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A Rolling Retirement Party on NJ Transit

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When Conductor Gene Ruocchio let slip a few weeks ago that he’d be retiring in April after nearly 31 years with NJ Transit, one of his regular commuters took note.

“I said okay, we’ve got to commemorate that in some way,” said Jill Harris, who commutes on the Morris & Essex Line most days.

With his blessing, she drew up a flyer and distributed it to other passengers, telling them to send her congratulatory wishes and selfies with Conductor Gene. The flyer also set the date for a retirement party: Monday, April 15th, on the 7:19am train from New Providence Station to New York Penn.

Ruocchio greeted commuters Monday morning with his usual smile and salutation: “Good morning! Take your time and hurry up!”

But other details set this day apart from the routine commute. Ruocchio sported a multi-colored lei, for one. The first train car was decorated with Thomas the Tank Engine balloons, and Ruocchio’s super-fans throughout the train self-identified by wearing party hats.

“I’ve never seen you blush before!” one person exclaimed, just after the car had erupted in cheers for him.

Let’s be clear: these aren’t all 100 percent satisfied customers who love their NJ Transit commutes. These are regular people who face their fair share of delays, cancellations, and staffing shortage issues. But somehow, Conductor Gene’s presence has had a calming effect.

Riders said he’s tactical when dispensing humor to ease tensions on an aggravating ride. And he’s been known to talk people down from angry outbursts, sometimes even ending in a handshake.

“When you're delayed, it gets frustrating,” said Ruocchio, recounting an incident two weeks ago when he sat down on the steps of a double-decker train and talked a passenger through a meltdown.

“And I don't blame them. I understand them. But unfortunately it's life," he said. “I've learned to do one thing: worry about the things you can control, not those you can't.”

Ruocchio has played commute-whisperer to a lot of frazzled passengers, but for the three decades he’s been working for NJT he’s been trudging through his own arduous commute. He wakes up at 3 a.m. most days, drives about an hour from his home in Pennsylvania to the end of the line in Gladstone, works the morning train into Penn Station, takes a break for several hours, then works the evening train back. Most nights, he gets home just past 8 p.m.

"People don't understand...it’s a different lifestyle,” Ruocchio said.

And in those 30 years of working his way up, from Assistant Conductor to Conductor, he’s noticed a shift in interactions between passengers on the trains. He says now, thanks to phones and laptops, commuters stay more in their own worlds.

“Years ago, people had newspapers all over the train. Today it’s all technology,” Ruocchio said with a wave of his hand. “I fear that someday we're going to be replaced eventually with some kind of automation and the personal touch will be gone. And I think this-” he said, gesturing to himself, “will be looked back as something that once was.”

One regular commuter, Stephanas Palarche, said he’s seen Ruocchio on his train route on-and-off for 21 years now. And he’s often wondered how he stays so cheerful.

“I dunno how you stay so happy. What drives you to get up in the morning to do this?” Palarche asked.

"We take this train every day together. When something goes wrong, I'm in it with you,” Ruocchio said. “And we've got to make the best of things."

At the end of the line, Harris, the party organizer, left Conductor Gene with a three-ring binder book of memories and pictures, collected from over 50 passengers.

Friday, April 19, will be Ruocchio’s last day in his conductor’s uniform. After that, he’ll just be a regular rider with one big exception: as a NJT retiree, he gets to ride for free.

 

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