NEW JERSEY TRANSIT

The 'New Jersey Transit Corporation' (NJ Transit) is a statewide public transportation system serving the state of New Jersey, and Orange and Rockland counties in New York. It operates bus, light rail, and commuter rail services throughout the state, notably connecting to major commercial and employment centers both within the state and in the adjacent cities of New York and Philadelphia. All but two of NJ Transit's commuter trains feed into New York's Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan or Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey. The exceptions are the Atlantic City Line, which terminates at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and the Raritan Valley Line, which terminates at Newark's Penn Station. Most NJ Transit commuter buses go to Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal and to Philadelphia's Greyhound Terminal (or Market Street in Philadelphia). Covering a service area of 5,325 square miles, NJ Transit is the nation's largest statewide public transit system and the nation's third largest provider of bus, rail and light rail transit^[1], linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.

History

NJ Transit, founded in 1979, was an offspring of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), mandated by the state government to address the many transportation issues that had developed at the time. NJ Transit came into being with the passage of the Public Transportation Act of 1979 to "acquire, operate and contract for transportation service in the public interest." NJ Transit originally acquired and managed a number of private bus services. Conrail (or Consolidated Rail Corporation) had been formed in 1976 through the merging of a number of financially troubled passenger railroads, and operated commuter railroad service under contract from the NJDOT.
In 1983, NJ Transit assumed operation of all commuter rail service in New Jersey from Conrail. It now operates every passenger and commuter rail line in the state except for Amtrak; the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), which is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; the PATCO Hi-Speedline, which is owned by the Delaware River Port Authority; and a handful of tourist trains in the southern and northwestern parts of New Jersey. New Jersey Transit also runs most of the state's bus lines. In northern New Jersey, many of the bus routes are arranged in a web. In southern New Jersey, most routes are arranged in a "spoke-and-hub" fashion, with routes emanating from Trenton, Camden, and Atlantic City. In addition to routes run by New Jersey Transit, NJ Transit also subsidizes and provides buses for most of the state's private operators, such as Coach USA, Lakeland, and Academy, providing fixed route or commuter service.
In the 1990s, the system expanded, with new Midtown Direct service to New York City and new equipment. On October 21, 2001 it opened a new station at Newark International Airport. On December 15, 2003, NJ Transit opened the Secaucus Junction transfer station, connecting two major portions of the system, allowing passengers on Hoboken-bound trains to switch trains to get to Midtown Manhattan more conveniently. The transfer saves passengers headed into Midtown Manhattan an estimated 15 minutes of travel time.
On October 31, 2005, NJT took over Clocker (NY-Philadelphia) service from Amtrak. Four new trains were added to the schedule, but service was cut back to Trenton.

Current operations

Bus

Main articles: New Jersey Transit Bus Operations

NJ Transit owns 3,075 buses and its Bus Operations division controls 240 bus routes (with numerous other line runs being subsidized by NJ Transit), a number that includes buses owned by New Jersey Transit, but are in other operators' colors. Bus fares are based on distance.

Light rail

NJ Transit operates three separate light rail lines:

★ Hudson-Bergen Light Rail – a 21-stop, 20.6 mile multi-branch line that runs along the Gold Coast from Bayonne to North Bergen, with a major stop at Hoboken Terminal, all in Hudson County. The fleet consists of 52 Kinki Sharyo electric light rail vehicles owned by NJ Transit and operated under contract.

★ Newark Light Rail – a line consisting of two segments serving Newark and the surrounding area. The ''Newark City Subway'' segment has 12 stops, is 4.3 miles long, and runs from Newark Penn Station to north Newark and Bloomfield. The ''Newark Light Rail'' segment has 5 stops in total, is 1 mile long, and connects Newark Penn Station to Newark Broad Street Station. The fleet consists of 21 Kinki Sharyo electric light rail vehicles owned and operated by NJ Transit.

★ River Line – a 20-stop, 34-mile line running from Trenton to Camden along the Delaware River, mostly along the Bordentown Secondary line formerly owned by Conrail and CSX. The fleet consists of 20 Stadler GTW diesel light rail vehicles owned by NJ Transit and operated under contract.
Newark City Subway/Newark Light/River Line Rail fares, whose operations fall under NJT Bus Operations, have fares based on the bus network, including transfers, zones et al. Fares on NJT's newer light rail lines, unlike bus fares, are not based on distance. Instead, the Newark Light Rail and River Line fare is a flat $1.35, and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail fare is a flat $1.90 (transfers to bus lines are extra).

Rail

A New Jersey Transit train departing from station

Main articles: New Jersey Transit rail operations

NJ Transit has 11 commuter rail lines:

★ Northeast Corridor Line

★
★ Princeton Branch

★ North Jersey Coast Line

★ Morris & Essex Lines:

★
★ Morristown Line

★
★ Gladstone Branch

★ Raritan Valley Line

★ Main Line

★ Bergen County Line

★ Montclair-Boonton Line

★ Pascack Valley Line

★ Atlantic City Line
NJ Transit operates 109 diesel locomotives, of which 11 are leased from Metro-North Railroad, and 61 electric locomotives. Its fleet consists of 677 push-pull cars, of which 67 are leased from Metro-North, and 230 electric multiple unit cars.

Police Department

Main articles: New Jersey Transit Police Department

The New Jersey Transit Police Department (NJTPD) is a transit police force for the New Jersey Transit Corporation in the state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with state wide jurisdiction with the primary focus on policing the numerous bus depots, rail and light-rail stations throughout New Jersey.

Local Programs

NJ Transit is the administrator of Federal and State grants for counties, municipalities, and non-profit organizations in the state of New Jersey to provide accessible transportation for elderly and disabled citizens. Some areas of New Jersey are not serviced by NJ Transit's trains or buses (including AccessLink), requiring local organizations and agencies to pick up the slack for disabled and elderly people. These grants include funding for vehicles, and operations of county, municipal, and non-profit transportation services.

Future

THE Tunnel

NJ Transit is preparing to construct a new two-track Hudson River tunnel adjacent to the two existing single-track tunnels (built in the early 20th century) by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The tunnels are on the Northeast Corridor. NJ Transit is billing this project as 'THE Tunnel' or Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel, which using Dual-Mode Locomotives will allow for the first time a 1-seat ride between the Port Jervis, Main, Bergen County, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley lines and Penn Station New York. Governor Jon Corzine has announced that groundwork may begin in 2009 with the tunnels finished in 2016^[2]. Engineering has recently commenced on this tunnel towards the goal of completion, following recent approval of $2 billion of funding by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey^[3].

Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link

Construction has been completed on a section of the Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link, a light rail project in 3 stages that will eventually link the downtowns of Newark and Elizabeth via the Newark Light Rail and the proposed Union County Light Rail. The first stage of construction, which links Newark Broad Street and Newark Penn Station via the Newark Light Rail, opened in July 2006. The remaining two stages of this project were removed from the list of NJ Transit's capital improvement projects on May 10, 2006, making it unlikely that they will be constructed.

Lackawanna Cutoff

Main articles: Lackawanna Cut-Off

In May of 2001, New Jersey Transit purchased the property of the Lackawanna Cutoff. This line, constructed by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad between 1908 and 1911 provided a direct, level-graded route between the Delaware River (Slateford, Pennsylvania), two miles (3.25 km) below the Delaware Water Gap, to the crest of the watershed at Lake Hopatcong (Port Morris, New Jersey). The DL&W had a penchant for extensive concrete construction, and as a result, most of the structures, including stations, bridges, and vast viaducts are still in operational or near-operational condition, despite the abandonment by Conrail in 1979. A 2004 study conducted by New Jersey Transit estimates that bringing the line back into operation would cost approximately $350 million. The proposed rehabilitation project, which still lacks funding, if completed, would provide direct, high-speed commuter rail service between Scranton, Pennsylvania and Hoboken Terminal on the Hudson River waterfront in New Jersey (with connecting service to trains serving New York's Penn Station). Service to Midtown Manhattan would be made available to the growing exurban communities in Monroe County in the Poconos, and in upper Warren County and lower Sussex County.

NYC-Atlantic City service

On June 20, 2006, the board of New Jersey Transit approved a three-year trial of express train service between New York Penn Station and Atlantic City Rail Terminal. The estimated travel time will be 2½ hours with a few stops along the way and is part of the casinos' multi-million dollar investments in Atlantic City. Most of the funding for the new transit line will be provided by Harrah's Entertainment (owners of the Showboat, Ballys Park Place, Clairidge, Harrah's Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City) and the Borgata. The line is expected to be in service by the end of 2007, but details on the line's operation are scant.^[4]

Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM)

The Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM)^[5] line is a proposed central New Jersey commuter rail route offering those county's residents access to New Brunswick, Newark and New York's Penn Station. The line was originally proposed by the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders in March of 1980. This route would run on a 40.1-mile rail corridor and would provide diesel commuter rail service from Monmouth Junction (South Brunswick), where the Jamesburg Branch partially joins the Northeast Corridor (NEC), to Lakehurst. As of 2006, the line was opposed by Jamesburg and Monroe Township [1].
From Monmouth Junction, the line would continue southeast to Jamesburg, Monroe, Englishtown, Manalapan, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell and Farmingdale. A new rail connection would be required in Farmingdale. It would proceed southward from Farmingdale to Lakehurst, passing through Howell, Lakewood, Jackson, Toms River Township, and Lakehurst/Manchester. Trains on this line would also operate on the NEC between Monmouth Junction and Newark. Passengers destined for New York would transfer at Newark. Eight new stations and a train storage yard would be constructed.

Possible Station Stops

★ Lakehurst/Manchester (all routes)

★ Jackson (all routes)

★ Lakewood (all routes)

Red Bank Alignment (East Route)

★ Howell-Oak Glen Rd

★ Howell-Route 33

★ Eatontown

★ Red Bank transfer to NJT North Jersey Coast Line

Matawan Alignment (Central Route)

★ Freehold Township

★ Freehold (Jackson St)

★ Marlboro

★ Morganville

★ Aberdeen/Matawan transfer to NJT North Jersey Coast Line
(Note: Construction of the Henry Hudson Trail, a rail-trail, upon this alignment, may preclude this route as an option.) ^[6]

Monmouth Junction Alignment (West Route)

★ Freehold Township

★ Freehold (Throckmorton St)

★ Manalapan

★ Monroe

★ Jamesburg

★ South Brunswick

★ Monmouth Junction (new transfer to NECL)

★ New Brunswick transfer to NEC

★ Metropark transfer to NEC

★ Newark Airport transfer to NEC

★ Newark Penn Station transfer to NEC

Multilevel Trains

Introduction

Train #3967, consisting of multi-level cars, pulled by ALP46 locomotive #4607

On 11 December 2006, NJ Transit introduced its first Multilevel Train, operating as train 3844 on the Northeast Corridor.^[7] The train's six multilevel cars were manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. By spring 2007, 18 more cars will enter service. Next fall, multilevel trains will begin to operate on the Morris & Essex and North Jersey Coast lines. All 234 cars will be delivered by the end of 2008.
In spring 2007, NJ Transit announced that it would be cheaper to exercise a 45 car option of the multilevel Comet VI cars rather than complete a mid-life overhaul of the 49 existing Comet III cars and that it had excercised its option. Additionally adding more multilevel cars would be found to increase seating capactity.^[8] This increased NJ Transit's order to 279 total cars including 6 additional coach cars with ADA bathrooms, 9 additional cab cars with ADA bathrooms, and 30 additional coach cars without bathrooms.

Cars

looking through the Comet V cab car

★ 92 Coach cars with bathrooms = 132 Seats (each)

★ 42 Cab cars with bathrooms = 127 Seats (each)

★ 145 Coach cars without bathrooms = 142 Seats (each)
Amounts to

★ 279 Cars

★ 38,068 Seats

★
★ 12,144 Seats in Coach cars with bathrooms

★
★ 5,334 Seats in Cab cars with bathrooms

★
★ 20,590 Seats in Coach cars without bathrooms

Gallery

References

1. Vantuono, William C. "New Jersey's innovators: New Jersey Transit's billion-dollar capital budget is focused on creating a unified, statewide network of commuter and light rail lines. New technologies are a key part of that strategy", ''Railway Age'', April 2004. Accessed August 22, 2007. "In late 2003, 20 years after portions of the Pennsylvania, Erie-Lackawanna, Jersey Central, and Lehigh Valley railroads or their successors were combined to form the nation's third-largest commuter rail system, Secaucus Junction opened."
2. GOVERNOR CORZINE MAKES CAPITAL COMMITMENT FOR NEW TRANS-HUDSON COMMUTER RAIL TUNNEL: Applauds united support from New Jersey and New York senators, press release, dated May 10, 2006
3. ENGINEERING BEGINS ON TRANS-HUDSON EXPRESS (THE) TUNNEL: NJ TRANSIT Board awards .5M contract, New Jersey Transit press release, dated August 1, 2006
4. NJ TRANSIT BOARD APPROVES NEW YORK – ATLANTIC CITY EXPRESS RAIL SERVICE press release, accessed June 20, 2006
5. NJ TRANSIT Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for MOM
6. Henry Hudson Trail - Monmouth County Parks System
7.

8.

External links

★ NJ Transit official site

★ NJ Transit schedules and trip planning

★ Directions to NJ Transit Train stations and Transit map using google maps api

★ Railfanning.org: NJ Transit Profile

★ NJ Transit now has its own MySpace page

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