Montclair-Boonton Line Home Page

News flash: The new N.J. Transit schedule for this line came into effect on May 12th and significantly changed the timing of certain trains. Note that the schedule doesn't list all the possible trains you can take. During morning rush hour, you can usually take a Hoboken-bound train and switch to a Midtown train (coming from Summit) at Broad Street Station.

Bay Street StationThe big issue on the Montclair-Boonton line right now is the lack of weekend service. NJ-ARP is now gearing up a campaign to find out exactly why N.J. Transit keeps putting off weekend service and what we can do to encourage them along.

What's the Problem?

Glen Ridge Train StationThe Montclair-Boonton line is the only train line in the entire New York metropolitan area that doesn’t run on weekends. N.J. Transit has been very inventive at coming up with new excuses to avoid providing service. It used to be a small but vocal opposition in Montclair. When that died down, N.J. Transit said the hang-up was construction at Newark’s Broad Street Station. Now that the station is nearly done, N.J. Transit says the trouble is track work in the Hudson River tunnel, and there are already rumblings that bridge construction on Bloomfield Avenue will prolong the delay. At this rate, we’ll get weekend service around the same time as regular space flights to Mars.

None of these excuses holds up when you consider a few simple facts.
  1. Weekend service continues on all other train lines, including the Morristown and Gladstone lines. So much for the Broad Street Station excuse.
  2. Some trains already run down the Montclair-Boonton line on the weekends as New Jersey Transit repositions equipment in preparation for Monday. Why can’t those trains carry passengers?
  3. If the Hudson River tunnels have limited capacity, why doesn’t New Jersey Transit explore creative alternatives such as service into Hoboken with timed transfers at Broad Street or Secaucus to New York–bound trains?
Clearly N.J. Transit doesn’t see the urgency for weekend service on our line. Maybe they think no one wants it. We need to raise our voices. Our request is simple: start weekend service immediately. No more excuses.

What Can You Do?

  1. Watchung Avenue StationWe are starting to circulate a petition to let N.J. Transit officials know that you want to be able to have weekend rail service. Look for the NJ-ARP volunters at the Montclair Farmer’s Market, Glen Ridge Arts Festival, and other local events. Please contact us if you'd like to help; we can send you a PDF of the petition to print out and distribute.
  2. Contact your local elected officials and representatives asking them to push N.J. Transit to do the right thing.
  3. Send a letter to N.J. Transit’s Executive Director Richard Sarles at N.J. Transit, One Penn Plaza East, Newark, NJ 07105. Regular mail is always more effective than email.
  4. Join NJ-ARP and help us continue the fight for weekend service.

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