The Raritan Valley Line Thread…

[Tommy Meehan]

Is the prohibition on weekend service to NYP because of maintenance work in the Hudson River tunnel? Is the tunnel still single-track all weekend?

[ryanov]

One question I wondered about was inbound passengers detraining or outbound passengers boarding at Newark. Were there many? You would think there would be some, that there would be people bound for Lower Manhattan who would still find it faster to take PATH from Newark.

It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with that. I live in Newark, for example, and am not alone. Many others originate for their rail trip at Newark for whatever reason. I will probably ride some of these trains to NYP or down the RVL at some point, and I would fall into this category. Same with people that work in Newark; they will still get off where they did.

[ThirdRail7]

Is the prohibition on weekend service to NYP because of maintenance work in the Hudson River tunnel? Is the tunnel still single-track all weekend?

On any given weekend, tracks are removed from service to accommodate the Hudson River Tunnel Project, the East Side Access Project and the Farley Projects. Sometimes, all projects occur at the same time, sometimes none of them are causing much of a commotion and just about everything is in service. However, the operation profile exists to accommodate them.

The weekend service options have been kicked around and there is a vision. However, if things don't go correctly, it will upset the balance of the trains and ridership. There is a lot of tweaking involved.

[Tommy Meehan]

Thanks very much. On another list someone said the RVL trains can't run on weekends because on weekends they are single-tracking through the tunnel. That sounded kind of excessive, to be doing it every single weekend.

If you look at the local news sites in Union and Somerset Counties you'll see riders aren't wasting anytime in already pushing for expanded service -weekends and at least limited rush hour service. I think one-seat service into NYP has the potential to really increase ridership. Look at how Midtown Direct has affected Morristown Line ridership and Secaucus Jct. has affected Main, Bergen and Pascack Valley ridership, at least off-peak.

[philipmartin]

I took the first ride into and out of the city yesterday. I can report that the locomotive was 4516, we got held up crossing the NEC south of Newark, arrived in Newark on track A a little late. The mode change happened at Newark. Lights flickered a little during the changeover. We were held leaving Newark waiting for the train on track 1 to clear. We arrived on track 2 at NYP about 9 minutes late.

A good report; next best thing to actually being on it.
One question mark is "scrubbed up the MLV." I've never noticed anything that needed scrubbing on them. Anyhow, I'm glad that Transit went all out to make the first train sparkle.

[BigDell]

A good report; next best thing to actually being on it.
One question mark is "scrubbed up the MLV." I've never noticed anything that needed scrubbing on them. Anyhow, I'm glad that Transit went all out to make the first train sparkle.

Agreed. I've been on the MLV's many many many times and they generally seem like the cleanest cars in the fleet.

Still can't wait to ride this thing out of Fanwood....

[ThirdRail7]

Thanks very much. On another list someone said the RVL trains can't run on weekends because on weekends they are single-tracking through the tunnel. That sounded kind of excessive, to be doing it every single weekend.

If you look at the local news sites in Union and Somerset Counties you'll see riders aren't wasting anytime in already pushing for expanded service -weekends and at least limited rush hour service. I think one-seat service into NYP has the potential to really increase ridership. Look at how Midtown Direct has affected Morristown Line ridership and Secaucus Jct. has affected Main, Bergen and Pascack Valley ridership, at least off-peak.

The Raritan passengers should tread lightly and not make too much noise. Don't think the passengers from the Bergen, Main and Pascack Valley Lines aren't watching. They started complaining about the lack of direct service before the dual modes were barely on the property. When it was pointed out the Bergen Loop doesn't exist, they basically said "build it..we pay taxes too," which is basically what the Raritan rides said.

A true fight for slots will soon break out. Does anyone want some of my popcorn?

A good report; next best thing to actually being on it.
One question mark is "scrubbed up the MLV." I've never noticed anything that needed scrubbing on them. Anyhow, I'm glad that Transit went all out to make the first train sparkle.

Agreed. I've been on the MLV's many many many times and they generally seem like the cleanest cars in the fleet.

Still can't wait to ride this thing out of Fanwood....

Hardly conclusive since they are the newest. They don't have (in some cases) decades of constant use.

[BigDell]

Hardly conclusive since they are the newest. They don't have (in some cases) decades of constant use.

That's the point... I can't imagine why they'd need a good scrubdown for the "new" RVL nonstops. Even with all the salt and grit from this winter, they look pretty decent inside and out. Interesting how some trainsets, however, appeared to be completely "salted over" and grimy on the NEC a couple weeks ago. One looks like it hadn't seen the washers in ages (kind of like my car, until this past weekend...)

[Tommy Meehan]

....The Raritan passengers should tread lightly and not make too much noise...

The Raritan riders can make all the noise they want. They're paying for it. We all are. Without us (the citizenry) there'd be a lot of railroaders out of work.

Just sayin'.

[ACeInTheHole]

Hardly conclusive since they are the newest. They don't have (in some cases) decades of constant use.

That's the point... I can't imagine why they'd need a good scrubdown for the "new" RVL nonstops. Even with all the salt and grit from this winter, they look pretty decent inside and out. Interesting how some trainsets, however, appeared to be completely "salted over" and grimy on the NEC a couple weeks ago. One looks like it hadn't seen the washers in ages (kind of like my car, until this past weekend...)

There was one Comet salad that came up the M&E yesterday with a spotless Comet IV behind the loco, and then the entire rest of the train looked miserable. The spotless CIV just made the grit on the rest of the train stand out.

[Patrick Boylan]

Hardly conclusive since they are the newest. They don't have (in some cases) decades of constant use.

That's the point... I can't imagine why they'd need a good scrubdown for the "new" RVL nonstops. Even with all the salt and grit from this winter, they look pretty decent inside and out. Interesting how some trainsets, however, appeared to be completely "salted over" and grimy on the NEC a couple weeks ago. One looks like it hadn't seen the washers in ages (kind of like my car, until this past weekend...)

There was one Comet salad that came up the M&E yesterday with a spotless Comet IV behind the loco, and then the entire rest of the train looked miserable. The spotless CIV just made the grit on the rest of the train stand out.

that must have been something

[ThirdRail7]

....The Raritan passengers should tread lightly and not make too much noise...

The Raritan riders can make all the noise they want. They're paying for it. We all are. Without us (the citizenry) there'd be a lot of railroaders out of work.

Just sayin'.

Not sure if you're following the context of the conversation, so I'll start again just for you.

The Raritan riders can try to insist and push for additional service. However, other riders from other lines are also starting to push. As a matter of fact, they started pushing a few years ago. As quick (and it wasn't all that quick) as those slots were created for Raritan travel, they can disappear for the reason you mentioned. Just as the Raritan riders are paying, so are passengers on the Main, Bergen and Pascack Valley Lines. They asked a few years ago to allocate money for the Bergen Loop even if the ARC tunnel was cancelled and Gateway is never built. This is because they are well aware of the presence of a the ALP-45dms....amd as you mentioned..they are paying for it...and as the Raritan riders sing, soon others will clamor for the use of the dual modes and they will want to know as I predicted years ago:

What about us? What makes them special? Where is the service I am paying for?

Moths are attracted to light if you understand what I am saying.

[Tommy Meehan]

The Main, Bergen and Pascack Valley Line riders are not going to be able to access NYP until the Bergen Loop is constructed and that's a long way off. Raritan Valley Line trains are operating into Penn Station now.

Why shouldn't both groups be able to lobby for whatever they want? I don't see any harm in it. There's nothing more American than lobbying! The industry should be happy that people are so eager to use their product.

[lirr42]

It will essentially turn into a shouting match. The louder and louder Raritan riders get singing and dancing in the concourses of NYP, the louder and louder the Erie riders will get as they trudge up and down several flights of stairs at Secaucus Transfer. Get loud enough and we'll see some movement on that Bergen Loop soon enough.

[Tommy Meehan]

Is anyone seriously arguing riders on the former Erie Lackawanna lines are going to demand the Raritan Line riders not have one-seat service, that they should cancel the new service, until they, the former EL lines, get it too? I don't see that happening.

The fact is, NJ Transit has already spent a huge amount of money constructing Secaucus Jct. This gives the Bergen, Main and Pascack riders a much better connection to Midtown Manhattan than they had previously. (PATH from Hoboken.) It's a much better connection than the one Raritan Line riders use, changing at Newark. I've used both and Secaucus is much superior. And it's well-used. On weekends the Main-Bergen trains I've ridden from Hoboken are pretty much empty until they get to Secaucus Jct. Then they fill up.