CMSL service Rio Grande to Cape May

I cannot understand with all the Tiger grants,simulus funds and money wasted on less useful projects and having powerful senior congressmen and senators that also sit on lots of committees we cant get a few miles of track up graded for passenger service to the southern shore areas. The south Jersey shore is a prime tourist area and brings in LOTS of tax dollars. Oh i know ,we needed the funds to hire people to cut down all the beautiful trees on the NJ parkway.I guess the NJ govenor is busy with other award winning ideas to worry about a track in sj being repaired.Does he have a fireplace? hmmmm

south jersey trains wrote:I cannot understand with all the Tiger grants,simulus funds and money wasted on less useful projects and having powerful senior congressmen and senators that also sit on lots of committees we cant get a few miles of track up graded for passenger service to the southern shore areas. The south Jersey shore is a prime tourist area and brings in LOTS of tax dollars. Oh i know ,we needed the funds to hire people to cut down all the beautiful trees on the NJ parkway.I guess the NJ govenor is busy with other award winning ideas to worry about a track in sj being repaired.Does he have a fireplace? hmmmm

Don't forget for all their years of serving us we still are at the bottom of the 50 states for how much (little) we get back for every tax dollar we send to D.C. Unfortunately, the state isn't going to worry about funding a rail line that would only serve one resort (Cape May) for only a few months a year-mainly July/August after school lets out for the summer and graduation parties are over with. Lets not forget even PRSL saw the writing on the wall as they did petition to NJ to end ALL passenger service in 1958. People want total freedom to get around, especially vacation time, and trains only give you a certain amount of that. Add to that we are way too far removed from the heyday of passenger trains for most people to give a hoot about rail travel unless it's out of no choice like going to work. The shore is prime tourist area (which I have been to a few times a year for a long time now) but people aren't going to leave their car inland when it would serve them better to take a train from the get go. It's either take a train the whole trip or drive the whole way. Trains won't get you around town after you leave the station. The roads only get crowded a certain times and even the ACE and GSP are good to use even on a Friday evening the last few years to my surprise (which I have done). Unfortuntely, we have a more serious issue of our existing roads needing to be paved as a lot are in bad shape. I would like to see service to Cape May soon and I believe it will happen sooner or later but that is basically a tourist operation.

It has always seemed to me that in the case of southern New Jersey transportation funds for rail use get shifted elsewhere, like northern New Jersey, for larger and expansive commuter networks in and out of NYC. Until there comes a demand from the residents of Atlantic County, Cape May County, etc, I dont think the state will be ready to do anything with the tracks if they are not running them or turning ownership over to someone else to maintain, run, and operate them. I think it would be different too if there was a serious amout of frieght customers as well, but I dont see that developing any time soon.

rrbluesman makes a good point about transportation funds being shifted elsewhere. We have a similar problem here in Massachusetts regarding rail service to Cape Cod.

The Cape is a "donor area" when it comes to paying transportation taxes and fees versus what is actually returned to the Cape in the form of services. For years, we were
told how there was "no money" to restore the popular rail service, while more money was found for highway projects. The speculation is also that the state protecting the monopoly that Plymouth and Brockton bus lines has on the Cape. (This was indirectly admitted by the state and P&B) As for the issue of "people wanting their personal travel freedom" this was also brought up here as well. Yet this hasn't stopped the bus services between Boston and the Cape. Such as the case with NJ Transit with their bus services to Wildwood/Cape May. I see the potential for a long drawn-out battle for Cape May rail service but only because there is the possibility it will be successful, something that rail opponents do not want. The reason I can foresee this possibility is because of the ongoing battle on Cape Cod has similar things such as the potential for success being viewed as a threat to the anti-rail interests.

Atlantis, yes the Cape is very similar to parts of the Jersey Shore when it comes to the economic and political challenges of rail service.

That being said, The Cape Cod Central Railroad is great example of successful funding, operations, and marketing and advertising. I bet many of its business practices would work very well on the Jersey Shore too.

http://www.capetrain.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod_Central_Railroad

True Mgdemarco, the CCC is a successful operation as far as its dinner and sightseeing trains go. Having said that, it is still not much more than an "amusement ride," as its operation is extremely limited and is of no use to those who want to take a train from one part of the Cape to the other. It does not even connect Hyannis to the tax-funded rail station in Buzzards Bay on a regular basis. Having said that, I want to stress that this is of NO FAULT of Cape Cod Central Railroad, but the state of Massachusetts throwing monkey wrenches in the works in order to protect high gas prices and the bus interests mentioned in my earlier post. (I lived near the Buzzards Bay station until last year)

I think my point is that just as Cape May Seashore lines wants to expand, Cape Cod Central wants to expand from a glorified amusement ride to a real working transportation service.

Futher expounding on the parallels between both Capes you mentioned, a resort area typically has higher gasoline prices and parking rates than other areas of their respective states. There is much money to be made in parking fees and gasoline taxes. The states have a good thing going. Why expand a fuel-efficient, low-polluting form of transport to the point where it might be practical form some people to leave their cars at home in certain situations, and thus give the perception there's less money for the above-named interests?

With the heavy traffic in Cape May, and the largely-unused rail infrastructure, this would be a natural extension of rail service which could benefit people staying in the immediate area, or allow for an almost traffic-free access to the Delaware bay Ferry system, (via a short shuttle route from the train station). This could be perceived as a threat by the local parking lot operators. Unlike P&B bus on Cape Cod, which wants the monopoly on all public ground transport to/from Cape Cod, NJ transit runs the Cape May buses and the rail service could be seen as an asset as it could attract more people to non-auto transit, both bus and rail in the area. Whether NJ transit sees it that way, is something else perhaps.

As a part time summer resident of the Cape May area I do not see the CMSl establishing any type of regular commuter service. While it would be good to see, there is little political support for it.
Several years ago there was some discussion about a connection to the Atlantic City line at Winslow junction but without state support and subsidies I can't see this happening. Let's just hope for a continuance of what we have.

i saw a newspaper a few months ago that said "2011 should be the best year we will have since 2005" although i could be wrong.

waldwickrailfan wrote:i saw a newspaper a few months ago that said "2011 should be the best year we will have since 2005" although i could be wrong.

What was this statement in relation to? Is this specifically about Cape May or a broader section of the economy?

Greg wrote:

waldwickrailfan wrote:i saw a newspaper a few months ago that said "2011 should be the best year we will have since 2005" although i could be wrong.

What was this statement in relation to? Is this specifically about Cape May or a broader section of the economy?

it was for CMSL. Back In October I think? Might have been September though.

When is the schedule supposed to be posted?

Amtrak7 wrote:When is the schedule supposed to be posted?

Whenever they get around to posting it!!

I think they dont post a schedule until they know they are going to be running trains so there are no false hopes when a schedule goes up and there is a delay in running. It seems like it led to confusion in the past.

Having met Tony and his crew, I would venture to say that everything possible is being done to have the CMSL running in 2011. If service begins in summer, we will be on the train to Cape May.

Although we don't yet have a schedule, the website homepage was just updated on May 11 stating to "Please watch for 2011 updates". Hopefully we'll have something in the not-too-distant future.