Our trains are fucking disgusting!
I took the Newark Airtrain to the NJ Transit station and then waited for something on the order of fifteen minutes for my train into New York’s Penn Station.
The train was gross. The seats were these blue-grey vinyl benches that were visibly dirty where people sat, and probably hadn’t been cleaned in months – I daresay years. The floor was covered in old ticket stubs, used newspapers, spilled drinks and other assorted garbage. The smell was a really weird combination of north Jersey funk (if you’ve ever been there, you know what I mean), body odor, stale beer and hot plastic. The walls were painted in a pepto-bismol pink, the frames for the advertisements were broken and empty, and all was lit by glaring overhead fluorescent tubes.
The only reason I bring any of this up is because I just got off the plane at Newark from London. What happens when international visitors stop on by and the first thing they experience is the filth that is at least that portion of the New Jersey transit system? I can imagine what kind of thoughts that set into motion in their brains. Yuck. Bad first impression. London Connect, Heathrow Express and even the Piccadilly line of the Underground are clean pleasant lines that take you from the airport near the heart of London. Why should NJ Transit be any different?
Also, not all our trains are fucking disgusting. I was being hyperbolic to draw your attention. If you got this far I’m guessing it worked. I’m a big fan of Amtrak’s Acela, the LIRR (certain branches), the MARC and the DC Metro. I’m sure each of these systems have their moments, but overall I’ve had a positive experience on each.
