PVL passing sidings/off-peak trains

njt/mnrrbuff wrote:I believe Oradell was one of the towns, really against the service. That's why for now, there will be no siding. Hopefully, eventually, a siding will be built in the Oradell area.
If the weather cooperates next Sun, and I'm available, I will be fanning the line. I will be taking pix at Pearl River, Westwood, and possibly other places along the line.

It is too bad that the weekend trains will be stopping in Oradell. Those people should not be rewarded for their anti rail stance in the area.!

We certainly share the emotions voiced by blockline4180, but we rail advocates try to remember that not everyone in Oradell, or for that matter in the "NIMBY 9," opposed Golf Siding and/or more service.

So our own frustrations notwithstanding, we'll hope for decent ridership throughout, and seek to leverage that to even better advantage.

To that end, NJ-ARP was on board the Sunday, Oct. 21 "pre-inaugural," lining up support from allies and discerning the (already surfacing!) complaints about service limitations. We'll keep at it.

people are already complaing about lack of service for new service that isn't even in service yet?

That's a poetic way to put it! But, essentially, that's exactly what's already in play.

In fact (full disclosure) we at NJ-ARP have our own list of "gotta fix" items. But (perhaps unlike some) we want to see the new service in real-world conditions, and not just on the schedule, before we advance any suggestions, lest we "shoot from the lip" a little too quickly.

For now, we're busy taking notes on concerns voiced by other quarters. If and when any come from the "NIMBY 9" representatives, well, that will be delicious irony, won't it ...

DJB/NJARP, could you tell us what you feel needs to be fixed? I've wondered if some trains will be held on the sidings or main line while waiting for a passing train to go by. Is this an issue or no?

IMO, i think this service will take off big once commuters find out about the expanded service. Especially for commuters going to NYC and from NYC who wind up taking the bus. Weekends, i can see e/b's beeing busier then w/b's, but as some have said the BCL/Main line took some time to get to where its at now.

This service is already being announced with flyers at all stations. NJT won't lose if they switch from bus to rail..its red and tan that might feel the pinch

(Tongue in cheek.)
Who's service is this?
All morning, I heard news reports on WCBS Newsradio-88 about Metro North's "new" and upgraded service on the Pascack Valley Line. Comments made on how many new trains would be running, over 100 new trains a week and how costly the upgrades were in order to run the new service.
NO mention of New Jersey Transit involvement.

Just how much $$$ did Metro North kick into this project

Quote from Metro North Web Site

Off-Peak/Weekend Pascack Valley Line Service Begins October 28th

The October 28th West-of-Hudson schedule change sees the introduction of off-peak and weekend service to the Pascack Valley Line.

On the Pascack Valley Line

Each weekday sees the addition of 13 trains to the schedule—seven inbound and six outbound. Weekends see 23 additional trains ach day--11 inbound and 12 outbound.

On a weekly basis that means 226 trains will be operated, compared to the current offering of 115 trains-- a 97% increase.

In the off-peak, inbound weekday service will now be provided every 60 to 90 minutes until 3:45 PM. The last train currently leaves Spring Valley at 8:06 AM. In addition, a new late night train will leave Spring Valley at 9:10 PM.

Outbound weekdays, the first train currently leaves Hoboken at 1:56 PM. Service will now begin at 8:55 AM, with four additional trains operating prior to the beginning of the current service.

In the evening two additional trains will depart Hoboken at 9:25 PM and 12:43 AM. (Please note: With the start of off-peak service on weekdays, the Guaranteed Ride Home Program from Tarrytown Station on our Hudson Line will be discontinued for Pascack Valley Line customers.)

On weekends, inbound service will be provided hourly until around noon and bi-hourly from noon until around 8 PM. Outbound weekend service will be provided bi-hourly until around 2 PM, hourly until around 7 PM, and then bi-hourly until the last train departs Hoboken at 12:43 AM.

AndyB wrote:(Tongue in cheek.)
Who's service is this?
All morning, I heard news reports on WCBS Newsradio-88 about Metro North's "new" and upgraded service on the Pascack Valley Line. Comments made on how many new trains would be running, over 100 new trains a week and how costly the upgrades were in order to run the new service.
NO mention of New Jersey Transit involvement.

Just how much $$$ did Metro North kick into this project

New York broadcasters forget there is this thing called "Jersey." You say that to them, and they look at you like your talking about England.

Maybe someday they will wake up and recognize a large part of their audience comes from... gasp... New Jersey.

Good point, Geoffand. The Pascack Valley makes most of it's stops in Jersey, and transit runs the service, not Metro North. MN is responsible for the stations in NY State along the PVL.

Here's an idea of the $$s - I got this from MTA's Record Access Officer (it's an amendment to the financial contribution agreement, which I do not have). The amendment was made in late 2004, since they knew construction would not start by December 31, 2004.

1. Golf Siding, which will not be build - MNR's financial contribution to be used for other sidings.

2. NJT will refund to MNR $470,000 as credit for the Ridgewood and WC interlocking projects - which were not to be built at this time.

3. As a result of litigation, the project has been delayed. As a result, MNR will defer until September 30, 2005, the date of commencement of new construction. If not met, MNR will be refunded as follows:
COLE SIDING: 1.04 million
POND SIDING: 0.84 million
SACK SIDING: 0.93 million
LONG SIDING: 2.91 million [is this the one in Nanuet, NY?]

I also have a copy of the full NJT/MNR operating agreement which was finalized in July 2006 [retroactively effective July 1, 2005] - again, if people are interested in reading it, let me know and I can scan it.

FYI: The same press release on MNR's website says they kicked in 11.3 million for the sidings. According to NJ Transit's capital site it was a total of 39 million.

Pond is in Nanuet.
Long is the one off of the Bergen county line all the way up to woodridge.

Where was GOLF going to be built? is that the one that shoulda been put in Oradell?

Amazing to me all these NIMBY towns now want the service. where is the mayor of Oradell now??? he was stated in an article about how these sidings were for freight trains..what a misinformed SOB

andy wrote:...I also have a copy of the full NJT/MNR operating agreement which was finalized in July 2006 [retroactively effective July 1, 2005] - again, if people are interested in reading it, let me know and I can scan it....

I, for one, would be interested in the operating agreement!

northjerseybuff wrote:...
Where was GOLF going to be built? is that the one that shoulda been put in Oradell?...

Yes, adjacent to the golf course.

Not sure if anybody already mentioned this, but as of Oct. 28th, alewifebp needs to update his signature!

alewifebp's signature wrote:You can say that I'm moving up. Used to live near the PVL, now I'm in WORM territory.

Not anymore! If you moved back along the PVL you'd be moving up from being in WORM territory!

I'm sure that the siding at Golf will be built, but first, let's see how well the service does. I'm confident it will do well. Only three days left until it commences. Who will be out taking pix and where?