DepartureVision

According to DepartureVision (as of 4:09, March 2), there is a train leaving from Great Notch for NY Penn at 6:06.

Idiot Railfan wrote:According to DepartureVision (as of 4:09, March 2), there is a train leaving from Great Notch for NY Penn at 6:06.

Wow, you're a whole day in the future! Let me ask you, what's the weather gonna be like tomorrow?

cruiser939 wrote:

Idiot Railfan wrote:According to DepartureVision (as of 4:09, March 2), there is a train leaving from Great Notch for NY Penn at 6:06.

Wow, you're a whole day in the future! Let me ask you, what's the weather gonna be like tomorrow?

Department of Teleportation Department

Confirmed this afternoon at NYP - their DV page is in sync with the station's black&white boards.

Back when I used to be a daily commuter to Stamford, I would sometimes arrive at GCT early enough to board a local, leaving earlier than the next express. They usually have it timed so that the local gets to Stamford a couple minutes before the express, giving it enough time to pull east to clear up track 4 for the express. I would always board this train, because the AM expresses to New Haven were crowded as hell, and I could get on the local 1 minute before departing and would still always find a seat if I walk forward enough. Besides, it's either that or hang out in GCT for an extra 20 minutes, which gets dull once you start doing it every day. It's also funny how the second local of the hour leaves 3 minutes later than the express, sort of a consolation prize.

Generally the "board the first train going to your destination" rule is a good one to follow, because even if you are passing a local to get an express, the amount of time you will save is minimal. If NJT was going to cancel a train, wouldn't they give more than 10 minutes notice? I believe trains are given 15-20 minutes to move between Morrisville or Trenton, so they would know if the equipment was bad.

Idiot Railfan wrote:According to DepartureVision (as of 4:09, March 2), there is a train leaving from Great Notch for NY Penn at 6:06.

That is true. 6263/6258 relays at Great Notch station, and is the originating point on the timetable. However, it doesn't take passengers until MSU, and is one of the "bugs" that has never been fixed. The "new and improved" Hoboken page still lists 5733 as well, and still lists it as track 14 (which ML's can't use due to clearance issues) and then changes it to tk 6 when 1272 arrives.

checkthedoorlight wrote:Confirmed this afternoon at NYP - their DV page is in sync with the station's black&white boards.

Back when I used to be a daily commuter to Stamford, I would sometimes arrive at GCT early enough to board a local, leaving earlier than the next express. They usually have it timed so that the local gets to Stamford a couple minutes before the express, giving it enough time to pull east to clear up track 4 for the express. I would always board this train, because the AM expresses to New Haven were crowded as hell, and I could get on the local 1 minute before departing and would still always find a seat if I walk forward enough. Besides, it's either that or hang out in GCT for an extra 20 minutes, which gets dull once you start doing it every day. It's also funny how the second local of the hour leaves 3 minutes later than the express, sort of a consolation prize.

Generally the "board the first train going to your destination" rule is a good one to follow, because even if you are passing a local to get an express, the amount of time you will save is minimal. If NJT was going to cancel a train, wouldn't they give more than 10 minutes notice? I believe trains are given 15-20 minutes to move between Morrisville or Trenton, so they would know if the equipment was bad.

How many times do trains go from "standby' or 'delayed (x number of minutes) to cancelled? A lot. Usually its well past a 10 minute delay already. If a local was cancelled, and the express is the next train, most times that express will become a local. If an express was cancelled, oh well, just catch the next local.

It's not just about time either, i enjoy the lack of stop/start after new brunswick all the way to newark penn or even the airport since that's usually a longer stop than say hamilton (unless dispatch holds the train there or PJ to keep it out of the way of amtk moves farther up the line).

- A

Good to see DV working for NYP

checkthedoorlight wrote:Confirmed this afternoon at NYP - their DV page is in sync with the station's black&white boards.

Back when I used to be a daily commuter to Stamford, I would sometimes arrive at GCT early enough to board a local, leaving earlier than the next express. They usually have it timed so that the local gets to Stamford a couple minutes before the express, giving it enough time to pull east to clear up track 4 for the express. I would always board this train, because the AM expresses to New Haven were crowded as hell, and I could get on the local 1 minute before departing and would still always find a seat if I walk forward enough. Besides, it's either that or hang out in GCT for an extra 20 minutes, which gets dull once you start doing it every day. It's also funny how the second local of the hour leaves 3 minutes later than the express, sort of a consolation prize.

Generally the "board the first train going to your destination" rule is a good one to follow, because even if you are passing a local to get an express, the amount of time you will save is minimal. If NJT was going to cancel a train, wouldn't they give more than 10 minutes notice? I believe trains are given 15-20 minutes to move between Morrisville or Trenton, so they would know if the equipment was bad.

Hah. I do a bi-weekly trip from Morristown to Hamilton, which would be a whole lot longer (20 minutes if not more) without the super express from Newark Penn. Of course it's almost impossible to find a local that goes all the way to Hamilton during rush hour. Thank goodness I no longer commute daily from Metropark to Hamilton (there is a 1 hour 11 minute gap for a one-seat ride between the 6:14 and 7:25 trains and routine 40 minute gaps otherwise) or before that Rahway to Hamilton (where there are routine near hourly gaps during rush). I wish there was more potential to transfer from Jersey Avenue trains to expresses at New Brunswick to accommodate this type of thing. How long can a stop at New Brunswick take? You're already on track 4 most of the time, right? If I'm wrong, you could definitely make the stop at Jersey Avenue instead.

zakharin wrote:Hah. I do a bi-weekly trip from Morristown to Hamilton, which would be a whole lot longer (20 minutes if not more) without the super express from Newark Penn. Of course it's almost impossible to find a local that goes all the way to Hamilton during rush hour. Thank goodness I no longer commute daily from Metropark to Hamilton (there is a 1 hour 11 minute gap for a one-seat ride between the 6:14 and 7:25 trains and routine 40 minute gaps otherwise) or before that Rahway to Hamilton (where there are routine near hourly gaps during rush). I wish there was more potential to transfer from Jersey Avenue trains to expresses at New Brunswick to accommodate this type of thing. How long can a stop at New Brunswick take? You're already on track 4 most of the time, right? If I'm wrong, you could definitely make the stop at Jersey Avenue instead.

Let's address a couple things in this post.

1. Yes there is a 1hr 11 min gap in one seat service btw Metropark and Hamilton in the PM peak direction. Unfortunately, Metropark is not a huge trip generator in this direction and the demand for direct service really isn't there. Also, there are 2 different trains you could take from Metropark and transfer at New Brunswick in order to get to Hamilton if you really had to get there.

2. I'm not seeing these "routine 40 minute gaps otherwise". perhaps you care to elaborate? The NEC is pretty standard at every 30 mins during the off-peak.

3. As to your question about changing at New Brunswick... No, you are not traveling down track 4 most of the time. A station stop there would require a move from track 3 to track 4 at Lincoln and then you'd be competing with the local traffic all the way btw Metuchen and Jersey Ave.

cruiser939 wrote: Let's address a couple things in this post.

1. Yes there is a 1hr 11 min gap in one seat service btw Metropark and Hamilton in the PM peak direction. Unfortunately, Metropark is not a huge trip generator in this direction and the demand for direct service really isn't there. Also, there are 2 different trains you could take from Metropark and transfer at New Brunswick in order to get to Hamilton if you really had to get there.

Funny, I've seen quite a few people getting on with me (granted, more people got off). Just to clarify I was commuting from Hamilton to Metropark in the morning and back in the evening not vice versa.

cruiser939 wrote: 2. I'm not seeing these "routine 40 minute gaps otherwise". perhaps you care to elaborate? The NEC is pretty standard at every 30 mins during the off-peak.

What I mean is during rush hour. You are right, looking at the schedule, that there is only one such gap if you are willing to transfer. 5:17 is followed by 5:57. Still quite noticeable

cruiser939 wrote: 3. As to your question about changing at New Brunswick... No, you are not traveling down track 4 most of the time. A station stop there would require a move from track 3 to track 4 at Lincoln and then you'd be competing with the local traffic all the way btw Metuchen and Jersey Ave.

And Jersey Ave is low platform and not accessible enough. I guess it would take some work to make it a transfer station. Still, it would be nice if something was worked out. Like I said, personally I'm out of this area now. The only thing that would help me, short of a whole new line following the 287/206/295 corridor (Morristown, Somerville, Princeton, Hamilton, Cherry Hill), would be super express service on the M&E, say Morristown-Summit-Newark. That's definitely not happening, though.

Expect a handful of new expresses to pop up on the M&E after the signalling project is done. NJT was doing the project with the idea of a handful of Morristown expresses being added to the schedule during peak, as well as a few express trips from west-of-Dover.

M&Eman wrote:Expect a handful of new expresses to pop up on the M&E after the signalling project is done. NJT was doing the project with the idea of a handful of Morristown expresses being added to the schedule during peak, as well as a few express trips from west-of-Dover.

It's too bad I'm traveling reverse peak (to Newark). Actually, Summit/Brick Church/Newark is not bad. Still skipping stops west of Summit (but not Morristown, of course) would be better

New expresses on the M&E will be a godsend!

M&Eman wrote:Expect a handful of new expresses to pop up on the M&E after the signalling project is done. NJT was doing the project with the idea of a handful of Morristown expresses being added to the schedule during peak, as well as a few express trips from west-of-Dover.

Where did you get that load from?