Presumably they don’t want to replace faulty windows with more faulty windows that will just develop the same issue again over time.
And it won’t be just be a case of going out and ordering different windows: train parts have to be carefully tested, certified etc to meet safety regulations.
It's a really messed-up situation. The governor prefers to waste billions of dollars on an unnecessary turnpike extension widening project, instead of funding public transit.
It’s certainly not unique to NJ: it happens on a lot of older trains in Europe, but I’ve never seen it so bad as in the NJ photos.
I guess something about the coating they use on the glass (to improve safety, insulation, etc) makes it vulnerable to clouding and scratching over time. Climate, air pollution, and/or cleaning techniques used over the years may have contributed to the issue?
"Metro-North Railroad and NJ Transit use a single pane of polycarbonate glazing almost a half inch thick, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
"NJ Transit isn’t alone in this problem.
"“The south side of the (Long Island Rail Road) M-7 fleet of 830 cars is also opaque,” Versaggi said."
LIRR trains run predominately east-west routes, and (I assume from this comment) apparently do not turn round at the termini.
It does not quite say that the affected LIRR trains also use polycarbonate windows, but it seems likely that they do, and that the cause of the opacity is sunlight damage to polycarbonate, or some plasticizer or other minor component of the windows. It is well-known that polycarbonates absorbs UV, and that energy has to go somewhere...
Wait, they're admitting they know this is a problem? It's such a pain having inaudible announcements or none at all. Is it really so hard to get on the PA for each stop? Then why not have it automated? Or an overhead sign in the car showing eta and name of next station? Ideally both.
I believe the cars (definitely the newer ones) have exactly that. It seems like an odd complaint to me, but it's totally possible NJ Transit moved older cars that don't have this feature from more heavily trafficked lines to lines that don't have as much traffic.
Looking at Wikipedia, the NJ Transit rail cars with the affected windows would have started hitting 14 years old (they were getting 10 delivered per month for a few years) right as the Covid-19 pandemic started shutting everything down.
This is most likely just bad timing, and because of budget issues, supply chain problems, lack of maintenance capacity, etc. - something that they haven’t fully recovered from.
(Just a guess)
That's exactly what you'd expect from half an inch of uncoated polycarbonate. Resists rocks and small arms fire, can be pressure washed to remove graffiti, but will scuff.
There are a few ways around that, but they all add cost.
It’ll just take a thin layer off and can then be polished.
It should cost less than replacing, I think..
Also, Metro-North's two west-of-Hudson lines (which are co-branded/shared with NJ Transit, in terms of tracks and rolling stock) do have this same problem.
Los Angeles Metro wash system - note that they use glass and don't have this problem.
