North Jersey Coast Summer Schedule

[njtmnrrbuff]

It would be nice if those 7300 series trains can run year round. Those trains have gotten extremely crowded, especially going to the beach in the am on Saturdays and then coming back north on Sundays. I really hope that they can run this summer.

[blockline4180]

Doesn't matter, NJT is late in installing PTC so they are short of cars and engines... So if that's the case then you won't see any expanded summer service to the shore...
Honestly, aside from seeing east end geeps for the railbuff, this whole PTC mandate by the gov't is one big fiasco which won't and can't solve every problem!!!

[njtmnrrbuff]

It might be that summer where PTC installations might cause the weekend Coastline summer schedule to be significantly altered. Not looking forward to this but safety upgrades are very paramount and should have been taken care of from the start.

[SecaucusJunction]

Doesn't matter, NJT is late in installing PTC so they are short of cars and engines... So if that's the case then you won't see any expanded summer service to the shore...
Honestly, aside from seeing east end geeps for the railbuff, this whole PTC mandate by the gov't is one big fiasco which won't and can't solve every problem!!!

It's their own fault. This has been going on for almost a decade and they are now scrambling at the last minute. Hoping the mandate goes away is not the right way to deal with the issue for almost 10 years.

[ryanov]

Because they’ve been flush with money this whole time, eh?

[lensovet]

Because they’ve been flush with money this whole time, eh?

i hear injuring and killing passengers is much cheaper and the right thing to do anyway

[Yankees1]

Looks like they've released the schedule. Limited extra shuttle service, no express service:

http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/upcoming/R0080.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[SecaucusJunction]

Probably the least amount of Summer service that the line has seen in decades...

[trainbrain]

Get ready for some major gridlock on the Garden State Parkway. Hardly anyone is going to take the train if they have to make EVERY stop along the entire route.

[Yankees1]

Seriously. WHY NOT AT LEAST RUN SOME TRAINS EXPRESS FROM NEWARK TO WOODBRIDGE?! They have local trains on the NEC that make all stops, and some that shuttle between Rahway and NYP. No reason to add 5 extra stops to an already long trip, especially during peak summer months

[jamesinclair]

This is going to hurt the local economy. People dont want 2 hour train rides from NYC

[SecaucusJunction]

These trains should really stop at NYP, SEC, NWK and go straight to Monmouth Park without stopping. I remember the express trains also used to skip Elberon and Allenhurst back in the day and head straight to Asbury Park.

[MaRoFu]

Wow. Making the trains all local stop in a time when tourists without cars typically use public transport to get to the Jersey Shore, and after sports betting came into Monmouth Park too? Quite possibly one of the worst ideas conceived this summer by NJT. I think NJT should run Jersey Shore expresses using the following stops:

New York-Penn or Hoboken
Secaucus
Newark-Penn
Newark Airport
Woodbridge
Perth Amboy
Monmouth Park
Long Branch
All stops after Long Branch

And maybe some expresses can stop at certain stations, while others don't. For example, all trains stop at NYC/HOB, SEC, NWP, and EWR, but then some might run nonstop to Monmouth Park or Perth Amboy. And maybe after Long Branch trains only stop at Elberon, Asbury Park, Bradley Beach, Point Pleasant Beach, and Bay Head. The expresses should also run every hour/two hours.

[Yankees1]

Agreed. Is there any way to reach NJ Transit about this?

[njtmnrrbuff]

While I appreciate extra shuttles being added to the schedule, it doesn't change my overall upset feelings about the schedule. There are going to be a lot of upset customers who depend on the train to get to anywhere south of Long Branch. Taking a local over taking one of those weekend super express trains basically adds at least 50 additional minutes in transit.

Driving wise, it is like 64 miles from Midtown Manhattan to Pt. Pleasant Beach Station and little or no traffic, driving takes about an hour and twenty minutes. Now, those 7300 series express trains took about an hour and fifty minutes to get from NYP to Pt. Pleasant Beach. While a little slower than driving, with massive traffic jams, the train could probably beat you by a bit. Now, the People want to get to their destinations as quickly as possible with minimum disruptions. Now here is where the big concern lies with taking the train from NYC to PPB-when you take the local and have the transfer, the ride takes a whooping two hours and fifteen minutes, probably making driving faster and more convenient even in moderate traffic. With NJT's overpriced fares and very slow service combined, it's not worth it to take the train a lot of the time to the beach.
Let's compare the driving distance from Pt. Pleasant Beach to NYC verses the distance from Midtown to Beacon, NY-about 63 miles. Driving in little or no traffic takes about an hour and a half. Unlike NJT, Metro North provides a much better service, including express trains even on weekends from outlying areas. Beacon to Grand Central takes about an hour and a half and the off peak fare is exactly the same as a one way NJT fare from NYP-Point Pleasant Beach.
I plan to ride the lower Coastline at least once.