Lackawanna Cutoff Passenger Service Restoration

It makes no sense. CP has a route into NJ and they just dropped their last train off of it. Why would they ever be interested in helping rebuild a new line that would be a lot harder to use than their current route?

SecaucusJunction wrote:It makes no sense. CP has a route into NJ and they just dropped their last train off of it. Why would they ever be interested in helping rebuild a new line that would be a lot harder to use than their current route?

Pipe dreams my friend, pipe dreams!!!!

Unless I'm missing something, CP had a route into New York City over the Hudson Line, but not to the New Jersey-side piers that see the lion's share of the traffic.

Cross harbor tunnel + freight on cutoff is a pipe dream.

The other aspect of freight on this line is the fact that the port authority is changing the docks in newark and adding some in bayonne to accommodate post-panamax ships in conjunction with the panama canal expansion project.

http://www.panynj.gov/bayonnebridge/

The video right about 7 minutes in.

mtuandrew wrote:CP had a route into New York City over the Hudson Line, but not to the New Jersey-side piers that see the lion's share of the traffic.

They had track rights over Conrail's Lehigh Line into Oak Island yard in Newark, rights CP inherited when they took over D&H.

Tommy Meehan wrote:

mtuandrew wrote:CP had a route into New York City over the Hudson Line, but not to the New Jersey-side piers that see the lion's share of the traffic.

They had track rights over Conrail's Lehigh Line into Oak Island yard in Newark, rights CP inherited when they took over D&H.

Oh, okay. Has that remained in force?

Sorry for the misinformation!

mtuandrew wrote:The Canadian lines in particular would hugely benefit from a New York Harbor gateway. Were my name Hunter Harrison, I'd be striking up a conversation with a certain large-and-in-charge governor - "Maybe you convince NJT to drop its 'no freight' restriction on the Cutoff, maybe we chuck some money towards this line's extension to Phillipsburg? Maybe your state gets beaucoup new jobs, maybe the PANYNJ gets a third major carrier out of New York Harbor, and maybe this big public-private partnership feather in your cap earns you that spot on the Big Ticket?" His space cadet counterpart next door would certainly concur, and the Thoroughbred could be convinced to trot along with the proper application of money and ownership (I'm thinking a joint venture owned by the two states and the two railroads, and funded by those four with a healthy influx of Feddybux.)

To further rerference the underlined within Mr. Stephen's captioned post:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8DzoUJLEIE

I believe Canadian Pacific (D&H) still does operate to Oak Island NJ (from Binghamton?).

Technically they still 'operate' on the Hudson Line into the Bronx, but CSX performs the haulage. CP (D&H) hauls a CSX freight from Saratoga Springs to Montreal in a swap they arranged a couple years ago.

How widespread is the no freight restriction anyway? Was that just a selling point for the NIMBYs?

If and when the cutoff gets rebuilt back to PA there will never be any major freight traffic on it. The only freight traffic on NJT rails is local for the most part. NJT doesn't not want to deal with freight moves between their passenger train unless they have to. They don't want long heavey freights beatting their tracks.
Likewise the freight railroads don't want to deal with NJT if they don't have to. They like to be able to move their trains when they want to, not work around passenger train schedules if they don't have to.

Received third-hand rumor that this project is being scrapped because the current estimate of the cost to repair the Roseville tunnel greatly exceeds the original estimate. Also, NJT wants to pull-up the track that it has already laid. Can anyone confirm?

uncle choo-choo wrote:Received third-hand rumor that this project is being scrapped because the current estimate of the cost to repair the Roseville tunnel greatly exceeds the original estimate. Also, NJT wants to pull-up the track that it has already laid. Can anyone confirm?

That would be very surprising..... but it wouldn't be the first time a major project was aborted after it began.

Let's treat it as rumor until we hear more. As far as we all know, it is still going forward.

This can't be considered very good news for the long-term, can it ?....

http://www.businessinsider.com/scranton ... ges-2012-7

This is how NJ Transit responded to a question about the project status literally the other day:

**NJ TRANSIT began pre-construction activity last February on the
7.3-mile segment between Port Morris and Andover Township. This work
consists of the removal of vegetation and debris to prepare the track bed
for construction. The track bed restoration work is being completed in two
phases—the first phase, from Port Morris to Lake Lackawanna, was completed
in the fall.

****

**• **At this time, we’re continuing to work through the
environmental process for the second phase of track bed restoration, which
will be from Lake Lackawanna to Andover. As such, we are unable to
estimate or offer a timeline.

****

**• **Following completion of the track bed restoration, we would
install the rails, ties and signal system. Again, there is no estimated
timeline.

****

**• **In the interim, we are continuing with the design and
environmental permitting for the planned station, which would be located
off Roseville Road in Andover, NJ and include a 65-space parking lot. The
estimated total cost for this segment is $37 million.

Tommy Meehan wrote:This is how NJ Transit responded to a question about the project status literally the other day:

**NJ TRANSIT began pre-construction activity last February on the
7.3-mile segment between Port Morris and Andover Township. This work
consists of the removal of vegetation and debris to prepare the track bed
for construction. The track bed restoration work is being completed in two
phases—the first phase, from Port Morris to Lake Lackawanna, was completed
in the fall.

****

**• **At this time, we’re continuing to work through the
environmental process for the second phase of track bed restoration, which
will be from Lake Lackawanna to Andover. As such, we are unable to
estimate or offer a timeline.

****

**• **Following completion of the track bed restoration, we would
install the rails, ties and signal system. Again, there is no estimated
timeline.

****

**• **In the interim, we are continuing with the design and
environmental permitting for the planned station, which would be located
off Roseville Road in Andover, NJ and include a 65-space parking lot. The
estimated total cost for this segment is $37 million.

Tommy, where was this from?