Railroad Forums 

  • NJT-NYSW Commuter Plan to be Revived (April Fool's Joke)

  • 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

 #1324150  by Idiot Railfan
 
North Jersey Commuter Rail Plan to Be Revived
By Commuter Rail Today staff

A long-stalled commuter rail project from Sparta to New York City will be revived according to proposals prematurely posted on a Regional Transportation Planning Commission website.

The plans, which were intended to be officially announced later this year, call for the revival of the plan to run commuter trains along the right-of-way of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway eastward from Sparta, paralleling the crowded Route 23 corridor.

But rather than continuing east to Hawthorne, where the trains would connect to the New Jersey Transit Main Line for the trip to Secaucus Junction and Hoboken, and require a change of trains, the revised plan calls for the trains to divert in Riverdale at Pompton Junction to the dormant tracks that run through Riverdale, Pequannock and Wayne to Mountain View, where they would connect to the NJ Transit Montclair-Boonton Line. The trains could then run directly into New York’s Penn Station without the need for riders to switch trains.

Several infrastructure and equipment developments since the original plan was proposed in the 1980s, including the construction of the Montclair Connection, which allows direct access to New York, and dual-mode locomotives, which can run on conventional diesel power, then switch to overhead electric power, have made the plan more workable, the report said.

This could cut significant travel time from the trip from northern Passaic County communities to New York.

Several complications do lie in the path of the plan, including securing the necessary permits to replace the Riverdale connection, essentially a short on-ramp between the two lines, which was removed when detention ponds were created to offset fill from the nearby construction of Route I-287 in the 1990s. But because in theory the plan could remove thousands of cars from rush-hour highways, concerns of the federal Environmental Protection Agency could be minimized.

Because the locations of the original stations offer very little parking, park-and-ride facilities, according to the plan, would be built off Riverdale Road in Riverdale, providing easy access to nearby by highways Route 23 and I-287.

Other locations proposed include at the Pequannock Township Municipal Building on the Newark-Pompton Turnpike, which already provides parking for bus commuters, and a site near the crossing of the rail line and the Turnpike further south near the Pequannock business district. Flooding concerns, however, would likely require the construction of an elevated parking structure.

Two sites under consideration in Wayne, one on Haul Road, the other on Ryerson Avenue, present the same flooding issues.

While the tracks between Sparta and Riverdale have been well-maintained and need minor improvements to accommodate commuter rail service, the seven-mile section through Riverdale, Pequannock and Wayne would require complete rebuilding. Track-laying equipment, which could be leased from NJ Transit or Amtrak, could get the project completed in three to four months, the report indicated. The tracks would be built to allow speeds up to 79 miles per hour. Work would also include installation of crossing gates, flashing warning lights, and bell at all grade crossings.

The trains themselves would be run by crews and equipment provided by NJ Transit, the report said.

Originally published April 1, 2015
 #1324446  by CentralValleyRail
 
It's really not that far fetched. The 7 mile stretch would be the hardest part of it. It would certainly make more sense to route it via Wayne rather than taking the scenic route through Oakland.

Express Trains to Wayne would take 45 minutes from NYP which definitely competes with the bus at rush hour. 10 or so minutes more to Riverdale and your on the NYSW.

Biggest problem is funding and I can see Riverdale throwing a stink about it, they threw a big hissy fit back around 2000 when the NYSW redid the tracks fearing that passenger service was around the corner.
 #1324545  by Hawaiitiki
 
If this wasn't an April Fool's, three problems with this plan:

*No more slots in NYP, Anything new is going to Hoboken or some other tertiary terminal.
*Would require significant reconstruction, new wye at Pompton Junction
*Misses Oakland, Franklin Lakes, Wyckoff, however could be sold as avoiding NIMBYs
 #1324553  by sullivan1985
 
Hawaiitiki wrote:If this wasn't an April Fool's, three problems with this plan:

*No more slots in NYP, Anything new is going to Hoboken or some other tertiary terminal.
*Would require significant reconstruction, new wye at Pompton Junction
*Misses Oakland, Franklin Lakes, Wyckoff, however could be sold as avoiding NIMBYs
Hoboken is pretty jammed up for slots these days too during the peak hours. However, Hoboken would probably be the better option logistically. Hoboken is tight on yard room but there is room to squueze a few more train in. Is NYSW trains turned and burned it could probably work.
 #1324591  by Steve F45
 
Hawaiitiki wrote:If this wasn't an April Fool's, three problems with this plan:

*No more slots in NYP, Anything new is going to Hoboken or some other tertiary terminal.
*Would require significant reconstruction, new wye at Pompton Junction
*Misses Oakland, Franklin Lakes, Wyckoff, however could be sold as avoiding NIMBYs

I think the connection with NYSW in Hawthorne would be better. You'de be able to serve those towns you mention and then just jump on the main line as an express maybe.
 #1324598  by sullivan1985
 
Steve F45 wrote:
Hawaiitiki wrote:If this wasn't an April Fool's, three problems with this plan:

*No more slots in NYP, Anything new is going to Hoboken or some other tertiary terminal.
*Would require significant reconstruction, new wye at Pompton Junction
*Misses Oakland, Franklin Lakes, Wyckoff, however could be sold as avoiding NIMBYs

I think the connection with NYSW in Hawthorne would be better. You'de be able to serve those towns you mention and then just jump on the main line as an express maybe.
The main line has a lot more availability for more trains and also has room to add another track if needed from Clifton to Lyndhurst. The Montclair and the M&E... not so much.
 #1325573  by ladder2
 
So what will come first? MOM; Lackawanna Cutoff; NYSW ; or Clayton's sand folly???? With the Transportation Bond Fund broke
not very much.
 #1325864  by dlandw
 
I fell for the April Fools joke. If only it were true *sigh* :(

That being said, if it were true, I'd advocate for the all-NYSW routing via Hawthorne, Paterson and Hackensack. However, getting NYSW trains onto tracks leading to either Hoboken or Penn Station would require some new infrastructure. EL did eventually manage to get Northern Branch trains into Hoboken via a time-consuming reverse move, but ideally, a new connection would be needed.

Any opinions on the viability of reviving Susquehanna Transfer?

-Al "dlandw"
 #1325872  by alewifebp
 
Susquehanna Transfer basically still exists and is in use, although it's a transfer from a car to bus in the form of a park and ride. The addition of a station would be easy enough, but the attractiveness to riders would be minimal. A two seat ride between a train and bus when one seat rides on a single bus are already serving many of those same communities.
 #1325883  by Steve F45
 
Why do a 2 seat ride when you can have the NYSW connect back onto the main line in Hawthorne? Although imo i think it should go through bergen county all the way to Vince Lombardi park and ride. Stops would be Warwick,NY, Sparta, Vernon, West Milford, Butler, Oakland/franklin lakes (new park n ride), Midland Park, then straight shot onto main line. If not and continued through Bergen County, then next stop would be Elmwood Park/RT80 (new park n ride), Rochelle Park/Rt17 (new park n ride), Hackensack @ old north jersey media building for a park n ride when torn down, after this stop would be a long station free run to the Vince lombardi park and ride/service area, then obviously on all new viaduct parallel to 95 to connect with Bergen line over in East Rutherford. This was my idea, pretty far fetched.