William Fraind

Unintentionally documenting @NJTRANSIT performance—because someone has to.

[William Fraind @willfraind]

NJ Transit says it’s ~90% “on time.”
That sounds good—until you understand what that actually means.

A thread 🧵

@NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill @GovSherrillNJ

[William Fraind @willfraind]

The Northeast Corridor is one of the wealthiest and most heavily traveled commuter regions in the world. There is enormous demand for rail service here. In theory, NJ Transit should be capable of being one of the best commuter systems on earth.

[William Fraind @willfraind]

Japan invests continuously in maintenance, staffing, modernization, and communication. NJ Transit riders deal with overcrowding, delays, poor communication, and recurring failures. Riders naturally ask: “Where is the money going?”

[William Fraind @willfraind]

My pregnant daughter has been commuting since 7:30 AM because her 8:00 train never showed. She finally boarded a packed train at 8:30 and is still standing—with barely any AC and no meaningful announcements from @NJTRANSIT. This is not acceptable commuter service.

@NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill @CBSNewYork @ABC7NY @NBCNewYork

[William Fraind @willfraind]

Now the commute home: a packed 3-car single-level train out of Hoboken during rush hour. Aisles full, riders standing, and people likely unable to board. How is this considered acceptable capacity planning for a major commuter system?

@NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill @CBSNewYork @ABC7NY @NBCNewYork

[William Fraind @willfraind]

@PaulieWaln79459 @NJTRANSIT @Amtrak Exactly. Riders can tolerate occasional problems far better than silence and confusion. If a train is delayed, stopped, or reversing direction, there should be immediate announcements and accurate information every time.

[William Fraind @willfraind]

Now all trains to Penn are suddenly being rerouted through Hoboken—with little or no announcement. My wife ended up on a packed, standing-room-only train because riders were left finding out through the app instead of clear communication. Unacceptable.

@NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill @CBSNewYork @ABC7NY @NBCNewYork

[William Fraind @willfraind]

@srcstcshrw @NJTRANSIT @Amtrak That’s exactly the problem. Riders are often finding out critical service information from X before conductors even know what’s happening. When passengers have more accurate information than the crews, confidence in the system completely breaks down.

[William Fraind @willfraind]

1 hour 15 minutes to get to work—and standing the entire time. No seat on NJ Transit, no seat on PATH, packed conditions everywhere. This is becoming the normal commuting experience for paying riders. Exhausting and unacceptable.

@NJTRANSIT @PATHTrain @Amtrak @MikieSherrill @CBSNewYork @ABC7NY @NBCNewYork

[William Fraind @willfraind]

@TheHRvenger @NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill That’s exactly what frustrates riders so much. People are paying customers—they’re charged whether the service is reliable or not. Delays, cancellations, skipped stops, overcrowding… and riders feel like nobody is truly accountable for fixing it.

[William Fraind @willfraind]

Last night a rider complained after paying for a ticket and being forced to stand. Instead of empathy or de-escalation, @NJTRANSIT had police remove him from the train. This morning: more overcrowding and more riders standing. Unacceptable.

@NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill @CBSNewYork @ABC7NY

[William Fraind @willfraind]

@z_bittz @NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill Of course there are operational constraints. But ridership patterns aren’t a mystery—they’re measurable over weeks, months, and years. Chronic overcrowding on routine commutes suggests long-term planning and capacity management issues, not just isolated incidents.

[William Fraind @willfraind]

@BellGermaine @NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill Pro tip

[William Fraind @willfraind]

@NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill How about counting the riders and adding enough cars so paying customers can actually sit down, instead of spending time processing another complaint form? Overcrowding on these trains is becoming routine.

@NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill

[William Fraind @willfraind]

@DarwinAwards_ What’s up with the bike doing a toe stand?

[William Fraind @willfraind]

@shesnothappy1 @jim_laregina @NJTRANSIT Exactly. Japan and parts of Europe show what competent, modern rail service looks like. When NJ Transit keeps falling this far behind despite massive demand and funding, it raises serious questions about efficiency, priorities, and management.

[shesnothappy @shesnothappy1]

It is unbelievable that #njtransit believes it will be a reliable option for World Cup ticket holders when it’s not even a reliable option for commuters!!! The extra confusion, passengers, people are going to easily overwhelm the system. Anyone who rides regularly sees this.

[William Fraind @willfraind]

@shesnothappy1 @jim_laregina @NJTRANSIT Multiply that by the number of commuters on each train and you can see the productive time lost in the economy because of their less than mediocre performance. The cost to travel on @njtransit is much higher than the fare

[William Fraind @willfraind]

@ContntofChrchtr @NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill @CBSNewYork @ABC7NY @NBCNewYork Interesting how they measure lateness. They give themselves a large margin of what “on time” means.

[William Fraind @willfraind]

Another morning, another delay. 30 minutes just to get into the tunnel. No updates, no accountability—just the same problems over and over.

@NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill @CBSNewYork @ABC7NY @NBCNewYork

[William Fraind @willfraind]

Another update: now over 30 minutes late—and still not there. No clear communication, no accountability. This is the daily reality for @NJTRANSIT riders.

@NJTRANSIT @Amtrak @MikieSherrill @CBSNewYork @ABC7NY @NBCNewYork