Movin' Kinda Slow At The Junction

There is an article in today's Star Ledger regarding Secaucus Junction and its lack of passengers:
Movin' Kinda Slow At The Junction

Its definately picking up though, definately on the weekends. It might be hard to see, because the first train, particularly eastbounds, pick up all the people, while the other trians don't pick up anyone. (the platform was empty, etc - yea, because a train came through and picked everyone up already!!!)

My early afternoon eastbound yesterday picked up a good 75 or so people at the Junction, while going west on two seperate trips, we dropped off about 20 from each train, with one slightly more than the other, maybe 30 or so on the one train.

Its gonna take a little while, but people are using it, and most people that I have spoken to about it on the train seem to like it and will use it again.

If all the trians ran on time (hahaahhahh) and people were able to make their scheduled connections, theoretically, there would be times where there would be no one (or very few) in the station because everyone would have gotten on their proper trains.....something to think about

And that complaint isn't even true. There are PLENTY of people at the station during evening rush. Besides, 4:00p? Who gets to the station that early to commute home?

While reading the article i myself thought it wasnt right. I remember riding a train to Port Jervis from Hoboken and stopping at Secaucus and seeing a lot of people on the lower platforms. And this was when the station wasnt even open on weekdays.

Comparing Secaucus to Port Authority is like comparing apples and oranges. People are coming and going at Port Authority all the time but since Secaucus is only a transfer point. People are only going to be coming and going when a train has arrived. It would be more fair to compare Port Authority to Penn Station.

Secaucus got a lot of negative publicity when it first opened by people who were scared that it would terribly hurt their commuting time. With the current rate of increasing ridership, I would say that within a year, there will be a great deal of riders using it every day.

Come Ridin' a little train
that is riding down the tracks
to the junction.
Forget about your cares
it is time to relax
at the junction.
Lots of curves, you bet!
Even more, when you get
to the junction-
Secaucus Junction.
TikatikaTikatikaTikatikaTikatikaTikatikaTikatikaTik!

This is a good article, BUT it did not cover another issue that is keeping people from using the Junction.

NJT's idiotic fare policy for "intra-state" travel, blocks "reverse-peak" passengers from using the RTX or OPT Round Trip Tickets, since travel through the Junction (in NJT's eye) equals travel through New York Penn.

HELLO!!, the junction is in NJ!!!!

Perhaps a Junction fare category (somewhere between the NWK/HOB fare, and the NYP fare) would do the Junction better and increase "intra-state" travel.

Even the NJARP was shocked to hear of this fare policy, and a promise made by NJT to explain this better in the April timetable change never came to be.

For me The Junction is a waste!, and I might add the concourse level was built far to large (and elaborate) for it's practical need.


Phone calls to NJT on this matter has been met with an unacceptable level of arogance, and repeated statements that NJT did not build the Junction for intra-state travel.


Ken

krapug wrote:... and repeated statements that NJT did not build the Junction for intra-state travel.
Ken

Oh I agree with this entirely. I experience and have experienced the same problems. And that statement by NJT is so stupid I won't even comment on it.

I cant see anyone at NJT actually making a comment like that. I wouldnt think they'd be allowed to. A few years ago ridership on the NJT Main/Bergen Lines was at 8600 per day. If they can get 8500 at the Junction by the end of the year, that would be a very good increase....

My PVL trains usually have at least 30 - 40 transfers a day. And it has definately been picking up over the last few months.

The fare prices being equal to NYP is for fare collection purposes, as many times, there is no possible way for the trainmen to get through the entire train either before or after SEC (depending on going east or west) because of crowded conditions on NEC/NJCL/Midtown trains, and going east, the relatively short amount of time between SEC adn NYP.

Once a person uses their ticket, its no longer valid, even if the ticket is never collected. Once swiped through the gates, it can't be swipped again. so even if the person "got one over" on the trainman and used the same ticket from NYP to SEC as they did going into NYP, they would still have to buy a full priced ticket from te machines at SEC to their destination to get through the turnstyles, because the mangnetic strip is used already.

My understanding is that people would simply buy tickets to SEC, if it were a different price, cheaper from NY, because they would know that we wouldn't be able to get through the train to make everyone pay the terminal fee from SEC to NYP, same as some people do now in buying only Newark Penn monthlies, and only pay the 2.75 terminal fee when they get "caught" or got to before Newark Penn.

Ive read teh explaination in the timetable, most recently yesterday in the new Coast Line timetable effective 6/13, and i think the explaination is rather clear, and through. And is a lot better than anything the company ever gave us on how to cut fares, what to charge, etc.....a lot of trainmen still don't understand the step at SEC, and don't know what to charge, because the company literature we are given was quite, quite, QUITE confusing.

But some people are being overcharged going to and from SEC, with regard to passegners traveling from the Hoboken division and needed to pay a Hoboken/NYP terminal fee, which is not like a Newark Division terminal fee, which is always 2.75. There is also a problem apparently with the "fare inspectors" at SEC, with these same people, and they are being made to purchase tickets for 2.75 to get thorugh the gates, where in reality, they should only be paying .60 or .80 or .95 or 1.20 or whatever the terminal fee is for that Hoboken division stop. (If NJT trainmen were up there doing that work at SEC, this wouldn't be a problem.....but I digress)

But don't expect NJT to try to address any of these problems.....im not holding my breath......

I did notice a car at the end of a string of 6 or 7 coaches in Raritan Yard this morning, the exterior completely painted in a NJT advertisement for the Junction, like a rolling billboard. No engine on the consist, but it appears that NJT is going to try a bit different means of advertising. I wonder if this coach is unique or if there are more than one?

Ken, you sure that it wasn't just shrink wrap? NJT has been shrink wrapping train cars, buses and LRVs for sometime now.

Here is a pic of one of the shrink wrapped Comet IIs, courtesy of chuchubob:

http://www.subwayspot.com/gallery/album50/04_05_27_13

And you'd think that NJT would be running these shrink wrapped cars on the Main/Bergen Lines where the largest number of passengers for Secaucus would be coming from... though except for that first Saturday the Junction was opened, I havent seen them at all.