With temps hitting the century mark for the second day in a row yesterday, New Jersey Transit cooled off steamy passengers, many with delayed trains, in Penn Station last night with free ice water.
NJT explains:
Our fleet of modern “ALP-46″ locomotives is equipped with temperature sensors that are designed to protect the equipment from damage caused by extreme heat. When the internal temperature aboard the locomotive reaches 130-135 degrees, the locomotive will automatically shut down to prevent damage. This situation can occur when the ambient (outdoor) temperature is high for prolonged periods, as with the current heat wave.
To prevent these weather-related locomotives issues, we are shutting down the equipmentduring layovers at endpoint terminals and turning down air conditioning systems when trainsets are not in service. Despite these efforts, a number of trains were impacted during the evening commute of Tuesday, July 6. Several trains were cancelled or combined (i.e. stops were added to express trains to accommodate customers affected by cancellations).
NJT had a nice photo op, as executive director Jim Weinstein handed some cool Zima to a commuter who may or may not have been former governor Jon Corzine.
Over on Metro-North, things seemed pretty normal amidst The Great 2010 Summer Scorcher. Our evening train got us home 5-6 minutes later than normal, the trains slowing down a bit to avoid overheating.