NJ Garden State Parkway

[henry6]

The New Jersey Star Ledger's web page reported the Garden State Parkway had a 30 mile traffic back up in the Southbound lanes this afternoon.  I wonder how full the NJT trains from NYP, Hoboken, Newark and Secaucus Jct. were?   I wonder, too, if NJT has done enough marketing of the Jersey Shore connections and services available.  If they could run Shore Expresses non stop from Newark to at least Long Branch (why not beyond?) then hit the beach towns to Bay Head.  Could be all diesel from Hoboken or even Sec. Jct.for that matter  Either way they could make all line connections with minimum change of trains

[ns3010]

 It's rediculously stupid how they don't run the 23XX trains on weekends, especially in the summer. They would probably be so well patronized, they would often be SRO.

[oltmannd]

ns3010

It's rediculously stupid how they don't run the 23XX trains on weekends, especially in the summer. They would probably be so well patronized, they would often be SRO.

It might have been a cheap option a couple of years ago, but not now. The new hours of service law requires 2 days off after 5 on, so you have to hire to provide service more than 5 days a week.

[JT22CW]

NJT ran out of money buying all those magical multi-levels, only to end up not using them on trains that they no longer run because they ran out of money.  (In case anyone doubts that, NJT's famous for transferring money between capital and operations.)  Could have rebuilt the Comet IIIs and Arrow IIIs like they originally planned, as well (the former are only 18-19 years old and already out of service, in storage).

 Don't forget, these are the same guys that retired Arrow II MUs after a mere 22 years (when the average age of EMUs is supposed to be about 40 years; that's how long LIRR's M1s lasted). 

So they end up building the Waterfront Connection to Hoboken only to not use it on the weekend, never mind not building the second track.  They're also waiting for a miracle out of DC so that they can build their super-low-capacity ARC project for maybe three times the cost of bilding the original NY Penn Station (adjusted for inflation). 

Not to mention the ALP-45DPs, which cost four times more per unit than normal diesels and electrics, and which have no prototype...also the ALP-46As, which serve no use on NJT due to being geared (and soon certified) for 125 mph, making them more useful for Amtrak, frankly (so they're going to replace the ALP-44s with them and waste more taxpayer money by retiring electric motors that are also in their 20s)...did I miss anything?

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

You did miss all of the commuters who would complain to high heaven about having to ride old (albeit rebuilt) equipment, especially after a fare increase, and how come NJT hasn't bought new cars like the M-8's over on Metro North.

[STEVEL]

NJT DESERVES  A LITTLE SLACK, THE DOUBLE DECKERS  ALLOW 40% MORE PASSENGERS

ON EACH TRAIN INTO PENN STA NYC  SINCE LONGER TRAINS ARE NOT POSSIBLE.  THESE ENGINES AND CARS WERE ORDERED BEFORE THE ECONOMY WENT IN THE TOILET AND PASSENGER COUNTS FELL AS UNEMPLOYMENT SOARED!!!!!

[aegrotatio]

 The folks who complain about NJT don't realize the serious capacity problems going into NYP.  Further, the Transit Tunnel (ARC, THE, etc.) should go to a new station because even with the multi-level cars the station simply cannot handle the crush of commuters on the tiny NYP platforms designed for intercity, not commuter, use.

Seriously, take a fan trip and compare the Amtrak/NJT intercity platforms and egress routes to those of the LIRR platforms at NY Penn Station.  The deep 34th St. station and new tunnel are required.

NYP is a horrible terminal for New Jersey commuters.  It was always intended for LIRR commuters and intercity everyone else but then the Northern New Jersey suburbs started really getting going around the second half of the 20th century.  It's still pathetically frustrating to get into New York from northern New Jersey.

Unfortunately, PATH never really succeeded in serving New Jersey like the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad originally intended, being virtually ignored by both the NYC, the PRR, close neighbor Erie and Lackawanna, the various city subway systems, and even the City's own agencies when it started seriously controlling and redeveloping city transit.

[daveklepper]

I have been urging PATH to double service between Journal Square and Newark for some time, by running Newark 33rd service as well as the existing Newark WTC service.   (They were, of course, forced to do this when WTC was out after 11.09.01.)   They are resignaling the whole system, so signals for 90 second headway should not be a problem, and the capacity sitiuation of the tail tracks at Newark can be handled by having hostlers board the train at Newark for a quck reverse in the tail tracks instead of the engineer walking the length of the train.  It may mean each engineer dropping back one run.

People who work say at 23rd or 14th Street in Manhattan would appreciate changing across the platform at Newark for a ride to 23rd or 14th instead going into Penn Station and then having to use local transit.

The existing 33rd - Journal Square service would simply be extened to Newark.