Trains May Be Canceled In Next 48-72 Hours Due To Heat, NJ Transit Says, To Riders' Jeers

NORTH JERSEY — Is it going to be a hot train summer?

For weeks, the National Weather Service has been issuing heat advisories nearly every day, and temperatures were expected to reach 94 on Wednesday.

Early Wednesday morning, NJ Transit said the weather might affect the ability to run some of the trains through Friday. And commuters, already frustrated with recent cancellations and delays due to Amtrak wires — and irked by a NJ Transit fare increase July 1 — were not happy.

NJ Transit posted Wednesday, "We are currently experiencing heat-related rail equipment issues to the air-conditioning units and other electronic components due to extreme and excessive temperatures. Customers may experience delays and it may be necessary to cancel or combine trips for the next 48-72 hrs."

When asked for an update Wednesday, a transit spokesperson provided a link to the same message as well as links to get updates on the rail lines. The links send a customer to a list of lines and current alerts on each line, but at noon on Wednesday, every line had the same alert, which was the one above.

Commuters replied:

And some were true to their sarcastic name.

No major delays were reported for the Wednesday morning commute.

Storm Predicted For Evening Commute

Meanwhile, a storm with wind gusts and thundershowers was predicted for later Wednesday, with the heaviest rains expected just in time for the evening commute.

Highs on Thursday and Friday are expected to be lower than on Wednesday, but not much. The NWS predicts they'll reach 88 and 89 respectively.