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  • NJT ALP-45-DP Supplemental Order

  • Discussion related to New Jersey Transit rail and light rail operations.
Discussion related to New Jersey Transit rail and light rail operations.

Moderators: lensovet, Kaback9, nick11a

 #1471151  by ALP45DP 4515
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote:Taking the Montclair-Boonton Line isn’t that fast of an option especially on a local train. The express trains don’t save you much time anyway, like about 10 minutes. Many people who live in Boonton, Mountain Lakes, other towns in WORM territory use the bus to and from the city as it is the most convenient and fastest option, in general. On weekends, it almost takes an hour and a half to travel by train from Denville to NYP. Lakeland takes a lot less.
I'm from and live in Mountain Lakes, I can confirm this. Although I primarily use the train when traveling to NY, as I prefer it, most people from this area that work in NY take the bus. A good amount of people congregate by 46 and the BLVD waiting for the lakeland.
 #1471165  by trainbrain
 
With regard to the cost, you also have to consider the maintenance costs over the life of the locomotive. The Siemens Charger is completely different mechanically than the ALP-45-DP and you need to have spare parts for both types and have mechanics that can work with both types.

I don't know why NJT hasn't eliminated the Bay Head shuttle already. It would save labor and equipment costs of needing to have the extra sets and crews down there.

Any idea why the Morris/Essex/Montclair lines are so slow? True express service outside of rush hour seems to be limited to the NEC and Port Jervis Line.
 #1471175  by njtmnrrbuff
 
From a longtime Montclair resident’s point of view, I can tell you a lot about the slowness of the Montclair-Boonton Line. Capacity into and out of NYP is very limited so that causes many of the Montclair Boonton Line trains to make every single stop, especially between MSU and Newark Broad. Between MSU And Watsessing Ave, the stops are extremely close to one another, no more than a mile. Mountain Ave and Upper Montclair Station is 4/10ths of a mile. There are many curves along the right of way, especially between Bay Street and Glen Ridge. A local train from MSU to NYP takes 50-55 minutes making the travel time very time uncompetitive from anywhere west of MSU on a local.
 #1471196  by trainbrain
 
That makes it very uncompetitive with taking the bus or driving. It's only about as far north as Clifton on the nearby Main Line which is 5 stops and about half an hour out of Hoboken and 40-45 minutes out of NYP including the transfer.

Apart from having Gateway finished, is there any way it could be sped up? Would consolidating stations, skip-stop service, or having additional express trains go to Hoboken instead of Penn be a possibility?
 #1471212  by njtmnrrbuff
 
Yes, when you are in the immediate area of MSU, if you want trains, then I think you might as well just use the Main Line at Clifton Station. If you want to use the bus, then you have plenty of buses to choose from. One of the 190 series buses serves Little Falls. I think most people who want to use the bus who live in Little Falls drive to Allwood Rd Park N Ride Lot. I live in Upper Montclair about two miles from that parking lot. Sometimes on weekends, I will take the bus from there. For trains, I have used the Bay Street service many times but sometimes I will use Clifton.

I don't think the Mtc-Btn Line will ever be sped up in Montclair, Glen Ridge, and Bloomfield. Too many curves, grade crossings, and the stations are a "light rail" distance from each other. Before any NJT commuter rail projects happen for the most part, Gateway needs to be done. That should have been done years ago. What I also want to see done is replacing the bridge over the Passaic River that the M&E uses and having three tracks all the way from whatever interlocking that is in Harrison to the east end of the Broad St Station platform. That is supposed to happen eventually. What I probably see happening in the short term for Mtc-Btn Line passengers who live in Montclair and points east is when the Multilevel MUs enter revenue service, they will run on the Montclair-Boonton Line as MUs should be. If MUs dominated the Lackawanna Lines, then some travel time would have been shaved off the schedule as many of those lines are meant for MUs.
 #1471726  by R36 Combine Coach
 
njt/mnrrbuff wrote:Yes, when you are in the immediate area of MSU, if you want trains, then I think you might as well just use the Main Line at Clifton Station. If you want to use the bus, then you have plenty of buses to choose from. One of the 190 series buses serves Little Falls. I think most people who want to use the bus who live in Little Falls drive to Allwood Rd Park N Ride Lot. I live in Upper Montclair about two miles from that parking lot. Sometimes on weekends, I will take the bus from there. For trains, I have used the Bay Street service many times but sometimes I will use Clifton.
192 serves Allwood and the 191/195 provide better service to Great Notch than the train ever did - one seat rides, all day service.
 #1471934  by time
 
train brain wrote: Any idea why the Morris/Essex/Montclair lines are so slow? True express service outside of rush hour seems to be limited to the NEC and Port Jervis Line.
I believe it's due to infrastructure constraints. Especially the evening rush service. Many trains queue just outside of Summit, waiting for trains ahead to clear. Partly due to not having that mysteriously elusive pocket track complete for turnaround service. If your train is just going to wait at Summit anyway, you may as well provide skip-stop service along the way.

To provide consistent express service, or additional express service during prime rush hour, you'd need that pocket track at the very least. Preferably a third track between Millburn and Summit. A third track over the Passaic and through Harrison certainly would help move things along, as well.
 #1471950  by njtmnrrbuff
 
Just having the pocket track isn't good enough for adding additional express service. For starters, a third track over the Passaic River Bridge as well as through Harrison is very important-that is supposed to happen eventually along with a new bridge over the Passaic. A third track between Millburn and Summit won't be happening anytime soon but it would be very nice! That M&E literally operates on a subway style headway between Summit and points east during the rush hour.
 #1515796  by Regardie
 
So is this the supplemental order that just now got approved by the board in July 2019? They are talking up the version 3 EMU replacement but not much about the 17 new DP locomotives.
 #1515810  by CNJGeep
 
There was a photo on the NJ Transit Facebook page some time ago of the first of this order of ALP45s under construction. Perhaps in the middle of June?
 #1548014  by nomis
 
NJ TRANSIT TO PURCHASE EIGHT ADDITIONAL DUAL-POWERED LOCOMOTIVES
https://www.njtransit.com/press-release ... ocomotives
Environmentally-Friendly Locomotives Will Help Improve Rail On-Time Performance and Provide Flexibility
July 15, 2020
NEWARK, NJ – The NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors today approved the purchase of eight additional ALP-45A dual-powered locomotives manufactured by Bombardier Transit Corporation for a cost of approximately $70.5 million. The new locomotives will allow NJ TRANSIT Rail Operations to retire some locomotives in the fleet to increase mechanical reliability, improve on-time performance, provide operational flexibility and promote a more sustainable planet for the future.

This new order for eight ALP-45A locomotives is in addition to the 17 approved at the December 2017 Board of Directors meeting, bringing the total number of new ALP-45A dual-powered locomotives approved in recent years to 25.

“This important purchase aligns squarely with our recently released 10-Year Strategic Plan and 5-Year Capital Plan. Improving service reliability and the customer experience are among the chief goals in both plans,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett. “These new locomotives are far more environmentally-friendly and will provide additional flexibility to operate on both electrified and non-electrified tracks. Additionally, these locomotives will reduce the average age of our fleet, which ultimately results in improved reliability and on-time performance, and reduces service interruptions for customers.”

These new dual-powered locomotives join hundreds of new rail cars and buses the agency has ordered since 2018 to modernize the fleet and replace older equipment, including the purchase of 17 additional dual-powered locomotives, 113 new multilevel rail cars, and, joining our fleet this year, 119 new cruiser buses and 110 new articulated buses.

The ALP-45A locomotives will replace some of the older PL-42AC series diesel locomotives in NJ TRANSIT’s fleet. The locomotives also feature upgraded diesel engines and an after-treatment system to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Tier IV emissions requirements, further reducing the locomotive’s emissions when operating in diesel mode. By contrast, even if overhauled, the PL-42’s EMD 710 diesel engine cannot be upgraded to Tier IV.

Additionally, the ALP-45A’s can take advantage of operating in electric mode whenever overhead catenary is available, which is more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly than diesel operation.

Replacing a Tier I locomotive with a Tier IV locomotive can result in an estimated emissions reduction of 52.0 NOx tons annually which supports NJ TRANSIT’s goal of a reduced carbon footprint.

Other benefits of the ALP-45As are self-rescue capability by changing power modes, redundancy by having two engines instead of one, improved diagnostic capabilities and an upgraded pneumatic system. The ALP-45A locomotives are designed to operate push-pull passenger train service on both electrified and non-electrified lines at speeds of up to 125 mph in electric mode and up to 100 mph in diesel mode. The locomotives will meet the current EPA Tier IV requirements, reducing emissions compared to the locomotives to be replaced when operating in diesel mode, and producing no emissions when operating in electric mode. The ALP45As offer an increase in horsepower, acceleration and available head-end power over the locomotives they will be replacing.

In 2008, the Board of Directors approved a contract with Bombardier Transit Corporation for the purchase of 26 ALP-45 dual-powered locomotives, with an option to purchase up to 63 additional locomotives in the future. In July 2009, NJ TRANSIT purchased nine additional locomotives, increasing the total number of ALP45s at that time to 35. The first locomotive was delivered in December 2011. The introduction of the dual-powered ALP-45s in 2011 marked a first for this technology in the United States.

NJ TRANSIT expects delivery of the first ALP-45A locomotive from today’s order to be in the first quarter of 2022.
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