The Atlantic City Line isn’t meant for commuting to Philadelphia. Plus, it is a slow ride, I believe, between Lindenwold and Philly. Maybe what needs to happen is NJT should implement limited stop express buses between Philadelphia and Atlantic City.
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Major NJT cuts, no AC line for 5 months and more
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So what if the ACL isn't meant for for commuting to Philly. People use it for commuting to Philly. Many more passengers previously commuted to Philly until Gov Christie cancelled the most popular morning train into Philly in order to remove one trainset and one crew from the line.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the vast majority of NJTs customer base commutation? How can a line not be purposed for commutation if it serves a major metropolis and surrounding areas? I'm aware that the trains on the acl are staggered fairly evenly throughout the day, and the point is probably moot given the fact that the line will be shut down for the foreseeable future, but still....
I don't really buy the conspiracy theories. The governor seems to want to return NJT to its former glory. It probably can't be done overnight, but if NJT is properly funded, things ought to turn around and there's no reason they can't expand service. They'll have to make it possible to hire staff, though.
|=| R. Novosielski |=|
Former Gov Christe Stole the Capital Funding $$$ From NJT and appointed political "hacks" to key positions in NJT so as to "get" his way with the funding.
You cannot clean up years of overlooked maintenance overnight,nor get the Capital Projects funded again quickly.
NOW NJT is under the gun to get ACSES PTC installed and running,or risk loosing NEC access to NY Penn.
Also ACL's NEC access to 30th street station in Philly.
You cannot clean up years of overlooked maintenance overnight,nor get the Capital Projects funded again quickly.
NOW NJT is under the gun to get ACSES PTC installed and running,or risk loosing NEC access to NY Penn.
Also ACL's NEC access to 30th street station in Philly.
The Land of Enchantment is not Flyover country!
Don't discount the politics aspect. Murphy and Sweeney are at war: Sweeney rules South Jersey. Murphy shuts down a South Jersey rail line- hits Sweeney on his home turf. Touche..
Things are already bad at NJT due to politics,that political "war" makes it worse. 
The Land of Enchantment is not Flyover country!
christ, it's simple.
as was stated earlier, ridership on this line does not justify keeping around a train set while cancelling trains on the NEC or M&E lines. the crews and the equipment are simply not there to keep this line running. when push comes to shove obviously the lower ridership lines will get cut first.
PTC is a make it or break it ordeal for NJT. If they do not get their shit together before the end of the year, forget about your "one" train on the RVL. *all* NEC, M&E, NJCL rush-hour trains are gone, the RVL terminates at Union, and the ACL terminates at Pennsauken. this isn't some sort of joke.
edit: don't forget that there's a cross-honoring agreement in place with PATCO. that's not free to NJT.
as was stated earlier, ridership on this line does not justify keeping around a train set while cancelling trains on the NEC or M&E lines. the crews and the equipment are simply not there to keep this line running. when push comes to shove obviously the lower ridership lines will get cut first.
PTC is a make it or break it ordeal for NJT. If they do not get their shit together before the end of the year, forget about your "one" train on the RVL. *all* NEC, M&E, NJCL rush-hour trains are gone, the RVL terminates at Union, and the ACL terminates at Pennsauken. this isn't some sort of joke.
edit: don't forget that there's a cross-honoring agreement in place with PATCO. that's not free to NJT.
Paul Borokhov
Last RRPicArch addition – NJ Railfan.
Moderator of the NJT and California commuter forums
Last RRPicArch addition – NJ Railfan.
Moderator of the NJT and California commuter forums
If NJT is restricted from running on federal railroads, theoretically that could also mean that the entire NJT Northeast Corridor Line gets shut down. Many stations in big towns/cities not or infrequently served by Amtrak such as Secaucus, Edison, Elizabeth, New Brunswick, and Princeton Junction would lose most if not all train service. There would be little reason to run the Dinky as well due to Princeton Junction having little service, so that will get suspended too. The RVL (beyond Bridgewater), NJCL (beyond Long Branch), and ACRL will not have access to a reasonable terminal station, and those lines could get shut down indefinitely too. Only trains that can access Hoboken without going via Amtrak will still operate. And to top it all off NJT will not only lose access to Amtrak's Sunnyside Yard, but trains at their Morriville yard will become trapped. All in all NJT's network will be a completely fragmented mess without Amtrak's tracks.
A train ride a day keeps the doctor away.
If your office is very close to 30th St Station, especially west of there, then the ACL is ok. It's still not convenient for commuters and sadly, it's for the right reasons. It's slow for, I believe the first seven miles east of the Delaware River Bridge. Patco, on the other hand, is great for commuters and people who live only a few miles east of Philadelphia. It's fast, it runs frequently, and there are many stops in Center City. Unlike Patco, NJT ACL only stops at 30th St Station. If your office is in the eastern part of Center City, then you are better off taking Patco as well as the bus.
I would think then that NJT would be inclined to attempt to stop in Suburban Station. There are 8 tracks; it would be easy for NJT trains to use Track 0 without conflicting too too much with SEPTA. It's not perfect, but it would surely help.
mcgrath618 wrote:I would think then that NJT would be inclined to attempt to stop in Suburban Station. There are 8 tracks; it would be easy for NJT trains to use Track 0 without conflicting too too much with SEPTA. It's not perfect, but it would surely help.That would in fact create a HUGE conflict, since each train would have to cross ALLLLLLLLL the way over at Schuylkill on the way back to AC. The railroad between Suburban and 30th Street does not have the capacity to allow for those moves.
To add to this, Transit would have to present their crews-which they are already lacking tremendously-to SEPTA to qualify probably as far as Roberts, in case there's a switch failure at Broad or 20th Street.
In addition, where are you going to put the NJT crews? The crew room that is there now for SEPTA personnel is grossly inadequate. Adding more crews will only strain the already limited space and likely lead to tension. There's really no place else for the NJT crews to lay over, Suburban is practically a homeless shelter, with vagrants draped on almost every bench.
"It's not even a railroad anymore, it's a circus act."
Diesels in Suburban? I think not-
Not to mention the fact that SEPTA's Key turnstiles ate now in service at Suburban, and that would mean NJT would have to devise a way to deal with them.
EDM5970 wrote:Diesels in Suburban? I think not-Agreed...There is no way that NJT will use expensive ALP45DP's on the ACRL under electric mode
into Suburban Station or for that matter the lower level of 30th Street...There would need to be
crew accommodation and compatibility with the SEPTA Key system for starters here as mentioned.
MACTRAXX
EXPRESS TRAIN TO NEW YORK PENN STATION-NO JAMAICA ON THIS TRAIN-PLEASE STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING TRAIN DOORS