WoH Pascack Valley Service Status Improvements Work Studies

New timetables for the Port Jervis and Pascack Valley Lines, effective April 23, will reduce running times from one to three minutes on all trains to and from Port Jervis, and make minor changes in departure and arrival times on the Pascack Valley Line to improve reliability, according to the MTA.

There are also changes to Northeast Corridor service that affects Metro-North customers who transfer at Secaucus Junction and minor schedule adjustments to accommodate the next phase of track work.

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/train ... 4Apr06.htm

It will be the first time that the service will be available on the line, which has local stops in Spring Valley, Nanuet and Pearl River, a Metro-North Railroad spokeswoman said this morning.

http://nyjournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... /707260428

Nice to see added service.

(edited to chg title)

Good report on ridership:

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs ... 029/NEWS13

Rockland residents are embracing the new-and-improved Pascack Valley Line, which now has trains running on weekends as well as during noncommuting hours on weekdays.

In the six weeks since the service was added by Metro-North Railroad and NJ Transit, ridership to and from Rockland has grown decidedly during the new times of operation, according to rider counts done last week by Metro-North.

Last weekend, nearly 350 people took the 11 trains from the three stations along the line in the county - Spring Valley, Nanuet, Pearl River - to points south, such as Secaucus Junction, where they could transfer to trains to take them to Pennsylvania Station in midtown Manhattan.

Some more news:

http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? ... 029/NEWS13

Right now, it seems that they're just talking about adding sidings, improved signalling, and planning for THE. No talk of extending (that's part of TZB, I think). I think the line used to run up to Haverstraw? Probably no ROW left for that.

It really seems that the Journal News is improving its coverage lately, although there still appears to be some follow-up lacking.

Sarge- the info that you seek regarding PVL:

http://raildata.railfan.net/erie/homeerr.html

-otto-

I will elaborate on the last sentence in the article today in the Journal News on the PVL. Those midday express trains might be beneficial for those living in NY state, and local points between No. Hack, southward. However, the ones who live in or near the PVL between River Edge and Montvale, have to wait a long time for the next train. Another point I will say is that if the service wants to be the same level just like the Gladstone, then more sidings, or even portions of double track have to be built, such as in the Oradell area. In fact, I believe, there is adequate room for a second track just south of the Kinderkermack Rd grade crossing to right around the River Edge station. They should reactivate the siding in Pearl River, and add a second platform. I will say that, the service is good for a start, but can be better.

So what's left is the PVL up to Nanuet, where it turns up the remnants of the Piermont branch to Spring Valley?

Correct

FYI: Looks like the service is doing well.

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/p ... p?id=17637

Meanwhile, MTA Metro-North Railroad has posted significant ridership increases on its Pascack Valley Line since introducing weekend and mid-day off-peak service last fall. Average weekly ridership now stands at 11,634, the line's highest-ever passenger count. Weekday ridership has shot up 40 percent since spring 2007.

In October, Metro-North added 16 weekday off-peak trains and 23 weekend trains. The agency later added one more weekend train. Since October, morning peak ridership has increased 22 percent and daily off-peak ridership has risen from 35 to 119.

WOW! Who'd ever thunk!

The off-peak and reverse service has been a big plus for travelers to destinations other than New York. I used the PV Line earlier this year for a trip from Newark Airport to Park Ridge rather than pay for parking/gas/tolls. I wish they would boost the speeds. Much of this line is straight as an arrow but the mas is only 50. It would be nice, especially for the express trains, if they could go a little faster than that.

Penn Central wrote: I wish they would boost the speeds. Much of this line is straight as an arrow but the mas is only 50. It would be nice, especially for the express trains, if they could go a little faster than that.

Too many grade crossings, I believe is the issue. And as someone who lives along this line, and has my whole life, I can honestly say that going faster on this little 1 track line through the central downtowns of these towns would be a bad idea. It's kinda ironic. The towns along the way mostly owe their existence and layouts to the RR, but that necessitates the slower operation of that very same RR.

there are plenty of crossings on LI where trains blast through at 79MPH.
whether a train is going 30mph or 80mph it still won't be able to stop in time to avoid hitting a car that decides to go around the gates at the last second, so whats the difference what speed it does?

Its not just crossings, but the stations are so close together. Would you even have enough track to get upto 79mph unless you were an express?

and even on an local how long does it take from spring valley to hoboken, just over an hour? thats not that long even at the current speeds.

LIRailfan79 wrote:[
there are plenty of crossings on LI where trains blast through at 79MPH.
whether a train is going 30mph or 80mph it still won't be able to stop in time to avoid hitting a car that decides to go around the gates at the last second, so whats the difference what speed it does?

I was thinking the same thing. But the difference is, I think, is that on LI, people grew up with the higher speed railroad and it is largely "a way of life" to, for the most part, pay heed to the crossings; people respect thier environment. On the PVL, and elsewhere, where there has been little or no service, where track speed has been at 30 or below forever, drivers are not as aware of the train nor as respectful. So if you add speed to the PVL in this instance, there would be a lot of problems of automobile drivers, and the general pedestrian, adapting.