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  • Hudson-Bergen Light Rail West Side Branch Extension - Route 440 Hackensack

  • Discussion related to New Jersey Transit rail and light rail operations.
Discussion related to New Jersey Transit rail and light rail operations.

Moderators: lensovet, Kaback9, nick11a

 #1544641  by Jeff Smith
 
https://www.progressiverailroading.com/ ... ion--59944
New Jersey Transit last week broke ground on a project to extend the Hudson-Bergen light rail’s West Side Avenue Branch less than a mile from its current terminus at West Side Avenue in Jersey City to a new terminus across Route 440.

The $220 million extension project will include construction of a new station west of Route 440 to serve riders at a future development on the Hackensack River waterfront, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced at a press event last week.
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 #1544704  by Roadgeek Adam
 
MattW wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2020 9:44 pm It seem to have a fairly clear RoW up to Market St where it could street run to Newark. I'm not sure what the tracks for the Newark City Subway are like, but maybe tunnel down and meet it for through-running service. We can dream a little, right?
Yeah this is where we hit a problem. They'd have to go underground to meet the junction unless they wanted to make it a separate terminus as part of two different systems. Not so simple.
 #1544951  by lensovet
 
I concur with Matt; no real reason to join the systems IMHO. You could even do something à la NLR, where you go down Market in one direction and Ferry in the reverse. The terminus could just be on the east side of Newark Penn where the parking lot is now and connect nicely to the refurbished pedestrian connector to Mulberry Commons and new south entrance to Newark Penn.

Another alternative is to join the ROW that parallels 1/9 and run along that to the NEC and then backtrack north. Could actually result in faster travel times since it’s grade-separated.

Of course, probably not in our lifetimes.
 #1544959  by Roadgeek Adam
 
lensovet wrote: Sun Jun 07, 2020 6:57 pm I concur with Matt; no real reason to join the systems IMHO. You could even do something à la NLR, where you go down Market in one direction and Ferry in the reverse. The terminus could just be on the east side of Newark Penn where the parking lot is now and connect nicely to the refurbished pedestrian connector to Mulberry Commons and new south entrance to Newark Penn.

Another alternative is to join the ROW that parallels 1/9 and run along that to the NEC and then backtrack north. Could actually result in faster travel times since it’s grade-separated.

Of course, probably not in our lifetimes.
Problem comes down to demand. Is the Ironbound really demanding better transit access? I've not heard much. When I was at Montclair State, there was not much demand.

The inter-connection would help, but unfortunately the ROWs would have to been rebuilt after the 1946 barge accident that ruined the straight alignment. Would it help enormously? Probably. I don't think it's going to spur transit oriented development in the Ironbound or Kearny.

West Side Avenue branch isn't exactly booming since the HBLR opened 20 years ago.
 #1544983  by njtmnrrbuff
 
While it would be nice to have the HBLRT West Side Branch extended all the way to NWK Penn Station, I'm not sure how much room there would be to build the right of way. Once you cross into NWK, much of the street blocks are already built up with warehouses and then homes and commercial development.
 #1544988  by Roadgeek Adam
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 12:00 pm While it would be nice to have the HBLRT West Side Branch extended all the way to NWK Penn Station, I'm not sure how much room there would be to build the right of way. Once you cross into NWK, much of the street blocks are already built up with warehouses and then homes and commercial development.
On top of that, they would need to build new bridges that can open for barges or ships to even reach Newark.

This ultimately comes down to something that NJ should've stepped in and fixed 70 years ago, but alas, they did not.
 #1544995  by njtmnrrbuff
 
Yes, new bridges would have to be built. Light rail river bridges and ship traffic do not mix. I don't want to turn this into a bus thread but probaby the only short term solution right now is improving the service on the parallel NJT 1 bus route between NWK and JC. Maybe have certain buses terminate at the new light rail stop where Hudson Mall is. This would help somebody who might live in NWK far enough away from Penn Station along Raymond Blvd that works in JC's Financial District without having to backtrack to NWK Penn to take the Path.
 #1550698  by amtrakowitz
 
njtmnrrbuff wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 1:16 pm Yes, new bridges would have to be built. Light rail river bridges and ship traffic do not mix. I don't want to turn this into a bus thread but probaby the only short term solution right now is improving the service on the parallel NJT 1 bus route between NWK and JC. Maybe have certain buses terminate at the new light rail stop where Hudson Mall is. This would help somebody who might live in NWK far enough away from Penn Station along Raymond Blvd that works in JC's Financial District without having to backtrack to NWK Penn to take the Path.
I once inquired at NJT's offices about expansion of the bus service on route 1, and their answer was that such a service would not be worth the expense, particularly in light of the PATH service between two endpoints that both serve. Sounded to me like NJT would eventually be more interested in cutting all route 1 service back to Albert Avenue as an eastern terminus.