people, huh?
Wayne
Wayne,
While a private sector company may hold people accountable I don't know that they always do. Recently I read of some officers who, have major mistakes, have been given enormous golden handshakes.
However, if anyone is responsible here it is the Executive Director, Jerome Weinstein. If anything happened to him it would be all over local newspapers. But it isn't and so far anyway there is no suggestion anything will happen to him.
Who knows why no-one in NJT's mangagement's been fired over this? Anyones guess is as good as any.
One thing's for certain: If someone in the private sector had pulled a boner like this they would have been:
A) Fired
B) Kicked upstairs to the Board of Directors, so they could save a little face and not be responsible for anything anymore, depending on their rank in the company of course.
That's what happened after a little fiasco in the company I work for. C'est la vie.
I can't say I'm scared of the S-L's commenters. But other than that I agree with you. Many of them want only to bash someone with whom they disagree whether or not their bashing is related to the issue. Often is it not related to anything at all.
John WR Firelock76Unfortunately, if the moderators of the comment sections aren't paying attention the comments tend to descend to the "You suck!" "No, YOU suck!" level. Do you think they are that polite?
Firelock76Unfortunately, if the moderators of the comment sections aren't paying attention the comments tend to descend to the "You suck!" "No, YOU suck!" level.
Do you think they are that polite?
John, I was trying to rein it in a bit, not knowing who's looking in here at any one time. I've seen some exchanges on the S-L comments pages that made my hair stand on end.
I thought about becoming a commenter myself but now I wouldn't go there in without an M-14 with a fixed bayonet! Plus a grenade or two, and maybe a Marine F/A-18 flying top cover for me. That site can get scary!
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