Railroad Forums 

  • Major NJT cuts, no AC line for 5 months and more

  • Discussion related to New Jersey Transit rail and light rail operations.
Discussion related to New Jersey Transit rail and light rail operations.

Moderators: lensovet, Kaback9, nick11a

 #1481713  by jamesinclair
 
From NJ.com:
NJ Transit will make two major service cuts next month, shutting down the Atlantic City Line for five months and ending Raritan Valley Line direct service to and from New York.

The Atlantic City Line shutdown is scheduled to last for five months and off-peak Raritan Valley Line trains will no longer go to and from New York, starting Tuesday, September 4, according to a memo sent Friday from Richard Green Jr., NJ Transit director rail operations and obtained by NJ Advance Media.

....

The memo comes as NJ Transit canceled 18 rush-hour trains Friday morning, blaming it on crew and equipment shortages. Commuters have complained about a higher number of canceled trains this week, which causes overcrowding on trains that are running and abnormally long trips for riders.
Full article:
https://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/20 ... cut_b.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1481717  by EuroStar
 
Some of these cuts or the ones that started in June will likely never come back. My guess is that the AC line will loose 2 of its trains forever plus one or two of the trains that got dropped in June won't be back in January, even though NJT will get the 2 year PTC extension.
 #1481798  by R&DB
 
EuroStar » Fri Aug 03, 2018 3:13 pm

Some of these cuts or the ones that started in June will likely never come back. My guess is that the AC line will loose 2 of its trains forever plus one or two of the trains that got dropped in June won't be back in January, even though NJT will get the 2 year PTC extension.
You are probably correct. The NJT attitude in January 2019 will be 'Those commuters got along without rail service for 5 months, so they don't need it'.

This is what happens when politicians dictate how railroads are run. Sure PTC is a technology that may save some lives, but why haven't they mandated that every highway vehicle have it installed? How many highway lives could be saved? Most politicians don't care about people, they care about votes. Disrupting some South Jersey yahoo's commute doesn't show up on their radar. Fatalities on highways 2017 about 40,000; fatalities on railroads 2017 864 and 65% of those were trespassers.
 #1481839  by lensovet
 
R&DB wrote:
EuroStar » Fri Aug 03, 2018 3:13 pm

Some of these cuts or the ones that started in June will likely never come back. My guess is that the AC line will loose 2 of its trains forever plus one or two of the trains that got dropped in June won't be back in January, even though NJT will get the 2 year PTC extension.
You are probably correct. The NJT attitude in January 2019 will be 'Those commuters got along without rail service for 5 months, so they don't need it'.

This is what happens when politicians dictate how railroads are run. Sure PTC is a technology that may save some lives, but why haven't they mandated that every highway vehicle have it installed? How many highway lives could be saved? Most politicians don't care about people, they care about votes. Disrupting some South Jersey yahoo's commute doesn't show up on their radar. Fatalities on highways 2017 about 40,000; fatalities on railroads 2017 864 and 65% of those were trespassers.
I would drop the conspiracy theories.

PTC has already been pushed back once. Enough is enough. PTC isn't enforced on highways because the technology doesn't exist. It has existed on railroads for over a decade.
 #1481866  by granton junction
 
I have been an occasional rider of the AC Line from AC or EHC to Lindenwold or Philly. It has always been a pleasant and fast ride. The closure of the AC Line came as a quick surprise although in some ways it was inevitable. I am critical of NJT because they are barely apologetic about this closure. I think now that it is smoke and mirrors about installation of PTC (and equipment and staff shortages) especially since the line was closed from April til June this year. Unfortunately 'temporary' closures like this more often than not become permanent, and that is what I expect. NJT is not being forthright, and they are using this ploy for a permanent closure. Ride the line this month, and get your pix!
 #1481944  by jamesinclair
 
Yankees1 wrote:NJTransit loves shafting the RVL. The fact that they can’t take one NJCL/NEC rush hour train into NYP and divert it to Hoboken, opening up a slot for an RVL train, is absurd.
I agree, especially because there is certainly demand for people wanting to go to Hoboken. A NEC train that terminates in Hoboken would draw some customers.
 #1482079  by sammy2009
 
I just feel like NJT could do so much more for the AC Line. If it ran more frequent more people would ride it, it seems they have never tried to add more runs to the line. I know its only a one track line half the route but atleast do something. I do feel that this is a sugarcoat to close the line. When SEPTA was installing PTC i don't think i recall them taking and suspending service on some of their routes. They just cut back on the runs for some lines. But i am guessing in this case it maybe easy for NJT to do that. The last governor really messed up NJT with the financial shape that went on....deferred projects as such really is starting to show.
 #1482104  by steemtrayn
 
NorthPennLimited wrote:What keeps an Atlantic City employee who becomes displaced and has to travel over 50 miles to a new work location in Newark or Hoboken from simply sitting at home and collecting unemployment benefits?
Maybe they'll just bump someone in Bay Head or Morrisville, and let those workers migrate north.
 #1482186  by MedicSutton
 
Petition started floating around on change.org earlier today regarding the ACL and already has over 400 signatures. The author did not mince words slamming green and NJT. That author is also an employee of NBC and an old friend to railroad.net. It’s a great read if you get a chance.
 #1482191  by liftedjeep
 
MedicSutton wrote:Petition started floating around on change.org earlier today regarding the ACL and already has over 400 signatures. The author did not mince words slamming green and NJT. That author is also an employee of NBC and an old friend to railroad.net. It’s a great read if you get a chance.

https://www.change.org/p/kevin-corbett- ... rters_page" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ben
 #1482228  by jamesinclair
 
liftedjeep wrote:
MedicSutton wrote:Petition started floating around on change.org earlier today regarding the ACL and already has over 400 signatures. The author did not mince words slamming green and NJT. That author is also an employee of NBC and an old friend to railroad.net. It’s a great read if you get a chance.

https://www.change.org/p/kevin-corbett- ... rters_page" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ben
Code: Select all
Why would the line need to shut down to complete the second half of the job which requires the SAME type of work that had been done without the line totally shut down?
Its not about PTC, its about moving the crews north.

A cancelled NEC train means 750 people left behind. A cancelled AC train means 75 people left behind.

I believe this is the math being done.