NJ-ARP testimony for the Assembly Budget Committee
March 28th 2008
Following is NJ-ARP’s testimony before the Assembly Budget Committee.
Bunker station public hearings
March 27th 2008
NJ Transit will hold two public hearings about the change in plans to the bunker station proposed as part of the T.H.E. Tunnel. The changes involve reducing the station to 6 tracks and placing it almost 20 stories underground.
One public hearing is in Newark on Monday, March 31. The other is in New York City on Tuesday, April 1. Details here.
Comments on the ARC SDEIS can also be submitted in writing to: Tom Schulze, NJ TRANSIT ARC Project Director, One Penn Plaza East, 8th Floor, Newark, NJ 07105 or via email to sdeis@accesstotheregionscore.com. Comments must be submitted to NJ TRANSIT by April 28, 2008.
RPA says T.H.E. tunnel should extend to East Side
March 24th 2008
The proposed second rail tunnel to New York City should go all the way to Manhattan’s East Side, according to a planning study that will be released Tuesday. Instead of ending at Penn Station, the tunnel would reach Madison Avenue with a possible link to Grand Central.
The Regional Plan Association, a transportation advocacy group, also recommends adding a light-rail loop to NJTransit’s Access to the Region’s Core project to increase midtown circulation that would accommodate new Manhattan development.
“New York and New Jersey need the same access over the Hudson River that Long Islanders will realize when the LIRR starts arriving at Grand Central in 2015 — shaving times off already long commutes and getting to their jobs faster,” said Jeffrey Zupan, senior transportation fellow for RPA and the report’s primary author.
The three-part analysis, the result of a multi-year research effort called, “The New Trans-Hudson Tunnel: Making it Work Best,” says the extension would shave approximately 20 minutes per day off the commutes of 30,000 New Jersey commuters arriving at Penn Station but destined for the East Side.
Explosive growth in New Brunswick will further strain transportation network in Middlesex County
March 23rd 2008
More development planned for downtown. They may have parking spaces, but getting in and out of them will be the real challenge. It’s going to get uglier on Rts. 18, 27, 1 and 130 without MOM.
Voorhees still silent on Transit Village need to morph into Transit City.
“…The $650 million plan fits those needs, calling for a 150-room hotel, a 53,000-square-foot supermarket (the downtown could sure use one of these), a health club including a pool, and several pocket parks, helping to refresh the area’s urban landscape.
Rough housing plans call for about 730 apartments and 28 town houses, ranging in price from $500,000 to $800,000; the concept would serve New Brunswick’s need to provide housing for its growing professional and New York City commuter base, as well as high-salaried employees of its burgeoning health-care industry and Rutgers University…The plan announced Wednesday by City Hall officials and the developer, Tom Moore, principal of New Street Area Development LLC follows closely on the heels of last week’s unveiling of a proposed 34-story office building to be constructed in the footprint of New Brunswick’s George Street and Crossroads theaters…”
Watch the doors
March 13th 2008
The Asbury Park Press reports that doors on NJ Transit trains have been opening while trains were in motion:
United Transportation Union officials revealed a list of six incidents in February in which doors opened up while trains were in motion on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast and Morris and Essex lines.
In addition, a train car door closed on a Raritan Valley Line passenger, said officials from the union, which represents NJ Transit conductors and assistant conductors.
The article lists the six incidents where doors opened, including at least one case where the center doors of a car opened while the train was traveling through the Hudson River tunnels.
NJ Transit Executive Director Richard Sarles said he was familiar with the door malfunction reports and will have a report for the board by the April meeting.
“Our number one priority is safety,” he said.
[Patrick Reilly, general chairman of UTU Local 60], also detailed two design defects with NJ Transit’s Comet V rail cars, the second-newest cars in the fleet, and the new multi-level cars now being delivered. Those involve hand brakes on the rail cars, which he said don’t meet standards of the FRA safety appliance act.
Sarles said that issue is being addressed.
NJT distortion on T.H.E. Tunnel
March 4th 2008
In a recent article about delays at NY Penn Station, NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel made the following statement:
“The incidents on Tuesday and Thursday could not have come at a worse time or in a worse location,” Stessel said. “Any time there’s an interruption in the normal two-track flow in and out of Penn Station during the peak period, we feel the pain for the entire rush hour. Of course, this is exactly why we need a new tunnel to supplement the existing infrastructure. It’s also why we’re moving so aggressively to get shovels in the ground.”
That statement seems fine at first glance. But the problem is that after T.H.E. Tunnel and the bunker station beneath 34th Street are built, there will be no direct connection to NY Penn Station. The nearest connection will be in Kearny, NJ, about 8 miles from NYC. Trains from NY Penn Station will still go through the same two tunnels as they do now. So if a train breaks-down in the tunnel from NY, it will still interrupt “the normal two-track flow in and out of Penn Station during the peak period” and you’ll still “feel the pain for the entire rush hour”.
The only advantage will be that people using the 34th Street bunker station, e.g., Midtown Direct passengers, won’t be directly affected. But if a train breaks-down in their tunnel, they’ll be delayed just as much as if they were riding from NY Penn Station.
If NJT really manages to double capacity once the 34th Street bunker station is built, a break-down in either the old or new tunnels will affect just as many people as today. You’ll just have a 50-50 chance that it will be in your station/tunnel combination.
NJT in the proposed state budget
February 26th 2008
If I’m reading the new proposed state budget correctly, NJ Transit’s funding would go from $298.2 million to $358.2 million, an increase of 20%.
Elsewhere in the above document, I see references to increasing NJT’s funding by $100 million, then reducing it by $40 million. (That’s where the $60 million figure comes from.) The $40 million is tallied-up as a budget cut, even though the $100 million was never spent. It’s like telling your wife you just saved $80,000 by not buying a Mercedes, but in reality, you didn’t save anything because you never had the $80,000 in the first place.
Keep that in mind when you hear the politicians telling you how much they cut spending.
Free PATH rides today
February 25th 2008
PATH is giving free rides today from 6 AM to 11 PM to celebrate PATH’s 100 anniversary. They will also be distributing vouchers for free SmartLink cards. Train service started between 19th Street (yes, 19th St) and Hoboken on February 25, 1908, with two VIP trains. Revenue service started at midnight.
Here is a facinating history of the construction of the PATH tubes between Hoboken and New York City, which took 34 years:
February- The Longest Month for NJT?
February 23rd 2008
It would be an understatement to say that February’s NJT service has not been kind to its customers. When headed to work in the morning, there is nothing worse than being late for a planned meeting or job interview. When headed home in the evening, there is nothing worse than spending more time than anticipated on your train and being late for dinner, missing a meeting or just not being able to spend time with the kids.
I ride the M&E daily and take the MidTown Direct 7:28 A.M. express out of Chatham. Maybe it’s me; but, it seems like this train cannot make its run on time most of the time. When it runs well, it’s really good. When it doesn’t run well, it’s really not-so-good. There are a host of reasons for the delays: 1. The “check end doors” issue that seems to absolutely plague this railroad. When those doors malfunction, it holds things up. 2. When the train makes its stop at Newark Broad Street, as we’re passing Brick Church, the announcement gets made that only the first 4 cars will platform at Newark and folks should proceed to move to the 1st 4 cars. Why can’t there be a sign at stations–or why can’t the crew when they descend onto the platform announce BEFORE the person gets on that if they’re bound for Newark, they should go to the first 4 cars. I can’t tell you how many times someone on the last car (the car I always sit in) is trying to rush to the front of the train delaying the train. 3. When anything goes wrong, the train loses its slot on the Kearny Connection and can sit for minutes until it gets clearance to go onto Amtrak. 4. Many times, our train will get just past Secaucus Station and then crawl–sometimes stop–to allow another NJT train to whiz by. I have no idea why that is and it is NEVER explained by the crew.
This past Wednesday had the 7:28 AM express die in Morristown. That caused cancellation of that train. Unfortunately, for those already standing on the platform away from the small building that is the station, you could not hear any of the announcements. Speakers should be placed along the platform. Although I signed up for njt alerts, there wasn’t an njt alert until after 45 minutes had gone by. Fellow riders were calling home to ask their spouses to listen to the radio to see if any delays were being announced. The spouses reported the traffic reports were saying “NJT is running on or close to schedule”. Duh? I finally got on a Hoboken bound train that pulled into Chatham at 8:25 AM and got to New York the old fashioned way–via PATH. I made it to my desk at 10:05 A.M.
When it rains, it pours. On the way home that evening, chaos ruled Penn Station. There were tons of people standing staring at departure boards that had “stand by” for several trains. I was intending to catch the 5:47 PM train; however, seeing the crowd and hearing the announcement of a 15 to 20 minute delay due to signal problems, I decided to get to 6th Ave., get the PATH and made the 6:47 train to Hackettstown. I eventually got home.
Why are these things happening with more and more regularity? I have my theories and opinions:
1. Mixed consists (i.e. pairing different equipment) may cause incompatibilities that might explain the “end doors” plague. The consists should be alike (i.e. run all Comet V’s without mixing them with Comets III’s and IV’s).
2. Mixed consists also create another customer gripe–some cars are too cold while others are saunas. Some has PA systems the don’t function or you can barely hear while others will split your eardrums.
3. Mixed consists send a message to the riding public of a railroad in disarray that is being run on the fly by the seat of one’s pants.
4. Maintenance on the trains is suspect in my mind. If the outside of train cars are filthy, then I make the assumption the car hasn’t been in the shop much.
5. The spate of retirements of experienced train crews has left us with “crews in training” which will take a generation to get them up to speed. Retired crew members should be enticed out of retirement on a consulting basis to train new crews.
6. There is a culture of complacency with many crews. I can’t tell you how often the 7:28 A.M. express arrives in Chatham with the side destination signs on different cars reading “Long Branch”, “Trenton”, “Dover”, “Bay Head”. Can you imagine a new discretionary rider having to figure out just WHERE is their train going?
7. Perhaps worst of all is the lack of communication. Executive Directors come and go; but, this one problem remains a stubborn one. The njt alerts are a great idea; however, they haven’t worked as well as they should have over the past two weeks. Also, not everyone has a crackberry to get the message. Incredibly, because the train crews do not have blackberries, passengers sometimes know about the problem BEFORE the crews!
I don’t want to belabor the point; but, I pay $227 for a monthly ticket. If asked if I’m getting my money’s worth, my honest answer is no. I contacted Rich Sarles, NJT’s Executive Director, and I suggested a focus group to discuss all these issues. To his credit, he is doing just that and I’ve been asked to join.
I believe everyone knows that with mechanical things, breakdowns will occur. However, the breakdowns are happening with increasing regularity which is of concern. The one thing; however, that drives riders nuts is lack of information.
NJT is capable of better. I know they are operating at capacity and I know money is practically non-existent as our state goes broke; but, many of the issues are operational and that is something over which NJT has control.
NJT Orders High-Tech Electric Locomotives
February 23rd 2008
According to a Marketwire article:
Bombardier Transportation has been awarded a contract for 27 ALP-46A electric locomotives by the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ TRANSIT). The powerful new locomotives will help NJ TRANSIT expand capacity in its passenger rail operations, hauling specially designed Multilevel commuter rail cars Bombardier is currently delivering to the transit service provider. The firm order for 27 locomotives is valued at an estimated 155 million euros ($229 million US). The contract also includes options for an additional 33 locomotives.
The complete press release can be seen at http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=824402.