MOM Rail Service

nick11a wrote:

ApproachMedium wrote:Enough studies! Start pumping money into ROW improvement NOW!

Sadly, there will be more yet to come. I don't quite get it either, but it is what it is.

NIMBYs + Environmentalists + Politicians = Headaches for us railfans.

That's how this state's been for 50 years now.

Roadgeek Adam wrote:

nick11a wrote:

ApproachMedium wrote:Enough studies! Start pumping money into ROW improvement NOW!

Sadly, there will be more yet to come. I don't quite get it either, but it is what it is.

NIMBYs + Environmentalists + Politicians = Headaches for us railfans.

That's how this state's been for 50 years now.

If only there was the political will to do it and the NIMBYs had no say as long as the benefits outweighed the negatives of the rail service.

morris&essex4ever wrote: If only there was the political will to do it and the NIMBYs had no say as long as the benefits outweighed the negatives of the rail service.

Yeah right. Politicians want their jobs. And towns such as Montclair can just go to their politician, lobby and win. That's how it is.

I say stop farting around and get a couple of old RDC's, and run 'em on the existing tracks! Service could be up and running tomorrow, or as soon as they can get a couple of RDC's to the Southern Secondary!

I don't believe $500K will make for much of a "study". They can't even agree on the shape of the table and what kind of bagels to have for half a million.

We can do it for them. Simply take a camera to Rt 37 and the Parkway in Toms River during rush hour. Take a few pics of traffic "in the lights" on Rt 9 between Lakewood and Freehold. Or other locations we all know and love. Print out the pics and give them to the "studiers".

When something is on fire and you want to put the fire out, you put the fire out. You don't "study" it.

Though I can't say I am surprised by yet another study, it boggles my mind that this line has been studied several times, with several different types of studies for 14 years. They studied each proposed route, then studied a two-seat connection (transfer) and then a one-seat ride, which was one of the more recent ones.

It's very unfortunate that this project seems to be stuck on the "study" phase and isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

I agree with GSC. Theres plenty of photos that can be taken of all the traffic jams along Rt9 that could be avoided simply by giving folks an alternate means of travel, a TRAIN! Its getting to the point where its really starting to aggrivate some people as we can all see. I think its about time we called the fire dept instead of calling all the neighbors out to watch it burn.

Granted-the multiple studies are wasting millions of dollars that could have gone into the rail line itself, but the other way to look at it is that the State considers this this a project still on the board. Remember, it was just a little over a year ago that little johnny corzine decalred this whole thing dead in Monmouth County when he was trying to hawk his 800% toll hike plan (probably the toll plan and the killing of MOM lead to his HUGE voter beat down in Monmouth and Ocean Counties).

So at least this shows that they haven't completely shelved it. However, I also consider the "studies" as more or less the same lip service the State has been giving us since 1978.

Excuse me if this is a stupid question but I have to ask. How do they build a brand new line in Monmouth county when the operating budget is being cut and will have a major shortfall next year? A new line once built will add millions to the operating budget no? I just don't get it and I am for it. Don't get me wrong I am very much for the MoM rail line.

matawanaberdeen wrote:Excuse me if this is a stupid question but I have to ask. How do they build a brand new line in Monmouth county when the operating budget is being cut and will have a major shortfall next year? A new line once built will add millions to the operating budget no? I just don't get it and I am for it. Don't get me wrong I am very much for the MoM rail line.

*sigh*

For the millionth time, the operating budget and capital budget are two seperate things.

jimzim66 wrote:

matawanaberdeen wrote:Excuse me if this is a stupid question but I have to ask. How do they build a brand new line in Monmouth county when the operating budget is being cut and will have a major shortfall next year? A new line once built will add millions to the operating budget no? I just don't get it and I am for it. Don't get me wrong I am very much for the MoM rail line.

*sigh*

For the millionth time, the operating budget and capital budget are two seperate things.

But, what I think he's asking is - won't a new line *add* to the operating budget? And the answer is yes, it will. But - hopefully we'll be out of this period of economic malaise by the time there is a need to expend operating money on operating MOM trains.

jb9152 wrote:

jimzim66 wrote:

matawanaberdeen wrote:Excuse me if this is a stupid question but I have to ask. How do they build a brand new line in Monmouth county when the operating budget is being cut and will have a major shortfall next year? A new line once built will add millions to the operating budget no? I just don't get it and I am for it. Don't get me wrong I am very much for the MoM rail line.

*sigh*

For the millionth time, the operating budget and capital budget are two seperate things.

But, what I think he's asking is - won't a new line *add* to the operating budget? And the answer is yes, it will. But - hopefully we'll be out of this period of economic malaise by the time there is a need to expend operating money on operating MOM trains.

Unfortunately I think we will go through several more cycles of economic malaise and propserity before anything ever rolls on the MOM line....it was what, about 80 years inbewtween the Great Depression and the Great Recession?

Jtgshu wrote:Unfortunately I think we will go through several more cycles of economic malaise and propserity before anything ever rolls on the MOM line....it was what, about 80 years inbewtween the Great Depression and the Great Recession?

Yeah, I can't wait for the next cycle of "propserity", it sounds cool JT.

Jtgshu wrote: Unfortunately I think we will go through several more cycles of economic malaise and propserity before anything ever rolls on the MOM line....it was what, about 80 years inbewtween the Great Depression and the Great Recession?

It only took 100 or so years to merge the Montclair Branch with the Boonton Line. Anything can happen if you give it some time.

cruiser939 wrote:

Jtgshu wrote:Unfortunately I think we will go through several more cycles of economic malaise and propserity before anything ever rolls on the MOM line....it was what, about 80 years inbewtween the Great Depression and the Great Recession?

Yeah, I can't wait for the next cycle of "propserity", it sounds cool JT.

While most people hope for prosperity, I hope for propserity, where I am surrounded by plywood backdrops, cardboard people and fake plastic trees.....at least there won't be any idiots around, other than me of course...