The Raritan Valley Line Thread…

[blockline4180]

I wonder if that is the way NJT will go with replacing all the wooden ties, rather then using the Concrete which was already installed on track 1... Both tracks 1 and 3 at Maplewood now have panels of those blackish composite ties through the station platform. Hard to tell they aren't wood from afar

[Regardie]

They are installing the composite ties at the Fanwood station on the outbound side. It's slow going as they are digging out individual wooden sleepers one at a time, cutting them in half with a chainsaw and then pulling them out. Work is happening from a bit before 9 am until sometime in the afternoon when they have to have the line running for the evening rush. On the inbound side at Fanwood, they are digging a hole and installing conduit near the front of the train end of the platform. I'm not sure what that is all about.

Conrail is continuing to work on the section of track near Union that had the derailment last year. The old alignment had crossovers in both directions where the train came off. They put straight through track in to get the line back up and sometime this spring they put in one set of crossings from railroad south to railroad north but no sign of the opposite direction.

[EuroStar]

It must be very painful to watch the whole process. I am puzzled that they don't prefer to single track for a weekend (or a whole week if needed with a special schedule) and bang it out quickly by cutting the rails, replacing the ties and re-welding the rails. I suspect that union rules and fear of passenger revolt are to blame ...

[Zuccaraillo]

Very late to the party but GP40PH-2B 4219 is currently on regular rotations just like it was 2008 and before. 6-car Comet set.

[Adirondack]

NJ1015.com reported "A Conrail freight train derailment near the North Branch station in Branchburg" early this morning, cleared up by 5:45. I didn't know there were any freight customers west of Thermo Fisher Scientific, which is much closer to Raritan. Does anyone have more details?

[Jeff Smith]

Pushing to get one-seat ride service back: https://www.insidernj.com/press-release ... lley-line/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...
Raritan Valley Line’s single ride service into Manhattan was suspended in 2018 to free up engineers to install Positive Train Control on NJ Transit trains statewide. There is still no established timeline for restoring one-seat rides on the Raritan Valley Line.
...
The Raritan Valley line comprises about 10 percent of NJ Transit’s daily ridership system-wide. Despite the high volume of customers that ride this line to New York City, the Raritan Valley line is the only line that does not have one-seat service into Manhattan any day of the week.

Senator Kean’s bipartisan legislation, S-3574, would require NJ Transit to conduct a feasibility study on offering Raritan Valley Line customers full-time direct rail service to Manhattan’s New York Penn Station.

The report required by S-3574 must answer the following questions:

Why one-seat ride service was initially suspended
The historical and expected ridership for direct rail service to New York City
Actions NJ Transit must take in order to provide direct rail service
The amount of time it would take to implement direct rail service, as well as the estimated cost
Any factors that may delay or increase the cost of providing direct rail service.
...

[Ken W2KB]

Senator Kean’s bipartisan legislation, S-3574, would require NJ Transit to conduct a feasibility study on offering Raritan Valley Line customers full-time direct rail service to Manhattan’s New York Penn Station.

The off peak direct service was great for visiting NYC for events evenings. Hopefully it will start again soon.

Full time direct service, as has been stated many times by NJT, requires that the Amtrak Gateway Project to add two tracks from Newark to NYC for a total of four tracks be built and operating.

[Yankees1]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think the RVL should get at least one slot in place of the NJCL. The RVL is experiencing a population growth, and people are leaving the lower NJCL towns between South Amboy and Long Branch. At the very very least, most RVL service should terminate at Hoboken instead of Newark

[R36 Combine Coach]

The Waterfront Connection is limited to one track. How many riders are on the NJCL HOB trains in the AM peak?

[NY&LB]

"people are leaving the lower NJCL towns between South Amboy and Long Branch"
Please tell me where you found that statistic, perhaps ridership is down but I do not believe population is down
and ... "lower NJCL towns" would be those below Long Branch

[Yankees1]

There are only two NJCL Hoboken peak trains each way these days due to service cuts. If they had peak direction RVL service terminate in Hoboken, I don't think it would be an issue to use the connection.

Regarding the population between South Amboy and Long Branch, see the below analysis from NJT a few years ago, page 24.
http://media.nj.com/bergen_impact/other/1Q2013.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[NY&LB]

Mr. Yankee1: Thank you for the reference. Page 24 states: "Most population
growth during the past two decades in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean
counties has occurred away from the Coast Line service corridor. "
you stated: "people are leaving the lower NJCL towns between South Amboy and Long Branch"

The two do not equate.

Furthermore, the report is based upon 2012 data. It clearly shows a decline in monthly pass sales but that has nothing to do with population declines.

Population growth is low in towns along the NJCL because there is little open land there.

https://newjersey.hometownlocator.com/n ... cfm#growth shows projected population growth (or decline) for any town you care to plug in and Long Branch (and the other towns on the line) shows a small percentage growth, not a decline in population.

Coast line stations in Middlesex County include Woodbridge, Avanel, Perth Amboy and South Amboy. Only Point Pleasant and Bay Head are in Ocean County. The rest are in Monmouth County.

[EuroStar]

...At the very very least, most RVL service should terminate at Hoboken instead of Newark

Most people get of the RVL and get onto Path. What good is it for them to get off at Hoboken and go onto Path there with the crowds of passengers from the Hoboken Divisions? Also Hoboken does not really have the space for more trains at rush hour (based on current operating practices and the painfully slow switching plant at Hoboken).

[nomis]

Yet Hoboken will be installing 6 more tracks (with High Level Platforms) soon giving approx 18 more trains an hour into the terminal.

[lensovet]

Senator Kean’s bipartisan legislation, S-3574, would require NJ Transit to conduct a feasibility study on offering Raritan Valley Line customers full-time direct rail service to Manhattan’s New York Penn Station.

The off peak direct service was great for visiting NYC for events evenings. Hopefully it will start again soon.

Full time direct service, as has been stated many times by NJT, requires that the Amtrak Gateway Project to add two tracks from Newark to NYC for a total of four tracks be built and operating.

So instead of focusing on getting trains up and running, NJT has to divert precious resources to satisfy some grandstanding senator and do a study.