New Fall Schedule 2017

Is it fair to say the New Schedules will be out on November 5th to coincide with Daylight Savings Time?


Any predictions for the new schedules?

I'm going to say minor changes to all lines I haven't seen any trains added in a long time or trains shoved.

Last noticeable change was 2 years ago for Main and Bergen when a Main Line train was routed down the Bergen so Fair Lawn now has 4:40 and 5:00pm departures.. And as for my local Boonton Line HA well lets just say since the good ole great notchin haven't seen a single change other than a min or two off the timetable..

At this point, any schedule change where no trains are axed is considered a win.

I believe schedules will remain the same, except for the holiday extras.

1) NJT has so much negative press, they would be crazy to invite more by proposing additional service reductions
2) They raised fares again and again to keep the current level of service
3) If they reduce service levels, the unions would claim it's retaliation for the war of words over employees 'not showing up for work.'

I expect no major changes, especially no service reductions. While the Republican candidate for governor appears to have no chance, what is in service reductions for Christie? It is much easier to overspend now, leave the budget in a deep hole starting January, keep the service levels the same now and let the next governor deal with it, especially given that he is likely to be the Democratic candidate. This sort of politics is unavoidable at all times and right now it will help keep the service levels the same. Once the next governor figures out how much NJT is in the hole, all bets are off even though Democrats are friendlier to transit than Republicans.

EuroStar wrote:I expect no major changes, especially no service reductions. While the Republican candidate for governor appears to have no chance, what is in service reductions for Christie? It is much easier to overspend now, leave the budget in a deep hole starting January, keep the service levels the same now and let the next governor deal with it, especially given that he is likely to be the Democratic candidate. This sort of politics is unavoidable at all times and right now it will help keep the service levels the same. Once the next governor figures out how much NJT is in the hole, all bets are off even though Democrats are friendlier to transit than Republicans.

While I do generally agree with that statement.. And I think that Kim stands no chance (despite the fact that I will vote for her) I think no matter who wins this election something will HAVE to be done about NJT. It's falling apart at the seams and some serious attention is required...

I also think in terms of schedule changes we may have some shuffling (NOT AXING) considering that they have been cancelling trains on a daily basis during the week to fill the employee shortages...

Watching the NJ GOV debate last night it seems like NJ TRANSIT is the NUMBER 2 ISSUE behind Property taxes. I'm glad to see both candidates recognize that and one thing is certainly a fact under Christie's Administration it has gone from okay to bad to worse to horrific. Hopefully the ship can be temp patched. I liked Kim's idea FIRE EVERYONE and then rehire everyone with everyones number being public. Hold everyone accountable, make everyone ride the train. Having done some major studies for the PA I Can tell you as corrupt as PA is the work gets done (1 mil later of course but it gets done) NJT management is a laughing stock we would laugh at them over lunch constantly. I like the accountability approach here. It didn't seem like Phil was against that ethier.

"Fire everyone" is a juvenile and poorly thought out solution to any problem unless they all need to be fired. It's sort of the same as "vote them all out of office" (with no consideration for what the person you /are/ voting for has planned). What is "everyone's number being public?" Salaries are already public. Phone numbers? So what, people can go vent at NJT management? That's going to fix the problems at the agency?

NJTransit needs proper funding and some competent people in management. It's not that hard.

Here's a pretty detailed article about what happened at the agency. Reverse it. We were doing pretty well only a decade ago. What happened? The governor, whose lieutenant is running as a Republican right now, killed it. If transit in NJ is important to you, it's pretty clear which candidate to avoid.

New Jersey Transit, a Cautionary Tale of Neglect
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/14/nyre ... risis.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More on topic re: fall schedules, does anyone happen to know whether service cuts were made to the Bergen County Line in the last few years, in the vein of reducing hourly schedules to two-hourly? I hadn't noticed this happening, but my brother was mentioning the Main Line having better service, and service does seem weak on the BCL.

I believe Kim called for an audit, which is not firing everyone. I may have missed it - if she did say to fire everyone. That said, I believe an audit is long overdue. However, it's what you do with the audit that defines you as a politician. If you're able to recognize that the reason NJT is failing is partially due to a financial stranglehold, and partially due to mismanagement, then you're a good politician and should be able to right the course of the railroad in a positive direction. If you're a bad politician, and you use it as a punching bag and deny funding and add more incompetent political hacks to the management, then it's status quo.

I remember folks complaining about Bergen Line schedules, but I don't recall the details or what the schedule looked like before. I recall the drive to get weekend service on the Montclair line, and all of the excuses given of why they couldn't. I'm sure those same excuses apply to the Bergen Line level of service. The excuses become ridiculous, if you've ever actually asked NJT directly to add service at a public meeting. One excuse given by NJT for not having weekend service on the Montclair line was the bridge bringing Bloomfield Ave. over the tracks near Bay Street Station was due to be replaced, and they wanted the weekends to be train traffic free. 14 years later, construction has not begun for that project, and I've heard nothing about the project since that time. Bay Street eventually did get limited shuttle service to Newark Broad on the weekends. But, nonetheless, it was threatened to be rescinded once that project started.

ryanov wrote:More on topic re: fall schedules, does anyone happen to know whether service cuts were made to the Bergen County Line in the last few years, in the vein of reducing hourly schedules to two-hourly? I hadn't noticed this happening, but my brother was mentioning the Main Line having better service, and service does seem weak on the BCL.

I cannot speak of what the service was on the Bergen Line when Secaucus first opened, but over the past 5 or so years there have been only minor adjustments, no broad service reductions. The major issue with Bergen/Main and Pascack is that their secondary centers are extremely weak demand generators. That is Paterson and Hackensack. Compare that with the NEC where New Brunswick is pulling its weight. M&E is similar, but due to the direct NYP service the train is better patronized. Without reasonable demand from a secondary center the Bergen (and Main and Pascack) remain one way commuter operations -- towards NYC in the morning and out of NYC in the evening.

The BCL used to basically have hourly service, but several round trips were cut back during the service cut days. Without hourly service, I hesitate to use the train because, on the return trip, I could have a really long wait if I can't get back to Penn Station on time. I think it has hurt ridership.

EDIT: the schedule gods have heard my voice. LOL


New Schedules are posted.

I remember how incredible the improvements were on the Bergen County Line when Secaucus opened. I was seeing someone in Ramsey at the time and so I was using it a lot. The whole format of the schedule changed, even, because of how much new information there was. When I was in high school, late 90s, I remember there were 5 trains a day on Sunday.

Anyone know when the line lost hourly service?

I seem to remember it was....08?