NJ Transit

NJ Transit
NJ Transit provides bus service throughout New Jersey, commuter rail service in northern and central New Jersey and along the Route 30 corridor, and light rail service in Hudson and Essex counties and in the Delaware Valley.
Overview
Locale New Jersey (statewide), New York, Rockland and Orange counties in New York State, and Philadelphia County in Pennsylvania.
Transit type
Number of lines
  • 11 (commuter rail)
  • 3 (light rail)
  • 871 (bus)
Number of stations
  • 162 (rail)
  • 60 (light rail)
  • 27 (bus terminals)
  • 18,000+ (bus stops)[1]
Daily ridership
  • 928,494 (weekday)
  • 428,929 (Saturday)
  • 308,235 (Sunday)[2]
  • (2015 figures, all modes[3])
Chief executive Kevin Corbett
Headquarters 1 Penn Plaza East, Newark, NJ 07105
Website http://www.njtransit.com
Operation
Began operation July 17, 1979 (July 17, 1979)
Operator(s)
Number of vehicles
  • 1,078 (commuter rail)
  • 93 (light rail)
  • 2,477 (bus)[2]
  • (2007 figures)
Technical
System length
  • 530 mi (850 km) (rail)[4]
  • 107 mi (172 km) (light rail)

New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit (NJT; stylized as NJ TRANSIT), is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the US state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bus, light rail, and commuter rail services throughout the state, connecting to major commercial and employment centers both within the state and in the adjacent major cities of New York and Philadelphia.

Covering a service area of 5,325 square miles (13,790 km2), NJT is the largest statewide public transit system and the third-largest provider of bus, rail, and light rail transit by ridership in the United States.[5][6]

NJT also acts as a purchasing agency for many private operators in the state, particularly supplying buses to serve routes not served by the transit agency.

History

A PRR GG1, built for the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1930s–1940s, hauls a commuter train into South Amboy in 1981.

NJT was founded on July 17, 1979, an offspring of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), mandated by the state government to address many then-pressing transportation problems.[7] It came into being with the passage of the Public Transportation Act of 1979 to "acquire, operate, and contract for transportation service in the public interest." NJT originally acquired and managed a number of private bus services, one of the largest being those operated by the state's largest electric company, Public Service Electric and Gas Company. It gradually acquired most of the state's bus services. In northern New Jersey, many of the bus routes are arranged in a web. In southern New Jersey, most routes are arranged in a "spoke-and-hub" fashion, with routes emanating from Trenton, Camden, and Atlantic City. In addition to routes run by NJT, it subsidizes and provides buses for most of the state's private operators providing fixed route or commuter service, such as Coach USA, DeCamp, Lakeland, and Academy.

In 1983, NJT assumed operation of all commuter rail service in New Jersey from Conrail, which had been formed in 1976 through the merging of a number of financially troubled railroads and operated commuter railroad service under contract from the NJDOT. It now operates every passenger and commuter rail line in the state except for Amtrak; the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), which is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; the PATCO Speedline, which is owned by the Delaware River Port Authority; two SEPTA Regional Rail lines, the West Trenton Line and the Trenton Line; and a handful of tourist trains in the southern and northwestern parts of New Jersey. Since inception, rail ridership has quadrupled.

In the 1990s the rail system expanded, with new Midtown Direct service to New York City and new equipment. On October 21, 2001, it opened a new station at Newark Liberty International Airport. On December 15, 2003, it opened the Secaucus Junction transfer station, connecting two major portions of the system, allowing passengers on trains to Hoboken Terminal to transfer to trains to Midtown Manhattan, saving an estimated 15 minutes over connecting with PATH trains at Hoboken. On October 31, 2005, NJT took over Clocker (NY-Philadelphia) service from Amtrak. Four new trains were added to the schedule, but cut back to Trenton.

During Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, the rail operations center of NJ Transit was flooded by 8 feet (2.4 m) of water and an emergency generator submerged. Floodwater damaged at least 65 locomotive engines and 257 rail cars.[8]

Governance

The Governor of New Jersey appoints a seven-member Board of Directors, four members from the general public and three State officials. The Governor has veto power on decisions made by the board.[9]

Current operations

Headquarters at Penn Plaza East in Newark

NJT's operations are divided into three classes: bus, rail, and light rail, operated by three legal businesses: NJ Transit Bus Operations, Inc, for buses and Newark Light Rail, subsidiary NJ Transit Mercer, Inc. for buses around Trenton, and NJ Transit Rail Operations, Inc., for commuter rail.

Bus

NJT operates 871 bus routes using 2,477 buses [2] (leasing out the remainder to private operators) and the Newark Light Rail with 20 light rail vehicles (with numerous other line runs being subsidized by NJT).[1] The bus fleet includes buses purchased for other New Jersey operators above the 2,477.

Light rail

NJT operates three light rail lines:

Rail

NJT has 11 commuter rail lines:

White House station on the Raritan Valley Line

Additional special event service is provided on the Meadowlands Rail Line.

NJT operates over 100 diesel locomotives, of which 11 are supplied by Metro-North Railroad as part of an operating agreement for the Port Jervis Line, and 61 electric locomotives. It has over 650 push-pull cars, of which 65 are supplied by Metro-North, and 230 electric multiple unit cars.

Police

The New Jersey Transit Police Department (NJTPD) is the transit police agency of NJ Transit. New Jersey Transit Police operates under the authority of Chapter 27 of the NJ Revised Statutes. Title 27:25-15.1 states in part "The Transit Police Officers so appointed shall have general authority, without limitation, to exercise police powers and duties, as provided by law for police officers and law enforcement officers, in all criminal and traffic matters at all times throughout the State and, in addition, to enforce such rules and regulations as the corporation shall adopt and deem appropriate."

One of the primary responsibilities of NJ Transit Police is to provide police services and security to the hundreds of bus terminals, rail stations, light-rail stations and all other property owned, operated and leased by NJ Transit throughout the state. The Department employs approximately 250 sworn Police Officers.

Projects

Ongoing projects

Repair, recovery and resiliency projects

Superstorm Sandy, on October 29, 2012, caused a 13-foot tidal surge that inundated many coastal communities. A report released in December 2013 by Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service found that NJT ignored flood warnings and did not follow its own damage mitigation plans.[10][11][12] The storm's aftermath left washed-out track; movement of bridge girders; flooded rail stations; fallen catenary and damage to more than 300 pieces of rail equipment left in low-lying areas. NJT has undertaken various projects to restore and replace damaged infrastructure as well as take measures to mitigate future damage and upgrade systems.[13] The creation of a "train haven" at County Yard began in January 2014.[14][15] NJT has proposed the construction of a new generator in the Kearny Meadows that would be flood-proof.[16] and support an electrical "micro-grid" that would be exclusively for train service.[17]

Bus rapid transit

Bus rapid transit in New Jersey includes limited stop bus lines, exclusive bus lanes (XBL) and bus bypass shoulders (BBS). Next Generation Bus[18][19] is the term used by NJT to refer to the development of numerous bus rapid transit (BRT) systems across the state which are being studied by the agency, NJDOT, the metropolitan planning organizations of New Jersey (MPO), and contract bus carriers. In 2011, NJT announced that it would equip its entire bus fleet with real-time location, creating the basis for "next bus" scheduling information at bus shelters and web-abled devices and considered an important feature of BRT.

Northern Branch

NJT is planning to extend the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to Englewood or Tenafly along the Northern Branch, a freight rail line.[20] As of 2012, a draft environmental impact statement has been released, but no funding has been identified.

Lackawanna Cut-Off

In May 2001, the State of New Jersey acquired the right-of-way of the Lackawanna Cut-Off. Constructed by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad between 1908 and 1911, this provided a direct route with minimal curves and grades between Slateford Junction, two miles (3.25 km) below the Delaware Water Gap, and the crest of the watershed at Lake Hopatcong (Port Morris Junction), the connection with NJT's Montclair-Boonton Line. This would restore long-distance service that the Erie Lackawanna last provided with the Lake Cities in 1970.

At the time of the Cut-Off's construction, the DL&W had extensive experience with concrete construction, but not on the scale that would be employed on the Cut-Off. All structures, including stations, bridges, interlocking towers and two large viaducts and thousands of fence posts, were made of concrete. Despite the lack of maintenance on these structures over the past four decades (and in some cases much longer), most are still in operational or near-operational condition. A 2009 study by NJT estimated that bringing the line back into operation to Scranton, PA would cost approximately $551 million, although service may be extended in several interim phases before reaching Scranton.

In 2011, the retracking of the Cut-Off from Port Morris to Andover, a distance of 7.3 miles (11.8 km), began. The project was delayed by a lack of environmental permits to clear the roadbed between Lake Lackawanna and Andover. Based on current projections from NJ Transit, the restart of construction, including extensive work on Roseville Tunnel, will occur in mid- to late-2016. The re-opening of service to Andover is projected to occur in 2020. The proposed rehabilitation west of Andover, which has not yet been funded, would provide commuter rail service between Hoboken Terminal and New York's Penn Station, and would serve the growing exurban communities in Monroe County, Pennsylvania and the Poconos, as well as northern Warren County and southern Sussex County in New Jersey. In October 2015, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requested that a preliminary engineering study be performed in order to update the cost figures on the previous study. Funding for this study is currently being sought.[21]

Glassboro–Camden Line

The Glassboro–Camden Line is a 18-mile (28.97 km) diesel multiple unit (DMU) light rail system planned for southwestern part of New Jersey in the United States. At its northern end in Camden it will connect with the River LINE with which its infrastructure and vehicles will be compatible. At the northern terminus, the Walter Rand Transportation Center, paid transfers will be possible to the PATCO Speedline.[22][23]

Proposed projects

West Trenton

The West Trenton Line is a proposed service connecting West Trenton Station with Newark Penn Station, connecting with the Raritan Valley Line at Bridgewater. As of 2004, NJT's estimate of the cost was $197 million.[24] To date, no funding has been secured.[24] Service ran on the line prior to 1983.

West Shore Commuter Rail Line

While the Northern Branch has proceeded to the EIS Stage, The West Shore Route is still proposed and has been included in NJ Transit's portion of the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for Fiscal years 2016-2019.[25] The route holds perhaps the greatest promise in all of New Jersey since it travels through the heart of NJ Transit Bus Operations' Midtown "commutershed", with four bus routes (165, 167, 168 & 177) running well beyond capacity. The right-of-way has space for four tracks from Croxton Yard northwards to Dumont. Issues in starting commuter rail service are:

  • CSX owns the trackage and uses them heavily to link the NYC area to their national network at Selkirk Yard in upstate New York.
  • CSX offered to allow NJ Transit use of the ROW if the agency constructed sound barriers along the entire length of track for commuter operations.
  • A city terminal is not connected to this line, since the Weehawken & Pavonia Terminals were demolished decades ago. A loop connecting this line with the North River Tunnels into New York Penn Station where the West Shore Tracks pass under the Northeast Corridor just south of NJ Route 3 and Tonnelle Ave would directly connect this line into New York Penn Station. This configuration would provide a 25-minute travel time to New York Penn Station, but would bypass Secaucus Junction, leaving the West Shore with no transfer connection to the rest of New Jersey other than a possible transfer station on Tonnelle Ave with the Hudson Bergen Light Rail.

With these considerable construction issues, as well as no available space in New York Penn Station for West Shore Line trains, this proposal was put on hold until capacity into New York is increased.

The leadership of the municipalities along the route have been organizing for decades to get service running again[26][27] and have been rezoning the areas around the former train stations ever since being told by NJ Transit that the number of projected riders is too low to justify investment.

Passaic-Bergen Rail Line

The Passaic-Bergen Passenger Rail Project would reintroduce passenger service on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway right-of-way between Hawthorne and Hackensack using new Diesel Multiple Unit rail cars.[28][29]

Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM)

The Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM)[30][31] line is a proposed south and central New Jersey commuter rail route to New Brunswick, Newark and New York's Penn Station. This would restore service previously provided by the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The line was originally proposed by the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders in March 1980. It would run on a 40.1-mile rail corridor and would provide diesel commuter rail service from Monmouth Junction (South Brunswick), where the Jamesburg Branch partially joins the Northeast Corridor (NEC), south to Lakehurst in the interior of northern Ocean County. As of 2006, the line was opposed by Jamesburg and Monroe Township.[32]

From Monmouth Junction the line would continue southeast to Jamesburg, Monroe, Englishtown, Manalapan, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell and Farmingdale. A new rail connection would be required in Farmingdale. It would proceed southward from Farmingdale to Lakehurst, passing through Howell, Lakewood, Jackson, Toms River, Townships, and Lakehurst/Manchester. Trains would also operate on the NEC between Monmouth Junction and Newark. Passengers for New York would transfer at Newark. Eight new stations and a train storage yard would be constructed.

In mid-February 2008, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine withdrew the Monmouth Junction alignment from the MOM Plan. Corzine opted to endorse the two remaining alternate alignments (via Red Bank or Matawan-Freehold, the latter which is currently part of the Henry Hudson Rail Trail). NJT is still planning to study all the routes as to not delay action further on the EIS, and says all three routes are still up for evaluation, although it will take the Governor's comments into consideration.

In late May 2009 representatives of the three counties agreed to back one potential route from Ocean County to Red Bank, instead of to Monmouth Junction, ending years of stalemate. Under that compromise, the line’s southern terminus would be in Lakehurst, and it would run through Lakewood along existing freight tracks to join the North Jersey Coast Line in Red Bank. It also includes the possibility of a spur between Freehold and Farmingdale.[33]

In August 2010, NJT received $534,375 in Federal Funds to investigate the possibilities of a MOM line.[34] Since that time there has been no further advancement of the project.[35] The inertia is partially attributed to the cancellation of the Access to the Region's Core project.[36]

Lehigh Valley

In November 2008, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), along with both Lehigh and Northampton counties, commissioned a study to explore extending the Raritan Valley Line to the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, which would potentially include stops in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton.[37] This would resume passenger service previously provided jointly by the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey. These cities were last served in 1967.[38][39][40]

Canceled projects

Access to the Region's Core

NJT intended to construct a new two-track Hudson River tunnel adjacent to the two single-track Northeast Corridor tunnels built in the early 20th century by the Pennsylvania Railroad. NJT referred to the project as Access to the Region's Core, which would have used dual-power locomotives and a new rail junction at Secaucus, allowing for a one-train ride between the Port Jervis, Main, Bergen County, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley lines and New York Penn Station. The Lehigh and the West Trenton extension plans would require added capacity and the ARC project would provide that capacity.

The project broke ground in June 2009.[41] Both the Federal Transit Administration and the Port Authority made public commitments of $3 billion to the project. However, the project was suspended on October 7, 2010 due to concerns that the State of New Jersey would be solely responsible for projected $5 billion in overruns. On October 27, 2010, Governor Chris Christie made a final decision to cancel the project. Amtrak later unveiled the Gateway Project, which addresses some of the issues ARC was meant to resolve.

Planned to connect Downtown Newark and Elizabeth via Newark Liberty International Airport, NJT is no longer pursuing the Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link. The airport has a monorail link to NJT's Northeast Corridor Line and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, both of which run to both Newark and Elizabeth.

Incidents

  • In December 1985, a train crashed into a concrete bumper in Hoboken Terminal, injuring 54 people. The cause was a lubricant that was applied into the tracks to test the train wheels.[42]
  • At around 8:40 AM on February 9, 1996, two trains, the eastbound 1254 and the westbound 1107, collided nearly head-on near Secaucus, New Jersey. Both trains' engineers and a passenger on the 1254 train were killed. The accident was caused when the 1254 train ran a red signal.[43]
  • On the morning of September 29, 2016, Pascack Valley Line commuter train #1614 failed to slow down as it approached Hoboken Terminal, and crashed. The train was coming from Spring Valley station in Spring Valley, New York. According to witnesses, the train crashed through the bumper block into the passenger concourse.[44] One person died, with around 100 people being injured.[45]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 NJT Press Release with key facts about the agency at the bottom of the page
  2. 1 2 3 NTD filings for New Jersey Transit Archived October 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ https://www.njtransit.com/pdf/FactsAtaGlance.pdf
  4. ↑ "New Jersey State Rail Plan" (pdf). State of New Jersey, Department of Transportation. April 2015. p. ES-5. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  5. ↑ Vantuono, William C. "New Jersey's innovators: New Jersey Transit's billion-dollar capital budget is focused on creating a unified, statewide network of commuter and light rail lines. New technologies are a key part of that strategy", Railway Age, April 2004. Accessed August 22, 2007. "In late 2003, 20 years after portions of the Pennsylvania, Erie-Lackawanna, Jersey Central, and Lehigh Valley railroads or their successors were combined to form the nation's third-largest commuter rail system, Secaucus Junction opened."
  6. ↑ William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief. "Jersey Transit Strong". Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  7. ↑ New Jersey Transit 2004 Annual Report, Page 6
  8. ↑ "Sandy pummels West Virginia as grueling recovery begins on East Coast". CNN. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Board". NJ Transit. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  10. ↑ "New Jersey Transit Corporation's After Hurricane Sandy Action Report" (PDF). Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service. December 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 8, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  11. ↑ McGrath, Matthew; Hayes, Melissa (December 24, 2013). "NJ Transit ignored flood warning before Superstorm Sandy, report confirms". The Record. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  12. ↑ Frassinelli, Mike (December 24, 2013). "Review of NJ Transit's response to Sandy finds need for more coordination, places to shelter trains". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Superstorm Sandy Recovery". NJT. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  14. ↑ Rouse, Karen (January 9, 2014). "NJ Transit hires firm to design train haven". The Record. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  15. ↑ Frassinelli, Mike (January 8, 2014). "Scarred by Sandy, NJ Transit to get permanent home to store trains". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  16. ↑ Duger, Rose (March 7, 2014). "NJ Transit proposal to build South Kearny generator 'chills' development hopes". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  17. ↑ Meadows redevelopment ratables at risk. The Observer. Retrieved on June 23, 2014.
  18. ↑ "NJ Transit Bus Service: The Next Generation" (PDF). Presentation APTA. New Jersey Transit. April 10, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Evaluation of Next Generation Bus (BRT- type) Service in the NJTPA Region". NPTPA. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  20. ↑ Rouse, Karen (July 19, 2009). "Going with electric trains". The Record. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
  21. ↑ "NJ Transit – New Jersey-Pennsylvania Lackawanna Cut-off Passenger Rail Restoration Project Draft Environmental Assessment DRAFT" (PDF). New Jersey Transit. December 2006. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Fact Sheet 2013" (PDF). Glassboro-Camden Line. DVPA & PATCO. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  23. ↑ "NJ Transit Board Advances South Jersey Transportation Projects" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. December 9, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  24. 1 2 West Trenton Line, accessed December 21, 2006
  25. ↑ "NJTPA Transportation Improvement Program Fiscal Years 2016 - 2019". NJTPA. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  26. ↑ "WEST SHORE LINE: GOOD NEWS".
  27. ↑ "https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZAJgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3G0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=2554%2C3259690". External link in |title= (help)
  28. ↑ "New Jersey Transit". Njtransit.com. April 18, 2007. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  29. ↑ "NJ Transit to expand passenger train service". NorthJersey.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2009. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  30. ↑ PETOIA: It's time to fast-track MOM line | The Asbury Park Press NJ. app.com. Retrieved on June 23, 2014.
  31. ↑ "DEIS-MOM Map of Alternatives". ocean.nj.us.
  32. ↑ "New tunnel may add riders to MOM Line - eb.gmnews.com - East Brunswick Sentinel". gmnews.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  33. ↑ New Jersey News | The Asbury Park Press NJ. app.com. Retrieved on June 23, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Federal dollars to fund rail study - nt.gmnews.com - News Transcript". gmnews.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-24.
  35. ↑ Once-proposed Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex rail line gathers dust. NJ.com (January 22, 2014). Retrieved on 2014-06-23.
  36. ↑ Robbins, Christopher (January 22, 2014). "Once-proposed Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex rail line gathers dust". NJ.com. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  37. ↑ "County eyes N.J. rail extension to area," The Morning Call, November 7, 2008.
  38. ↑ Joseph Corso, The Central Railroad of New Jersey http://www.jcrhs.org/cnj.html
  39. ↑ "Jersey Central: Coal, Commuters, and a Comet" Classic Trains, Winter 2011 http://ctr.trains.com/~/media/Files/PDF/CNJ-Winter2010.pdf
  40. ↑ "The Central Railroad of New Jersey, The Big Little Railroad" AmericanRails.com http://www.american-rails.com/central-railroad-of-new-jersey.html
  41. ↑ GOVERNOR CORZINE MAKES CAPITAL COMMITMENT FOR NEW TRANS-HUDSON COMMUTER RAIL TUNNEL: Applauds united support from New Jersey and New York senators, press release, dated May 10, 2006
  42. ↑ "Officials ID woman killed in train crash that hurt 114". Newsday. September 29, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  43. ↑ NTSB Rail Accident Report RAR-97-01
  44. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37503920
  45. ↑ At Least 1 Dead, Multiple Critical Injuries In Hoboken Train Accident - from WABC-TV New York
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