MidnightRider wrote:beanbag wrote:25Hz wrote:All of it was a joke. I don't see any 44's being preserved from NJT and if they really wanted one SEPTA has one that may be retired via possible incoming ACS-64 piggyback order.
I think what we need to focus on is getting PA and NJ to talk about funding and other details to get this line to a PA terminus. I cannot see NJT doing all this work just to build a line to Columbia......
What of hackettstown to phillipsburg? And the same for high bridge to phillipsburg?
The line needs a clear green light all the way to scranton or else there is little point in NJT to continue putting down tracks past andover.
The steamtown/scranton part was funny, the rest of it was not. Anyways.
The problem with the Scranton bit that I see is the travel time. Its a two hour trip from Hackettstown as it sits now. To get to Scranton from here (im aware the train would split onto the Cut Off before Hackettstown at Port Morris, but just to put in perspective) a car would have basically a straight shot down 80-380, and having done a friday evening trip from here to past Scranton, once you clear the Denville Dover area with traffic, youll basically be flying (relative to the train) the rest of the way there. On a clear of traffic run, you can easily be in Scranton before the train would hit the Cut-Off, forget about Scranton. To The trip would only really be viable in rush periods where alot of 80 is choked up in NJ, and also NJTs west of Dover service already sucks, they need to improve there long before they even think of trying the Scranton cut off. A last problem I see is comfort, I have issues with the NJT seats after sitting for more than two hours. If im taking a trip the length of the proposed Scranton Cut Off trip, It would take alot for me to leave the car at home knowing ill be numb in the legs by the time i get off the train. Im sure my view reflects alot of the casual commuters too. For it to be a viable alternative you would have to run alot of express trains to cut the travel time down, for this to work it would be actually prudent for NJT to run trains that do not make a single stop before the Cut off, kind of like some of the Port Jervis trains, otherwise the commuters will find the car to be way faster. If it takes 3 hours or so by train and two by car not including waiting for the train and delays, youre going to need a schedule with good travel time so the service doesnt get creamed in the long run by people who find the extra time not worth it.
FYI, 1) there are a lot of people that commute from Wilkes-Barre\Scranton area to NYC everyday for work (why I don’t know but they do.), from the Pocono many many more. Martz has there garage about 4 blocks behind my house in Wilkes-Barre. They alone run around 99 buses into the city every work day. Even with internet on the buses, I’d take a train seat over a bus seat any day!! So sorry I disagree with you on comfort. With all the stops with the bus, the train is projected only 15 mins longer from Scranton. The other problem is that some of the bus lines (I believe Martz is one) don’t stop in NJ or even the Train station on Rt.80. When I called Martz about getting off on RT 3 I was told they can’t do it for insurance reasons.
Next, your comment on traffic. Traffic now backs up before Exit 25 on occasion. Not to mention that driving into NYC from Pa in the morning you driving into the sun. Then doing it again in the afternoon you hit the setting sun for part of the year. Let me tell you 80 is lined up perfect with sun as you crest a few of the hills! Next is the first 4 miles from the Water Gap in NJ till you get past Tannersville in Pa. This section can get halted for hours, at any point of the day or night, for accidents, road work, snow. You just sit there, there is no where to go. It’s 2 skinny lanes of traffic in each direction. Trucks are constantly getting into accidents shutting down the Highway. Rt 611(your only local road around Rt 80) if you get on it is normally a parking lot though out the day. Forget it when there is an accident.
Wow, seems its gotten worse since I last used 80 for a long trip. I drove the entire length of 80 from the 287 interchange to 380 for trips to Binghamton to see a friend from high school and a now ex girlfriend. I dont remember it being that bad. The first trip up I started onto 80 way late at about 4:30 or so, I do not remember what time I hit the gap, but the gap area was backed up pretty bad. the entire shebang all the way to Binghamton took 4 hours. The last time I did it was just under two years ago, I left at about 3:30 PM, got onto 280-80 at about 3:50, and hit some bad traffic around the Denville/Dover area, but after that it cleared up and I had a great run, I was in Binghamton just after 6:15. Admittedly this year, I have stopped using 280 in the mornings to get to school, because of that sun issue backing everything up (I can leave my house and be in my classroom at Rutgers Newark using 78 before I would even get through the jam on 280 its that hideous). I just didnt realize that the rest of 80 was such a complete and total disaster in much the similar way. Unfortunate really, it seems like it would be a nice relaxing drive when you do it on a day with no traffic. Admittedly Im a car guy and love to drive so my perspective on that last bit is tainted, do not read into that as influencing the rest of my statement, as I only like to drive if theres no traffic, bad traffic drives me insane. Seems the clock change drops the sun right smack into the worst possible spot it could be in for the morning rush, as it was fine before the time change.
