MOM Rail Service

Matt Johnson wrote:The main purpose of the Lackawanna Cutoff restoration would be to restore service to the entire growing region of the Poconos and Scranton, not to primarily serve the small towns of Andover and Blairstown. This would benefit people who now have no access to rail service, whereas many people in the MOM regions can drive 20 minutes and get to a train station right now. But I'd like to see both happen. I'm just more optimistic about the Cutoff than I am about MOM rail service at this point.

Id like to see you drive 20 mins from some of these MOM locations to a coastline station. Your NOT getting to any of the stations in 20 mins from Jackson or Lakehurst, Manalapan or probably freehold too for that matter.

RWERN, couldn't have said it better myself. Even though more PA residents would be using line line NJ Residents would benifit huge. If only this line was in service while I was commuting from Dover to William Paterson in Wayne via Rt 46 and 80 my commute would have taken over an hour in traffic but between 30-45 min max. God forbid if there is a huge wreck like the one back in 2001 taking out a bridge in Denville for an entire summer then this will criple almost all the highways and back roads within 2o miles in each direction.

I rememeber comming back from an Internship in Fairfield, NJ to County College of Morris in Randolph, NJ the day those trucks collided. I left at 5PM. I didn't get home until 7 or 8PM!!! This an entire week!!! All I could wonder is if the Cutoff was already on line the traffic wouldn't have been anywhere near this bad.

Sitting in my car in 80 degree heat for almost that entire summer of 2001 I definatly cursed all those (Conrail, State of NJ,etc) that were responsible to the demise of the Cutoff as the sea of brakelights lit up before my eyes one painful mile at a time.

hey lets keep this to the failures of MOM we have a thread on the cutoff, though it maybe locked...

ApproachMedium wrote:

Matt Johnson wrote:The main purpose of the Lackawanna Cutoff restoration would be to restore service to the entire growing region of the Poconos and Scranton, not to primarily serve the small towns of Andover and Blairstown. This would benefit people who now have no access to rail service, whereas many people in the MOM regions can drive 20 minutes and get to a train station right now. But I'd like to see both happen. I'm just more optimistic about the Cutoff than I am about MOM rail service at this point.

Id like to see you drive 20 mins from some of these MOM locations to a coastline station. Your NOT getting to any of the stations in 20 mins from Jackson or Lakehurst, Manalapan or probably freehold too for that matter.

Especially at 7AM when your not only dealing with Rush hour traffic but getting stuck behind School bus after school bus on Tennent road.

What frustrates me the most is that everything is in place already. Yes, it needs to be rebuilt and upgraded, but everything is there! Yes, station structures would need to be built (office trailers, most likely, at the beginning of service, plus parking). We need the service (as in..supply [trackage and equipment] and demand [riders have to get to work, road traffic reduction]).

I get the feeling that if they wanted to do this, they would. Government has no problem with eminent domain when they need a block of houses to build a condo complex, no matter if this uses fed money or not.

Time for us MOM fans to get a new hobby LOL

GSC wrote:What frustrates me the most is that everything is in place already. Yes, it needs to be rebuilt and upgraded, but everything is there! Yes, station structures would need to be built (office trailers, most likely, at the beginning of service, plus parking). We need the service (as in..supply [trackage and equipment] and demand [riders have to get to work, road traffic reduction]).

I get the feeling that if they wanted to do this, they would. Government has no problem with eminent domain when they need a block of houses to build a condo complex, no matter if this uses fed money or not.

Time for us MOM fans to get a new hobby LOL

The problem is Middlesex County. They seem to be the "Hudson County" of the 2000s, with the political influence they have.

Unfortunately, unless there is a major power shift in MIddlesex County and or the state, I don't see how things will change any time soon. Although it is odd to see a Democratic county be against mass transit, and Republican counties for mass transit.

And with NJT as a ward of the state if you will, politics plays a big part

What I don't understand is What political influence does Middlesex County have? In earlier years, John Lynch was up there with Norcross and Lesniak as the big political hack "Boss Hoggs" running this syndicate state. But Lynch was thrown in the pokey for his corruption. New Brunswick is only a minor city (population about 49,000). Jamesburg and Monroe are dinky pimples as towns go with no powerful or rich elite to stand strong (compare to Monmouth County with Colts Neck and Rumson). So why is the NJ government bending over backwards and paying attention to the demands of a few insignificant types (albeit with large mouths)? NJ Government has proven to ignore most everyone else in the state and runs ramshackle over everyone to do whatever gets the politicians the richest. Why are they listening to this unrepresentative small group of NIMBYs?

Just tired of all the on-going corruption in this state, I guess.

CJPat wrote:What I don't understand is What political influence does Middlesex County have? In earlier years, John Lynch was up there with Norcross and Lesniak as the big political hack "Boss Hoggs" running this syndicate state. But Lynch was thrown in the pokey for his corruption. New Brunswick is only a minor city (population about 49,000). Jamesburg and Monroe are dinky pimples as towns go with no powerful or rich elite to stand strong (compare to Monmouth County with Colts Neck and Rumson). So why is the NJ government bending over backwards and paying attention to the demands of a few insignificant types (albeit with large mouths)? NJ Government has proven to ignore most everyone else in the state and runs ramshackle over everyone to do whatever gets the politicians the richest. Why are they listening to this unrepresentative small group of NIMBYs?

Just tired of all the on-going corruption in this state, I guess.

Why are you assuming that New Brunswick is standing in the way of MOM via monmouth junction??? In all the years ive followed the travails of MOM, i've never read or heard of any NB politicos spouting off against the monmouth route. New Brunswick would only gain from the monmouth junction route. methinks your culprits live further down the turnpike...

No, I am not stating that New Brunswick is interferring. The point I am making is that for an area to typically have political influence, it usually can show to have a high density population (as found in a city)-hence a voting base or it needs a money base as found in areas where rich and influential people reside. Middlesex has neither, although I have not properly accounted for Edison which can be considered highly significant at 98,000 people. Usually, the city would represent political power, but New Brunswick has never really been seen in that light.

And again I question, with no disrespect to the fine people of Middlesex County, what factor do they control to provide such staunch political stopping power? Understand that MOM has been kept derailed for a little over 30 YEARS. And that my friend is Political Stopping Power in its rawest form. It is fairly obvious that the small group of NIMBYs has the power to snap their fingers and the Governors office jumps. Why?

New Brunswick is definitely a densely populated city, and I'm surprised that they don't have more political power. I live in Vineland with a slightly higher population and the tallest building we have, excusing cell phone towers, is the bell tower at Sacred Heart. It's about 100 feet tall.

WaitinginSJ wrote:New Brunswick is definitely a densely populated city, and I'm surprised that they don't have more political power. I live in Vineland with a slightly higher population and the tallest building we have, excusing cell phone towers, is the bell tower at Sacred Heart. It's about 100 feet tall.

Yes. i've bee in your town on the way to wildwood and is does remind me of a southern town, at least architectually, Good place for an artist colony; nce and out-of-the-way.

While straying dangerously off topic here, you have to realize, its not necessarily the population of New Brunswick, but rather whats IN New Brunswick where tens of thousands of people go to work and school every day. (Robert Wood Johnson hospital complex, of course, Rutgers University, and New Brunswick is the county seat of Middlesex County.) It is a destination in and of itself.

Apparently Matatwan is now against the Matawan alignment as well as the Red Bank alignment and supports epic fail route Lakehurst to South Amboy and the route that makes sense the Monmouth Junction Route.

This thing will probably not be built even in my lifetime.

Jtgshu wrote:While straying dangerously off topic here, you have to realize, its not necessarily the population of New Brunswick, but rather whats IN New Brunswick where tens of thousands of people go to work and school every day. (Robert Wood Johnson hospital complex, of course, Rutgers University, and New Brunswick is the county seat of Middlesex County.) It is a destination in and of itself.

and it should be a destination for the MOM rail line (back on topic ). so someone PLEASE write an editorial on how 3 central jersey towns have been able to hold the MOM line, hard working commuters and the central jersey engine hostage and get it posted all over the jersey sites and in the NY times.. I smell favors being owed, quid pro quos, and back alley hos all over this

I did. They cleaned it up a little bit, though