Toms River Industrial Track!

A few posts back mentioned the use of a SPLAT when shoving from Lakehurst. I've seen the SPLAT in Freehold many times. But that article spoke of operations in the 50s and never said anything about a SPLAT. Probably some brakeman hanging off the front of the first shoved car passing signals back. As pointed out above, I too made my own "feasibility studies" of traffic at Rt 37 and the GSP. How come we can see the need but the parties-that-be can't? Not enough money for them to squander?

Bracdude181 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 6:32 pm @R&DB Yes, Route 37 traffic is a complete nightmare. Due in part to the fact that no stays right! Left lane hogs are a big problem in NJ.

Yes, a train station at the Downtown Toms River bus station would be a much better option than terminating in Lakehurst. It would allow transfers to the train from bus routes like the 559 route.

Bracdude;
My resoning for the bus depot location is it already has the parking, building and central location. And the trains would not have to cross Rte-37.

R&DB wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 6:03 pm One of the best thinggs to build in the BASF site would be a senior-friendly shopping mall. You could build light-rail stations at Bimini, St. Catherines, Bananier, Whiting and BASF.

That might work in theory. But you'd need convenient schedules with close headway times. Back before cars, trolleys paralleling the NY & Long Branch between Long Branch and Sea Girt ran on as close to five minute headways. Service on the NY&LB wasn't convenient to midday travelers just out shopping so the trolleys filled the void. Getting freight service back to Ciba and passenger service back to Toms River will be hard enough without trying to get LRT service in as well. But we can dream.

@GSC Going off of comments on internet news articles regarding the mayor’s redevelopment plans, many residents are against doing anything that would lead to more cars on the roads, and more people living in Toms River. Should a passenger rail project occur between Lakehurst and Downtown Toms River I’d imagine we can expect heavy backlash from the NIMBYs.

As for light rail I’ve often wondered if something of the sort is possible between Toms River and South Amboy whilst generally following the Route 9 corridor.

Freight wouldn’t be as disruptive. One train to Ciba and another going back once a day outside of rush hour wouldn’t cause too terribly long delays, but because of Route 37 and the nearby crossings for the retirement communities, (I call them leisure villages) I think a few precautions/safeguards should be put in place.

The crossing on 37 should be re-wired so trains have to stop and wait for the crossing lights to come on, then proceed once they do so. The crossing on Lacey Rd in Whiting does this, and there are other crossings in NJ that are also set up this way. Wiring the crossing this way would allow trains to drill Builders General and whatever would be in Ciba Geicy without tripping the lights as the circuit would be close to the shoulders on 37, instead of being back father where the train working would surely set the lights off and force traffic to slow down/stop.

But what if a train breaks down and has to block 37? Thankfully, there is a detour that would allow drivers to cut through the nearby leisure village to another crossing, putting them back on 37. Admittedly it’s not a perfect solution, but would still allow traffic to flow through the area in the event of a train breaking down. Locals should be made aware of this detour and it should be marked with signs. Maybe something like “IF ROAD BLOCKED FOLLOW DETOUR” with an arrow showing where to go. At least that’s what I’d do.

As for the 3-4 roads going into the leisure villages, and crossings without electric crossing protection (lights, bells, gates, etc) should be upgraded with lights and gates. Something along the lines of the design used at this location would be perfect: https://maps.apple.com/?ll=40.541370,-7 ... %3D%3D&t=h

Is Leisure Village a gated private community? If so, it may not permit its streets to be used as a detour. Again, your information on the railroad activity and potential in the area is most interesting. Thanks for posting!

@Ken W2KB The leisure village between Bimini Dr and Bananier Dr in Toms River are un-gated and have a few main roads going through them. One of which is Bananier Dr which is the last RR crossing before Route 37. There are others in the area that are gated but none of their roads cross the tracks.

Thanks for your kind words and encouragement. The TRIT debatably has the most potential of all the OOS lines in the area. Maybe with the exception of intercity rail between Red Bank and Winslow Junction. (to Atlantic City) lol

Bracdude181
"As for light rail I’ve often wondered if something of the sort is possible between Toms River and South Amboy whilst generally following the Route 9 corridor"

You only need to get commuters to Red Bank! Let the coast line get them to the City.
That will lighten up car traffic from all the towns west of the coast line.

@Tanker1497 It’s funny you should mention that. I’ve been wondering...

How many people in Ocean County (Outside of Lakewood) regularly commute to NY for work? Remember that much of NJT is setup to provide a wherever to NYC service. That’s fine and all, but what about the people who don’t commute to NYC or North Jersey?

The Light Rail thing comes from this thought I’ve had of using the light rail instead of a car. As in taking the light rail to shopping malls and whatnot for groceries etc and using the South Amboy connection for going further afield. (NYC commuting, airport connections, connecting to Amtrak for whatever the reason may be, etc) Remember that there are people who need to get around, but cannot afford a car.

Commuting to NYC is fine and all but I don’t see the point in any sort of passenger rail around here if it’s not gonna provide a (at least mostly) car-free way to get around. Especially if the point of MOM is to reduce road congestion.

Just my 0.02

How many people in Ocean County (Outside of Lakewood) regularly commute to NY for work?

Tons. Not just NYC, but all of the NY metro area. Although I did not live in Ocean at the time I was 400 feet from the Monmouth / Ocean line. I commuted on Rte-9 and the Parkway for 20 years. If you haven't done it you have no idea. The MOM line was first proposed around 1980 due to the traffic on 9.

@R&DB 1980? Wow. Didn’t know that traffic has been this big a problem for so long.

The macro development began in the central Monmouth area in the late 50s and spead south rapidly. The highway traffic exploded with the building and is still growing. Hence the need for MOM. Every passenger rail car could take 50 or more cars off the road. There was passenger rail service on the Toms River line all the way to Barnegat until 1953. If they had kept it going a few more years it would be very apreciated, even today.

I don't think you are likely to see the line revitalized for commuter or general passenger service for several reasons as mentioned in this thread previously: Cost of upgrading the line and the Southern to allow some reasonable speed, and transit time compared to rte 9 bus service. More likely to see the old PRR line from somewhere near Toms River, thru Pemberton for Ocean county to Philadelphia commuters. And that ain't gonna happen either.

Let's just hope for some freight traffic.

CharlieL Not sure about transit time. Buses can get stuck in traffic after all.

We are still much more likely to see freight trains return than any sort of passenger service unfortunately. At least freight trains would take the trucks off the roads.

They can and they do get stuck in traffic. Which would you rather use in a commute? A bus which occasionally gets stuck in traffic, or a train which on it's best day takes a half-hour or more longer each way on a daily basis? From the times listed earlier on this thread concerning buses, it's a no-brainer for the great mass of commuters. To say nothing about the enormous expense to upgrade the ROW to at least class-3. Would be nice, but I just don't see it happening. Oh, sure, to fund studies feeding the "connected" class.

Hopefully the post COVID world will allow people to work much closer to, or at, home, so we can avoid those miserable 4 to 5 hour a day commuting times. NJ Transit facilitates such awful lifestyles, while allowing NY, not NJ, to collect our state income tax. What's NJ's deficit? Roughly equal to the income taxes commuters pay to NY.

More commuter trains to NY is actually bad for NJ. I hope Toms River citizens never need to endure such a grueling commute.