Ramsey park-ride to open August 22

The Ramsey park-ride looks pretty much finished, but I haven't seen anything about its opening. This morning at Secaucus there were a couple of NJT folk sitting at a table to answer questions. I asked them when it would open and they said August 22, (a Sunday)--schedule changes will also be effective that day. Does anyone know the new schedule?

I haven't seen any new HOB Div. employee timetables yet. I'll let you know when I get one.

Sure does look ready to go........but......no stop lights at Spring St. Intersections yet. I wonder if Ramsey is holding things up? or is it the DOT? Is there going to be bus service to/from the station as well?

They should have some sort of bus service from the train station to those whole string of businesses on MacArthur Blvd so people could take the train from various spots in NJ and NY to work

Ridiculous! They now have some of the express trains stopping at the new station while some of the locals go right on by. This includes trains on Saturday and Sunday. I thought this was gonna be a big new hub...

And they still havent added any new trains, meaning I can still get hourly service on the Bergen County Line on Christmas but not on a normal weekday!

This new schedule stinks, can they ever get it right. No new trains and the service is still sub-par during weekdays.

Are they running into a shortage of equipment? How do they expect to gain passengers with this sub par service....

Ive been told there is a shortage of equipment - keep that in mind when you are pulling into Hoboken and see all the low level C1's sitting there, and the C1's and MN coaches (which there are more again now, were delievered the other day) up at Hudson yard. I counted 15 there tonight. Plus the MN cars parked up at PJ.......

But there is a shortage of equipment......... remember that.........

(Article from NorthJersey.com)

NJ Transit's new $27.5 million regional train station in Ramsey is scheduled to begin service Aug. 22, the agency announced Friday.

The station includes a five-story parking garage with 1,251 spaces. Agency officials put the entire project cost, including land acquisition and other fees, at about $39 million.

"I think this station is going to be a real, real plus," said state Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere. "I think as time goes on, folks are going to find it a very convenient route."

The new station, at the base of Island Road along Route 17, will serve the Hoboken and Secaucus Junction stations. Commuters from Rockland County, N.Y., and several northwest Bergen towns are expected to be the primary patrons. The Ramsey Main Street Station will remain operational once the new station opens.

Sixty-one trains will service the new station on weekdays, according to a NJ Transit press release. Weekend service and schedule information wasn't immediately available. Lettiere said free parking would be provided until Sept. 30 to encourage ridership.

Ramsey Mayor Richard Muti said he looks forward to working with NJ Transit and the state Department of Transportation. He also said he'd like NJ Transit officials to meet with residents in the next month to address concerns they may have.

"I think this will have an overall benefit for Ramsey residents," Muti said.

NJ Transit announced its plan to build the station in 2002, after Ramsey officials unsuccessfully lobbied the agency to put it across the highway in neighboring Mahwah.

Ramsey protested that the station didn't belong near the residential Island Road neighborhood and that it would exacerbate traffic problems. A residents group last month gave NJ Transit a report of suggested roadway improvements that it believes would help alleviate any future traffic problems.

When NJ Transit proposed the station, the agency said it was needed to meet an expected surge in ridership once Secaucus Junction opened. That station, which began operations in December, provides express service to midtown Manhattan. Previously, Bergen riders needed to take a PATH train out of Hoboken or the ferry to go downtown. Using Secaucus Junction reduces some commutes by up to 15 minutes each way.

NJ TRANSIT ANNOUNCES OPENING OF RAMSEY ROUTE 17 STATION

More than 1200 new parking spaces available to customers
August 6, 2004

NEWARK, NJ –– NJ TRANSIT today announced the opening date for its new $27.5 million state-of-the-art rail station on Route 17 in Ramsey. Revenue service at the “Ramsey Route 17” station will begin Sunday, August 22, 2004.

With the station’s opening, more than 1200 parking spaces will come online for customers in northern Bergen County, helping to meet Governor McGreevey’s mandate to add 20,000 spaces by 2007. To encourage customers to try the new station, NJ TRANSIT will offer free parking through September 30.

On weekdays, 61 trains will serve the station—16 during peak periods.

Two inbound express trains, en route to Secaucus Junction and Hoboken, will depart the station at 7:09 a.m. and 7:38 a.m., arriving at Hoboken at 7:50 a.m. and 8:10 a.m., respectively. In the evening, two outbound express trains will depart H oboken at 5:42 and 6:27 p.m., stopping at Secaucus Junction 10 minutes later and arriving at Ramsey Route 17 at 6:22 p.m. and 7:04 p.m., respectively. Express service reduces the travel time between Ramsey and Hoboken by approximately 11 minutes.

The Ramsey Route 17 station is located on the Bergen County Line between the current Ramsey (Main Street) and Mahwah stations.

An aggressive marketing campaign to promote the new station will begin within two weeks.

http://www.njtransit.com/nn_press_relea ... SE_ID=1326

CarterB wrote:Sure does look ready to go........but......no stop lights at Spring St. Intersections yet. I wonder if Ramsey is holding things up? or is it the DOT? Is there going to be bus service to/from the station as well?

I just drove by the station today, and they have the traffic lights up on the Spring Street side now...

I went to see the first "Rush Hour" this evening at the new station. It looks like a success. The 6:12 eastbound had about 5 people get on it and the 6:13 westbound local had about 15 to 20 people get off. Both trains had at least 3 cars of low level doors of no use at this station. The people had to walk back 3 cars in order to detrain. Next came the 6:22 express from Secaucus. The 6 car train pulling into the station was SRO with people standing in the doorways. This train had all doors, including center doors open up and there was a flood of people getting out. Not bad for the first day. Next the 6:36 local came by. This train stops at Mahwah, but not at this station. Figure that one out. Next the Sec-Harriman express flew by with 4 Comet V's and finally the 7:04 express pulled in with 6 comet V's full to the doors and unloaded another big flood of people.

On another issue, I still think its ridiculous that they have so many trains skipping this station without stopping. I can't get a train from here to Port Jervis. Nor can I be sure that I can get reliable hourly off peak service especially on weekends. NJT needs to rethink their schedule if they really want to market this station. I have better service from stations like Ho-Ho-Kus and Mahwah that I do at this stop.

I had hoped that the weekend Bergen Line trains that terminate at Waldwick would be extended to Suffern to provide extra service to the new station. I asked one of the NJT reps at Secaucus about that and she said they were "thinking about it." If so, it hasn't progressed past the thinking stage. During the week, there seem to be 2 rush hour PJ expresses that stop there, one each way. In the AM it's the train that leaves Suffern at 7:05 and at night it's the one that leaves Hoboken at 5:42.

Both trains on weekends might be a bit of an overkill, but not a bad idea. What I can't understand is the 12:14 and 4:35 runs that skip the station altogether. Also the 2:00 and 5:00 runs in the evening that stop at stations such as Mahwah, Allendale and HoHoKus but not Ramsey. Makes no sense to me. That would be a great station for a trip to Port Jervis, but NJT makes it impossible. Do they have some sort of agreement with MetroNorth that says they can't stop at more stations or something? That whole idea makes absolutely no sense to me.