RVL Whitehouse Passing Siding Progress

[Ken W2KB]

All they need to do now is expand the CNJ mainline west and get service back to Phillipsburg.

I agree, but would settle for the much less costly and easier to implement interim step of extending service to a park-ride station right at Exit 7 of I-78. Avoids the need to replace or build bridges, etc. further west and puts the station west of Jugtown Mountain which is a nightmare for cars in winter conditions. The CNJ track is right there, so the fine exisiting Exit can be used. Vacant land is available for the parking lot.

Would just need to refurbish the track and install signals. Extending west of there could be a Phase II.

[pumpers]

How far is it from the current end of service (High bridge?) to Bloomsbury or wherever the station off 78 might be?
JS

[Ken W2KB]

How far is it from the current end of service (High bridge?) to Bloomsbury or wherever the station off 78 might be?
JS

About 10 miles further to I-78 Exit 7. NJT maintains the track to MP54.1, about a mile west of High Bridge station.

[Jtgshu]

And NJT owns until MP 60.1, which is the division post for the "NS Central Industral Track" The closest "point of access" if you will, is the "Iron Bridge Road" overhead bridge at MP 59.67. The track west of MP 54 is technically OOS, but with a speed of 10 freight/10 passenger.

There is also a passing siding located at MP 57 (conveniently enough!), and heads west for about a 1/4 of a mile or so.

A funny note i just noticed......on the NJT Map book, there is an arrow on the line that says "To Philipsburg" pointing west.

[TGIV]

NJT owns to the end of the line about 67.?. NJT maintains to MP 60.1 Ludlow Asbury RD. Track is out of service from MP 54.0 to about 62.3 west of Valley School RD. MP 64 is right by the private xing at exit 7. A lot of track work would be needed to run trains. Most of the rail is jointed and many areas are surface bent. Also a very high persentage of the ties would need to replaced. There are also a number of curves that will limit the speed.

[Adirondack]

Saturday morning (10-21) there was a track crew and a couple pieces of rail mounted equipment in Whitehouse Station, just East of Main Street. I couldn't tell whether they were working or in transit, perhaps to the new siding.

[Ken W2KB]

Saturday morning (10-21) there was a track crew and a couple pieces of rail mounted equipment in Whitehouse Station, just East of Main Street. I couldn't tell whether they were working or in transit, perhaps to the new siding.

May have been the equipment returning from High Bridge where the grade crossing panel track installation was completed the other day.

[F3A]

So how hard do you believe it would be to have a good sized park and ride station alongside I-78 in the area of the CNJ cutoff?

[northjerseybuff]

Lets hope service to a park and ride or phillipsburg will happen within 5 years

[Ken W2KB]

So how hard do you believe it would be to have a good sized park and ride station alongside I-78 in the area of the CNJ cutoff?

Like most things, it depends on the availability of funding. There is an advisory entity and consultant, I belive, addressing the I-78 corridor in Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties. The is significant local opposition to building a multimodal station in Clinton Township just east of Routes 22 and I-78 to replace the Annandale and Lebanon stations.

Refurbishing instead the track to Exit 7 on I-78 avoids using using any municipal roads and there are no homes directly impacted by vehicular traffic so there should be far less local opposition than in Clinton. It also does not preclude a subsequent extention to P'Burg or beyond. It would tend to relieve the overcrowded conditions at the Annandale Station and the Clinton bus park and ride.

[NJTRailfan]

NJT should re start service atleast up to Ludlow/Asbury and from there build a P/R like Mt Arlington or like the one they want to build in Wayne or larger. One this is done guaranteed more people will use RVL. I think once it's electrified and NJT adds more trains this will be good for people who use the line. I beleive NJT once said that due to the area of P burg being rundown and next to 0 parking a station wouldn't be built there but in Alpha, NJ and the trains would be stored in P Burg.

Ludlow Asbury is next to 78. So they can terminate service there and imagine how nice it would be for drivers to take the train rather then deal with 78 and 24 esp with that repaving project that was going on. That made the traffic on Rt 80 and 46 look like a Sunday drive.

[Ken W2KB]

Is Exit 7 of I-78 there or the eastern part of Bloomsbury? The location of the former Ludlow station would require using local roads and past homes as I recall. The CNJ mainline track is right at existing Exit 7, across Route 173 from the Pilot truck stop and thus has zero cost easy access.

[NJTRailfan]

Ken, Are there alot of homes in the area and how confusing and/or dangerous (driving wise)are the local roads in the area? Is the area that well developed to where a sizable P/R is no longer possible? I would think thaty would be a better location but if NJT can have service terminated so it's close to 78 is still good enough.

[Ken W2KB]

Exit 7 is about a mile or two west of where the Ludlow Station was. We are really talking about the same area. Plenty of room at Exit 7 for a park and ride. Take a look at map.google.com search for Bloomsbury and pan/zoom a bit to the east. You will see Exit 7 and the ex-CNJ track right there. Switch to the aerial photo view for land use details. (the CNJ track is the northerly one, the LV is the southernly in that area)

[TGIV]

Ludlow Asbury is MP 60.1. MP 64 is right at exit 7. The roads to Ludlow are narrow, 1 lane under pass at MP 61. Steep grade at Ludlow xing.
Hampton MP 57 is about 2 blocks off RT 31 plenty of space for parking.