No firm decision has yet been made about the fate of the AIII's. NJT has gone back and forth on the issue, but nothing has been decided. There is no need for a decision yet, as any rebuilding, or retirement is still several years away at a minmum.
Having said that, I would like to throw in my $0.02 as someone who has to operate the AIII's on a regular basis. When it comes to acceleration, nothing beats them. Their brakes, when they work properly, are also pretty good. Thats about it in the pro column for the Arrows. The controller on the Arrows was quite obviously designed by someone who never had to use it. I would ask anyone to spend 8 hours running an MU train, and then tell me how your wrists feel. I still maintain that the MU controller was designed as a torture device originally, and therefore it naturally fits well in a railroad setting. The seats, in one word, are horrible. You try sitting on a piece of plywood with a quarter inch of foam on it all the way to Gladstone, and then tell me how you feel.
All those are only comfort issues. Lets not forget the rather high rate of equipment failures the AIII's suffer. As a passenger its not obvious, because even if one car or pair dies, the rest of the train can keep it moving along. Trust me, however, I know when half my train is dead, and that is just about every train in service today. The acceleration suffers, and more importantly, there is a significant loss of braking ability. Due to the addition of blended dynamic brake, and a failure rate of that dynamic brake that is close to 75%, most cars have no dynamic brake. That hoes not, however, prevent the computer from reducing the pneumatic brake effort to compensate for the dynamic brake effort, even though there is none.
Now I left out the issue about MU's being considered locomotives, and for good reason. While it does represent a significantly greater expense to inspect and maintain the MU's as locomotives, the issue is essentially moot, since NJT basically ignores a great deal of FRA regulations everyday, and so why should MU's be any different.
My personal opinion is that the AIII's should be scrapped, if they can not be rebulit to be more reliable, and easier on the engineer. Also, by reliable I mean that they actually all run for an entire trip, not that the train simply doesnt get stuck somewhere.
Finally, for anyone who wants the experience of running an MU, simply do this. Get a bar stool. Take off all of the padding, and put on one worn out piece of 1/4 inch foam. Then, sit on the edge of the stool and keep one foot flat on the ground at all times. Then, take a five pound weight in your left hand. Hold your left arm out in front of you, with the weight in your hand held vertically. Twist your arm and wrist until the weight is horizontal. Keep twisting you arm back and forth. Do that for about an hour and 45 minutes. Congratulations, your in Gladstone. Now do it again facing the other way for the trip back to Hoboken. During this time, keep in mind speed restirctions, out of serive tracks, obstructions, keep one ear on the radio, spot the train properly even though the brakes are working poorly, etc. If you want to simulate winter, do the above outside tonight. Have someone hold a small hot air heater 2 inches from the foot you have on the floor. Make sure it makes your foot sweat and burn while the rest of your body is cold.
Proven Theory #2 - If you don't work for the railroad, you don't know more than the people who do, no matter how many years you've hung around the tracks, or how well you think you understand railroading.
Rest in peace Jtgshu.