MOM Rail Service

I somehow don't think that Lakehurst will be a peak-only service if/when it opens.

How about getting a bit crazy and sending the line to Winslow Junction to link up with the AC line...? (After all, people are still sore about no link between the AC line and River LINE...)

Irish Chieftain wrote:How about getting a bit crazy and sending the line to Winslow Junction to link up with the AC line...? (After all, people are still sore about no link between the AC line and River LINE...)

My thought exactly.

A couple modifications, first get rid of Wemrock there's not going to be a station there it's in the Middle of the Monmouth Battle Ground. Also get rid of "Manalapan".

I live in Manalapan and there's only two places where there have been stations on the line, Englishtown and Tennent right next to Reid and Perrine. There should be only one station and that should be Englishtown, Englishtown is the Borough for Manalapan. It's the same town, Englishtown is surrounded on all sides by Manalapan.

Also from the public documents I've seen there would be two stations serving the Freehold area, first Freehold Borough off Main Street/537 and in Freehold Township someplace near the "New" 33 and the Inspections station. The latter would be a park and ride facility.

Here's what the stations I've seen are planned..

Monmouth Jct (NEC)

Jamesburg

(Possibly a Monroe stop, not totaly necessary since Englishtown and Jamesburg are both on either sides of each along route 522 with Monroe in the Middle.

Englishtown/Manalapan (one stop)

Freehold Borough

Freehold Township

Farmingdale

Howell (possible)

Lakewood

Lakehurst

One more thing..

If there's going to be a stop between Monmouth Jct (NEC) and Jamesburg it's not going to be "South Brunswick", rather it would be in "Dayton".

There are two possible spots in Dayton, first near the Wawa at the corner of 522 and Georges (?..) road, or near the corner of 522 and 130 (close to the Jamesburg Turnpike entrance).

BTW..

Great Map, thanks for the effort you obviously put into it. Keep them coming!

Hey, if those stations are all new or will be updated.. ADA is gonna require accessibility on each and every one of those!

Otherwise.. great map! :D

Not each and every station. IIRC, only "key" stations require accessibility still...

Nonetheless, it's not too hard to fathom that stations would be rebuilt or new-built with high platforms and elevators or ramps, thus being accessible.

matt1168 wrote: Lakewood to Lakehurst
Selected peak only trains continue from Lakewood onto Lakehurst. After Lakewood, the line becomes one track for the remainder. Lakehurst station will have a couple of bus shelters and a short low platform with a commuter lot.

What you guys think?

Actually Lakehurst will be the terminus and yard, frankly SOUTH of Lakewood is where you have a tremendous population surge occuring now, and at least one (if not two) stations should be planned between Lakewood and Lakehurst (one in Dover Twp the other where the line skirts the edge of Jackson Twp). Another important factor is that many commuters would not be comfortable leaving their cars in Lakewood, and in fact Lakwood proper itself would probally not be a strong peak hour station in terms of ridership (it would be strong during other parts of the day).

In fact Lakehurst could easily wind up being one of the highest patronized stations on the route 24/7.

Ken

In fact Lakehurst could easily wind up being one of the highest patronized stations on the route 24/7.

Lakehurst would be one of the lowest ridership stops, the highest would be..

Freehold, Lakewood, Jamesburg, Englishtown, then perhaps Lakehurst.

I can't remember the report I saw on the M.O.M line but it broke the stations that would serve the line into three categories.

They were :

Park n ride

Regional

and town center.

Jamesburg, Englishtown, Freehold Borough and possibly Lakewood would be Town Centers, and would benefit from that program NJ Transit has to develop areas around such stations.

Freehold Township (not the Borough) off the "new" 33 extension right near the new Motor Vehicle Inspection station would be a park n ride

Lakehurst, and Farmingdale would be "Regional" stations.

Here's a possible service plan, Diesel service from Lakehurst to Hoboken.

Northbound:

Lakehurst
Lakewood
Farmingdale/Howell twp
Freehold Twp
Freehold Borough
Englishtown/Manalapan twp
Jamesburg/Monroe twp
Monmouth Jct/South Brunswick (NEC)
New Brunswick
Metropark
Newark International Airport
Newark Pennsylvania Station
Hoboken Terminal

Thank you for all your suggestions and views! I know that nothing I (or anybody else on this site) will end up 100% as it is in the eyes of NJT, but this is how I've always envisioned it.

I like the Lakehurst-Hoboken idea; not only would this allow people on the MOM line to get to Hoboken, but it would also give stations on the NEC (specifically New Brunswick, Edison, Metutchen, and Metropark) a direct link to Hoboken.

Tom V wrote: I live in Manalapan and there's only two places where there have been stations on the line, Englishtown and Tennent right next to Reid and Perrine. There should be only one station and that should be Englishtown, Englishtown is the Borough for Manalapan. It's the same town, Englishtown is surrounded on all sides by Manalapan.

Really? You live in Manalapan? So does some of my family; I grew up there (now I live in Philly). I always envisioned a Manalapan Station (if there was to be one) right past the Main St. (a./k./a Tennent Rd.) grade crossing in Tennent. That would be an ideal place for a station. (There is a freight presence there now, I think).

I've lived in Manalapan since 1987, before I lived in Marlboro twp.

I like the Lakehurst-Hoboken idea; not only would this allow people on the MOM line to get to Hoboken, but it would also give stations on the NEC (specifically New Brunswick, Edison, Metutchen, and Metropark) a direct link to Hoboken

Exactly! That one of the line's strong selling points, Lower Manhattan is coming back strong. And Jersey City's waterfront is still booming, lots of jobs being created.

With the new Lower Manhattan Transportation hub that's been designed by Santiago Calavatrava the demand for connections from Hoboken to the PATH will grow stronger than pre-9-11, it will take some of the crowding off the trains to NY Penn which people heading to Lower Manhattan use to connect with the PATH at Newark.

S. Brunswick to Monroe
The line remains one track into Jamesburg, which has a low side platform and is in the middle of Railroad Av. After Jamesburg, the line curves a bit and becomes double tracked. The next station is Monroe, with 2 tracks and a high island platform.

South Brunswick to Monroe must be two tracks to allow freight movements without conflicting with the passenger moves. It is in the proposed plan that this stretch of track, the Dayton Branch, will be double tracked from Midway to Jamesburg. It was double tracked and electrified at one time. When Conrail ended electrified operations, they left their catenary poles in place for possible future use by NJT. The poles along this stretch are wide enough for two tracks to fit underneath and wire can be restrung, if desired.

For a map of the freight routes in central Jersey, as well as the once-electrified routes, goto http://www.geocities.com/transit383/maps.html and click on "Conrail Shared Assets Browns Yard Division."

Tom V wrote:"Also from the public documents I've seen there would be two stations serving the Freehold area, first Freehold Borough off Main Street/537 and in Freehold Township someplace near the "New" 33 and the Inspections station. The latter would be a park and ride facility.

Here's what the stations I've seen are planned..

Monmouth Jct (NEC)

Jamesburg..."

Respectfully, I am asking, "what documents?" From where can they be obtained? Isn't the route yet to be decided, and aren't MOM-via Matawan and MOM-via-Red Bank still in contention?

For example:

This site does not show the route - only the destination, which is shown as Lakehurst:
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/nj ... lline.html

This site advocates a route, but lists all three. http://www.visitmonmouth.com/03230planb ... OMHome.htm

Ocean County government also advocates the same route. But Middlesex County advocates routes that do not pass through Jamesburg. In fact, the South Brunswick town council recently voted to oppose that route. Unanimously.

Keep in mind that a route from Lakehurst via Matawan, as compared to a route through Jamesburg, saves ten minutes each way.

Do the Ocean County supporters and the Monmouth County supporters factor that 20-minute a day time savings into their thinking?

Here is the very thorough MOM site from the NJT website.

This website is pretty much identical to a mailer sent out about a year and a half ago in the Monmouth Ocean and probably Middlesex counties areas.

Yes, all three routes are still in contention, but NJT favors the Midway routing via S. Brunswick, then the Red bank, then the Matawan route.

http://www.njtransit.com/an_capitalproj ... home2.shtm

Keep in mind that a route from Lakehurst via Matawan, as compared to a route through Jamesburg, saves ten minutes each way.

What little is gained in time is lost in ridership, which means that 10 minutes still does not make up for the fact that the Monmouth Jct route has a MUCH larger ridership catchment and is better suited to relieve the route 9 corridor.

As I stated earlier, I grew up in Marlboro before moving to Manalapan in 1987. I played Marlboro Little League right behind the ROW of the line from Freehold to Matawan, I can put it very bluntly...

The Freehold-Matawan is a non starter, it wasn't even being considered in the original plans. The Middlesex County people are complaining about an already active rail line, the Freehold-Matawan line has been dormant for 30 years.

The fact is the route through Jamesburg is the best solution, and the best investment which is what will drive the decision to ultimatley build the route.