NJ Transit announces plan to replace fogged-up train windows that commuters have complained about

NJ Transit commuters who have complained that the windows on some trains are so foggy that they can't tell which stop they are at may finally have some relief.

The multi-level cars with the worst fogged, opaque windows will have them replaced immediately as the cars begin their mid-term overhaul, NJ Transit CEO Kevin Corbett said Wednesday in response to a request from NJ Advance Media.

The oldest multi-level wagons used between 2005 and 2007 are almost 20 years old. During this time, the wagons are usually overhauled.

“I was on the train yesterday on my way to a meeting in New York and had the same problem,” said Corbett.

The decision to replace the windows ends the two-year waiting period until the agency pursues an option for dealing with the windows.

The problem, which has persisted since it was discovered in fall 2022, cannot be solved simply with window cleaner, squeegees and some elbow grease, as workers have already tried unsuccessfully to wash the cloudy windows by hand. The problem affects both generations of NJ Transit's multi-level cars.

NJ Transit had been working with Rutgers University's engineering school on solutions to restore the plastic windows to a condition that would allow passengers to see through.

When asked whether a chemical cleaning agent had caused the problem, Corbett said the cause was thought to be the sun's ultraviolet rays affecting the trains' polycarbonate windows.

“The chemical may have made it worse, but it's a UV problem,” Corbett said. “We've been working with Rutgers to repair the existing windows, and there's a solution that seems to be working quite well.”

Ultimately, replacement will be the more cost-effective solution when the Multilevel I and II cars are overhauled – a process that is beginning now, Corbett said.

“Overall, we plan to replace the windows as we overhaul these vehicles,” he said. “We'll start doing that as each train arrives for overhaul.”

The Multilevel I and II cars will also be electronically upgraded so that they can be integrated into the (new) Multilevel III cars, he said.

The first four self-propelled Multilevel III cars, part of an order for 113 cars placed in December 2018, are scheduled to be tested by the Federal Railroad Administration.