The Atlantic City Line Thread

[Launcher]

http://www2.philly.com/philly/business/ ... 81113.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Southern New Jersey communities increasingly see rail stations as valuable assets. NJ Transit's River Line, which opened in 2004, has helped spur development in some of the towns along the light rail between Trenton and Camden. Apartments have been built near both the Collingswood and Westmont PATCO stations in the last five years. Cherry Hill is considering a 370-unit residential project accompanied by commercial development near the Woodcrest PATCO station.



The Atlantic City Line has not attracted the same development interest as PATCO even though, the master plan notes, that line's station is more centrally located in Cherry Hill than the Woodcrest station.

[ThirdRail7]

Rail and tie replacement at SOUTH RACE

question: why?

It needs it.

http://www2.philly.com/philly/business/ ... 81113.html

Southern New Jersey communities increasingly see rail stations as valuable assets. NJ Transit's River Line, which opened in 2004, has helped spur development in some of the towns along the light rail between Trenton and Camden. Apartments have been built near both the Collingswood and Westmont PATCO stations in the last five years. Cherry Hill is considering a 370-unit residential project accompanied by commercial development near the Woodcrest PATCO station.



The Atlantic City Line has not attracted the same development interest as PATCO even though, the master plan notes, that line's station is more centrally located in Cherry Hill than the Woodcrest station.

A few paragraphs prior sums it up best:

It hasn't been forgotten by us," said Chuck Cahn, the township's mayor. "We always advocate that if they would run that line more often, there would be more users, and if there were more users, they would run that line more often."

[JeffersonLeeEng]

Not surprised...just a heck of a lot angrier about this new situation regarding the current status quo...

https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/new ... 2a918.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[granton junction]

I am very discouraged about this but not surprised. NJT was never forthright. I was keeping my fingers crossed that the line would come back, but now it looks like this is not happening. In the US there have been numerous examples 'temporary' suspensions of service becoming permanent. NJT stated that the service would be return in 'early 2019' but 'early 2019' starts on January 1st. 'Early 2019' becomes 'mid-2019' then 2020 and so on. Also there is a history in the US of maintenance blitzes (as on the AC Line today) taking place before abandonment.

[mcgrath618]

Well they are doing work on the line, are they not? I feel that if they are doing work on the line they aren't going to outright abandon it.

[glennk419]

Is SRNJ installing PTC on their locomotives or will there be temporal separation on the line ala the Bordentown Secondary /River Line?

[liftedjeep]

Is SRNJ installing PTC on their locomotives or will there be temporal separation on the line ala the Bordentown Secondary /River Line?

I don't see SRNJ installing PTC on those rust buckets M420s. If I had to guess, they will lease an engine or two that is already PTC equipped.
Ben

[lensovet]

what is there to be angry about? they never gave a concrete date. they never gave a concrete date for schedule restoration on any of the other lines either.

not everything is a conspiracy against you.

[sammy2009]

They are installing equipment , numerous sightings have been seen. True NJT never gave a exact date honestly. I've seen contract awards and bids on their website that have the Atlantic City Line listed so i doubt they would pay all that money and do all that work and just abandon it.

[liftedjeep]

what is there to be angry about? they never gave a concrete date. they never gave a concrete date for schedule restoration on any of the other lines either.

not everything is a conspiracy against you.

If you are a frequent rider of the Atlantic City Line, relying on it for daily transportation to and from work, you have every right to be angry.
I understand that PTC needs to be installed and that rails/ties need replacement, but the way NJ Transit handled the closure and the way they are leaving people in the dark regarding its return to service, I would absolutely be angry too! We're talking people's livelihoods.

No conspiracy about it
Ben

[Backshophoss]

NJT knows how much time it takes to do track repairs,but has no idea how long the contractor will take to
install the ACSES wayside gear and then get the system up and running properly.


Might be a good time to get state senators and Reps from the area to "light a(political) fire" under NJT brass to commit to a return of service date

[JeffersonLeeEng]

Headline: Work on Atlantic City Rail is done, but when trains will run remains unclear
http://www2.philly.com/transportation/a ... 81214.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(My two cents: Quelle surprise...)

[Backshophoss]

NJT is hiding behind the Equipment shortage due to on board ACSES gear installs on the locos and cab cars.
Were there crew shortage issues on this line like they have up north?

[lensovet]

NJT is hiding behind the Equipment shortage due to on board ACSES gear installs on the locos and cab cars.
Were there crew shortage issues on this line like they have up north?

manpower was transferred north. time will tell. there's no point in restoring service on just one line; they will do it all in one fell swoop when the PTC stuff is done.

[granton junction]

Just listening to the radio (1450am WPG in AC) in the car the host (forgot his name) made some comments about the AC Line service. He said that he will forward any news on the radio. But he felt that the AC Line will not be coming back. I unfortunately hold this same opinion. As I have indicated previously, 'temporary' closures have a way of becoming permanent in the US, numerous examples. I have also noted that 'maintenance blitzes' are no assurance of the return of service. At this point what I find most telling though is that NJT has not given any date for the return of service. Duh. NJT has not been forthright. If NJT's agenda is to drop the AC service, it should just say so instead of playing vague games like 'evaluating the schedule' and so on. It seems now that NJT is simply smoke and mirrors, and it does not take much to see through this.