NEC to NY comet 5 passes Jersey Ave.jpeg

A New York bound NJ Transit train passes Jersey Avenue station. Riders of a New York express train said their train smells like a petting zoo. (Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

If a blizzard and the delays associated with it this week weren't enough, passengers who ride an NJ Transit train from Trenton said their express train smells like a petting zoo.



Commuters who ride train 3922 complained its had a smell more associated with a farm for three days this week. The express train leaves Trenton at 6:57 a.m. for New York.

@NJTRANSIT 3922 stinks like manure AGAIN. DISGUSTING. Should we send boxes of manure to your office? @CommutingLarry @NJTrainDelays — TickedinNJ (@CNJ08540) January 28, 2016



Normally, that train is a desirable ride because it skips past nine stops between Princeton Junction and Newark, covering the distance to New York in about one hour and 15 minutes. The problem is, this week, it stinks.



Complaints about an odor that smells like manure surfaced on Monday and commuters complained on social media that the stench was back on Thursday and Friday morning.





The bovine aroma isn't a new complaint. In April 2015, commuters complained about a similar smell on their Northeast Corridor line trains, which NJ Transit officials attributed to a mulch factory located a quarter of a mile from the rail yard in Morrisville Pa., where trains are stored overnight.



"It is leaving an odor not only in the yard itself, but in every piece of equipment that leaves the facility," wrote Fred Bauer, the NJ Transit customer service representative in response to commuter complaints about the April 2015 stench.

However, riders in April reported the olfactory attack disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

"This is the same issue. Unfortunately, not much can be done about it," said Jim Smith, an NJ Transit spokesman. "The odor issue is dependent on operations at the mulch factory and wind patterns in the area. There are stretches of several weeks when no odor is present and other times, it returns."

It's not just commuters who are complaining. Crew members also are grumbling along with riders about the less than stellar smells.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.