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NJT/Extension of service to Allentown, PA


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#1 NickG

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Posted 04 April 2004 - 10:12 AM

From the Express-Times:

"It's not easy," says Carol Santana, an Allentown woman who uses the bus to commute to her job as a hospital aide in New York City.The trip usually takes more than two hours, although Santana recalls a few times when its duration flirted with the four-hour mark.

Santana, along with scores of others from the region do it anyway. There aren't too many other options for those who call the Lehigh Valley and northwestern New Jersey home while collecting their paychecks from high-paying jobs in the Big Apple.

The bus services offered to and from the region are plentiful, and many of the New York City commuters use them religiously. They also have the option of driving into the city themselves.

A third and seemingly practical option would be passenger rail. It's an option that has eluded area commuters for years. With the exception of a few isolated services offered on the fringes of Warren and Hunterdon counties, the region is without passenger rail.

The full story is here.
Nick Gibbon

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#2 NickG

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Posted 24 November 2004 - 01:15 PM

From the Express-Times:

PHILLIPSBURG -- Every morning, while creeping along in traffic on Interstate 78, David DeGerolamo realizes the need for passenger rail service in Phillipsburg and the surrounding areas.

His daily commute to Essex County takes at least an hour and 45 minutes.

The full story is here.
Nick Gibbon

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#3 KevinKorell

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Posted 24 November 2004 - 01:31 PM

Phillipsburg was once host to five different railroads. Of course with the advent of Conrail they all became one. So there are multiple possibilities here. NJ TRANSIT runs on two of those lines that stop short well east of Phillipsburg. The Raritan Valley Line's extended weekday service goes as far west as High Bridge, having been cut back from Phillipsburg. I believe I once read someplace that when the last segment of I-78 was built in New Jersey about 15 years ago, the old CRRNJ right-of-way was severed. That could be rectified by building a bridge over the freeway. Diesel service on the combined Morris & Essex and Montclair-Boonton Lines runs as far west as Hackettstown, and that service too could be extended to Phillipsburg. Naturally, it would be superb if both lines made it back to that "Union Station" in Phillipsburg (and I am not just thinking about what railfans could accomplish !!) to allow for some duplicity and give more travelers better options. Neither route offers a one-seat ride to New York City. Raritan Valley Line passengers have to switch to electric trains or PATH in Newark, while those on the Montclair-Boonton Line change in Montclair, and those on the Morris & Essex Lines change in Dover or Newark for Midtown Direct, or Hoboken for PATH. It is interestng that Easton, PA across the river is excited about what Phillipsburg, NJ is doing. Ultimately this service should continue westward to service the Lehigh Valley (made up of Easton, Bethlehem, and Allentown). Already we're looking at a big problem with parking if P'burg spends money for this and then the lots are full of people driving across from Pennsylvania.


Kevin Korell


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#4 EllisSimon

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Posted 24 November 2004 - 07:52 PM

One of the old Phillipsburg trains was the last U.S. passenger trains to feature an open platform observation car car. The car originally was used on the Blue Comet, a crack flyer that ran from Jersey City to Atlantic City.

#5 NickG

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Posted 30 December 2004 - 06:24 PM

From the (Allentown) Morning Call, 12/30/04:

Officials say conditions merit rail service study

New Jersey Transit ended commuter rail service in Phillipsburg in December 1983, only months after taking it over from Conrail. There wasn't enough ridership to support the line, which stopped behind the Noto-Wynkoop Funeral Home on S. Main Street and traveled to Newark, where riders could transfer to trains heading into New York.

Officials believe conditions have changed enough to merit another look at restoring the service to Phillipsburg. The town needs to find another $600,000 to come up with the $1 million to pay for the study.

The full story is here.
Nick Gibbon

New York, NY/Philadelphia, PA

#6 Sloan

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Posted 23 March 2007 - 07:02 AM

http://www.pennlive....i....xml&coll=2

Yeah, and let's bring back train service to Phillipsburg!

Sloan

#7 KevinKorell

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Posted 23 March 2007 - 10:08 AM

The Raritan Valley line extends through Newark and Manhattan.

Wrong. Most RVL trains end in Newark, and on weekends every other train goes onward to Hoboken. It will take either dual mode locomotives or overhead catenary along the entire line to bring RVL trains into Manhattan. That is assuming there are slots for them when the new tunnel and 34th Street station open.

Phillipsburg should be an obvious goal. We keep on hearing about the fact that when I-78 was extended into Pennsylvania, it breached the former RVL right-of-way. Why they did not have the foresight to build an overpass or underpass at that time remains a mystery. But as a mitigator to traffic, rather than widening the freeway, get that overpass built soon so that rail service can resume.

IMO service probably should not stop at Phillipsburg, but it should extend into Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.


Kevin Korell


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#8 CNJRoss

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Posted 26 March 2007 - 06:25 PM


The Raritan Valley line extends through Newark and Manhattan.


Phillipsburg should be an obvious goal. We keep on hearing about the fact that when I-78 was extended into Pennsylvania, it breached the former RVL right-of-way. Why they did not have the foresight to build an overpass or underpass at that time remains a mystery. But as a mitigator to traffic, rather than widening the freeway, get that overpass built soon so that rail service can resume.

IMO service probably should not stop at Phillipsburg, but it should extend into Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.


Kevin and Sloan,

Extending the RVL to Phillipsburg and beyond would indeed be very exciting. This line once saw daily service to Allentown! With the ever-growing traffic congestion in the I-78 corridor this is an obvious option.

I'm not sure what engineering would be required to re-establish the severed right-of-way. I believe this section of the line was already out of service when I-78 was built, thus it was far more economical to cut the line than provide infrastructure for an unused rail line, along with the attendant maintenance costs that would have been incurred over the years. Lets hope that the I-78 engineering didn't result in some extraordinary requirements and cost to re-establish the rail line.

Ross

#9 Sloan

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Posted 11 September 2007 - 08:27 AM

Too bad there ain't gonna be a rail museum in Phillipsburg. That would make a nice off-peak destination. B)

http://www.nj.com/ne...x....xml&coll=1

Sloan

#10 KevinKorell

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Posted 11 September 2007 - 12:28 PM

Is the state rail museum for Phillipsburg officially DOA? After all the fanfare when Phillipsburg was chosen from several candidates, I thought it was going to be a done deal. And speaking of passenger rail returning to P'burg, why stop there? It would not hurt to tap the Lehigh Valley's population base. I hope that the political boundary in the middle of the Delaware River does not prevent rail service from expanding to where it is needed. Can LANTA (the transit agency in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton) and the state of Pennsylvania be partners with NJ TRANSIT on this?


Kevin Korell


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