It's great to see that NJ Transit is finally taking steps to curtail emissions and fuel wasted by idling its diesel trains throughout its rail network. The problems are especially rough at Hoboken and other rail yards, where the trains idle for hours.
The cost for the installation of devices that make the idling unnecessary on a portion of the fleet: $537,000. The savings: $835,000 per year in fuel costs, to say nothing of the lowered emissions.
Now, if that contract is only half a million dollars for a portion of the fleet and will save $300,000 in the first year alone, how come NJ Transit is not retrofitting its entire diesel fleet so that it can even more money and lower emissions?
I always chuckle when I hear that mass transit is a great way to lower tailpipe emissions when I see train after train in Hoboken belching thick plumes of smoke just sitting there hour after hour when most vehicles on the road have strict tailpipe emission requirements and Parsons, the NJ MVC inspection operator has built in incentives to fail vehicles for pretty much any reason you can think of, including the presence of one of those oil change reminder stickers on the upper left corner of the windshield.
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