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Discussion relating to the operations of MTA MetroNorth Railroad including west of Hudson operations and discussion of CtDOT sponsored rail operations such as Shore Line East and the Springfield to New Haven Hartford Line

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 #1465404  by EuroStar
 
I did not realize the proposed area already had a passing siding. That is a problem that an island platform will not solve it. Look at Wesmont. It is an island platform, but still required two elevators to the overhead bridge. If you have an overhead bridge you definitely need the elevators given that the bridge needs to have clearance for double stack trains. In addition to that Wesmont has clearance for wires if the Bergen line ever gets electrification. Even without that extra height for wires it still seems pretty high to me for ramps. With a pedestrian tunnel under the tracks the required clearance is much less, so ramps might work. But tunnels are expensive -- that is why all new construction has involved overpasses.

I am unsure why but I am pretty certain that pedestrians crossing at grade are not being built any more (Teterboro could have used one given that the station is on the opposite side of the residential neighbourhood). NJT is even trying to close the existing one at Ho-Ho-Kus and would gladly eliminate the one at Hawthorne if there was a cheap way to do so. Dover benefits from the existing street crossing as does Plauderville. Is there a street crossing close to the proposed Woodbury platform? No. In fact that is one of the reasons why the double track is there -- there are no crossing. Also note how the double track begins after Harriman station -- otherwise the station will need two platforms and an ADA compliant way to connect them. Additionally note how the proposed future addition of more passing sidings on the line are away from any of the stations -- in order to avoid the cost of modifying the stations which triggers ADA and the need for elevators.
 #1465417  by Backshophoss
 
Southeast(Brewster North) was setup with a ramp and gated crossing when build during the 3rd rail extension project on the Harlem Line.
That is an island platform,believe Wilton on the Danbury Branch, was done that way as well.
 #1465468  by R36 Combine Coach
 
EuroStar wrote:INJT is even trying to close the existing one at Ho-Ho-Kus and would gladly eliminate the one at Hawthorne if there was a cheap way to do so. Dover benefits from the existing street crossing as does Plauderville.
When the new high level platform at Dover was built in the mid 1990s, a new ADA compliant pedestrian grade crossing was built at east end by the ticket office instead of elevators and overpass.
 #1465478  by DutchRailnut
 
since 1990 the intellect of average commuter and rail crossing user has taken a nose dive , and may require rethinking !!
 #1465803  by Ridgefielder
 
Backshophoss wrote:Southeast(Brewster North) was setup with a ramp and gated crossing when build during the 3rd rail extension project on the Harlem Line.
That is an island platform,believe Wilton on the Danbury Branch, was done that way as well.
Yes, Wilton is a center-island platform between the main and the siding with a ramp leading to a gated crossing. However, the crossing also exists to serve a parking lot that's sandwiched between the tracks and the Norwalk River, across from the station. There's at least one regularly-scheduled meet at this station every day.
 #1465816  by SecaucusJunction
 
You'd think this would be easier than other places on MTA because you don't have to worry about someone wandering off the sidewalk and right into the third rail....

Still seems like a Dover set up would be ideal, if possible, for this station, given the fact that the tracks are not nearly as active as other MTA lines, or even NJT M&E where Dover is.
 #1495008  by Jeff Smith
 
RecordOnline.com: Skoufis urges train station for Woodbury Common
Assemblyman and senator-elect James Skoufis is urging the Woodbury Planning Board to require the construction of a Metro-North train station at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets as a condition of the latest proposed expansion of the shopping center.

Skoufis, a Woodbury Democrat who will succeed Sen. Bill Larkin in January, sent the board a letter this month in response to Simon Property Group’s new proposal to build two hotels, more stores and restaurants, more than 2,000 additional parking spaces in two garages, and a helipad.
...
The notion of building a Metro-North station at the outlet center to serve New York City-area shoppers and relieve traffic has come up before, most recently when Gov. Andrew Cuomo surprisingly announced that “we are putting a Metro-North station at Woodbury Commons” during a budget speech in Poughkeepsie in February.

Metro-North officials afterward stressed that “the project is in its early stages,” leaving major unanswered questions about the cost and timeline, and whether Simon Property Group or New York taxpayers would pay for the station.
...
Woodbury Mayor Michael Queenan was skeptical that a train station would absorb traffic, but adamant that Simon Property Group - not taxpayers - shoulder the cost if the project comes to fruition.

He also argued that a second set of tracks should be built so commuters aren’t inconvienced by stops at the outlet center.
...
 #1495030  by njtmnrrbuff
 
I'm glad that this project is back and is probably needed as people coming from the city and points closer and between would probably rather be dropped off at the mall rather than a little over a mile away. Having a second track at the proposed site of the station would be good too. Wait a minute, isn't that in the original plan, as part of having long sidings as far as Salisbury Mills-Cornwall?

Hopefully whenever this project gets passed the planning stages, the service reliability will improve. These days, not many people are happy with NJT and the Pt. Jervis Line has been getting affected a lot.
 #1495034  by SecaucusJunction
 
How many sets of tracks do they need?? There are two there already. This line is hardly the Northeast Corridor.
 #1495047  by njtmnrrbuff
 
It’s not the NEC but the PJL has been turning into an enhanced commuter rail route serving an exurban/rural region where people move to save money while being close enough to commute to NYC, Jersey City, and Hoboken. Eventually MTA is supposed to let NJT extend more trains beyond Suffern but many of them will probably go as far as either Middletown-Town of Wallkill or Salisbury Mills-Cornwall. Between Middletown and Pt. Jervis, I doubt that many people are commuting daily to the city. In fact, it’s too far from Middletown-Town of Wallkill. I think that as the trains get closer to Salisbury Mills-Cornwall, then ridership will increase. When the frequency of trains is increased, that will help commuters.
 #1500864  by TDowling
 
One of my first posts on this forum was to suggest a part time stop designated exclusively for shoppers....that seems to be what is happening now with Woodbury Common. It most likely would not make sense to have every train on the PJL stop there (especially considering the likelihood of doubled service on the line).

One of the issues is shuttling from Harriman Station to the mall. As of now, there is only one main line shuttle bus that meets the 10:28AM arrival and 6:30PM departure. If ShortLine and NYSDOT would finally pony up some dough to purchase new shuttle buses (as the current ones I am told have well over half a million miles on them) there could be enhanced connecting service at Harriman.

ShortLine more often than not uses its regular fleet to compensate for the shuttles as they are quite prone to breakdowns.
 #1500944  by NIMBYkiller
 
Shortline has ZERO incentive to improve that shuttle connection if the amount of business they are said to do between NYC and Woodbury is true.
 #1522769  by TDowling
 
It looks like Simon properties, the proprietor of Woodbury Common, is turning its back on construction of a train station.
http://www.thephoto-news.com/news/local ... n-KN593387
According to the Photo News, a local Orange County-based journal, and other sources, 5 million dollars was brought to the table, a compendium of state and federal funds.
In my seven years in the State Legislature, I've never seen such unreasonable disregard by a corporation towards its host community," Skoufis said. "We are coming to the table with $5 million to make a train station work and Simon Properties doesn't even have the decency to take a meeting. This ought to be a win-win-win: a win for the local community, taking untold thousands of cars off our local roads; a win for the outlet mall with a new opportunity for shoppers to conveniently get to Woodbury Common; and a win for the MTA which stands to see a significant increase in ridership
:(