Glen Rock NJ, An unattended backpack found at the Boro Hall train station in Glen Rock just prior to 8 AM on Monday, 10/17 resulted in a response from Glen Rock PD, NJ Transit PD, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad unit. The backpack was determined to have been unintentionally left behind by a disabled patron and cleared after a bomb squad technician conducted an x-ray inspection. Train traffic was not disrupted by the incident.
Ridgewood NJ, The Ticket Office will resume operation in the Terminal on Saturday. Monday’s schedule will be available online after 10 p.m. on Saturday, October 15.
On Monday, October 17 at 4 a.m., NJ TRANSIT will open six more tracks at Hoboken Terminal restoring full train service into and out of Hoboken Terminal.
Customers should note that there also will be some reconfiguration of paths of travel to account for the change in access points.
For the morning peak period, Tracks 1 through 4 and Tracks 7 and 8 will re-open. Customers may access Tracks 1 through 4 through the external walkway near PATH and Tracks 7 and 8 via the Main Terminal.
Tracks 5 and 6 will remain closed as NJ TRANSIT advances ongoing repair and recovery work.
Customers may experience some delays as NJ TRANSIT personnel work with construction crews to clear the area. Congested conditions in certain locations may also be expected at the terminal with the loss of space around tracks 5 and 6.
View printable schedules HERE..
Please Note:
As repair work continues at the terminal, customers are advised to stay clear of all work areas.
The Hoboken Terminal waiting room, Customer Service office, and restrooms will be open.
Ticket Vending Machines located in the waiting room will be fully operational.
Customers can download the NJ TRANSIT App and sign up for MyTix to purchase their tickets.
Bus, Light Rail, and Additional Services
NJ TRANSIT bus, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, PATH and NY Waterway also continue to operate in and out of Hoboken on their regular routes and schedules.
NJ TRANSIT would like to thank its customers for their continued patience and support
Ridgewood NJ, The National Transportation Safety Board released Thursday its preliminary report on the investigation of the Sept. 29, 2016, accident involving New Jersey Transit train 1614 at the Hoboken Terminal, Hoboken, New Jersey.
One person died and 110 more were injured when the 400-foot long train, which consisted of a controlling passenger car (cab car), three passenger cars and one locomotive at the rear, failed to stop, overrode a bumping post, and struck a wall of the terminal.
The preliminary report details factual information gained to date in the investigation. It does not contain analysis and does not state probable cause. The information contained within the preliminary report is subject to change as data is validated.
The NTSB investigator-in-charge formed the following technical groups to gather information and evidence for the investigation:
Operations
Human Performance
Survival Factors
Signal Systems
Track and Engineering
Mechanical/Equipment
Event/Video Data Recorders
Both the engineer and conductor were interviewed by NTSB investigators. The emergency response to the accident is being reviewed by investigators as are records for operations, signal systems, mechanical equipment and track and engineering. Investigators inspected the track structure, signal system and mechanical equipment involved in the accident.
Investigators tested the signal and train control system; the accident route was duplicated with signal alignment and functioned as designed. The signal system was restored to service with the exception of the damaged signal at the end of track 5, the track upon which the accident happened.
NTSB investigators found the cab car’s electrical communication network – necessary for brake, signal, and propulsion control – was destroyed in the accident. Conversely, accident damage to the cab car’s air brake system was minor and was repaired for testing. The train brakes functioned as designed during a friction brake test using the rear locomotive to apply the brakes.
Parties to the investigation include the Federal Railroad Administration, New Jersey Transit, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers – Transportation Division and Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen.
NEW YORK — The list of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s top 10 highest paid executives has changed dramatically since last year, with several substitutions, raises among most holdovers, and the agency’s head lawyer knocking the executive director off the top spot.
The top 10 list looks at base salaries, a figure that can be deceptive at an agency where some Port Authority Police officers more than double their overall pay with overtime.
And even employees barred from overtime pay, including all 10 executives on the top-10 salary list, can manage to earn more when all payments are factored in.
JimBoylan wrote:
Matt Johnson wrote:
Reversible seatbacks are even prohibited in new cars now, so that’s one reason you’ve got fixed seats in new commuter cars like the NJT multilevels.
I haven’t been able to find any Federal or New Jersey legal prohibition. A while ago, New Jersey Transit bragged that their recent at that time order of single level cars would have inertial locks like on automobile seat belts to prevent the seat backs from moving during a crash. In my opinion as a railroader, the “prohibition” probably comes from the same person who bans railfan photography from public places.
I did not find anything either. The feds primary interest with respect to seats appears to be that they (1) don’t break loose from their fastenings, (2) the backs don’t unduly obstruct the emergency egress windows, and (3) they remain in a fixed position in a crash to better cushion the momemtum of a passenger. Inertial locks should be able to satisfy No. 3. The multilevel car seats have padding on the top rear and are high backed to better satisfy No. 3. My suspicion is that NJT desired cost savings from less maintenance, no need for crews to reverse seats and elimination of the issue with passengers flipping seats making collecting fares/keeping track of paid passengers more difficult and limiting capacity on peak trains since 4 longer-legged passengers cannot comfortably sit in pairs of seats facing each other.
HERE COME THE LAWSUITS
Ridgewood NJ, the issue of NJT train seating has come up. Commuters speculated that those seated in NJT Hoboken train crash likely went flying forward hitting the fixed reversed seat ahead of them or into the Aisles. The question is why are there no locking devices on these seats? Another element that is lacking is that there are also no seat belts; this might be helpful especially for children and the elderly.
Main/Bergen County, Pascack Valley and Port Jervis Lines to return to Hoboken on weekday schedule with adjustments
October 6, 2016
Ridgewood NJ, NJ TRANSIT will reopen a portion of Hoboken Terminal to commuter rail service for the start of service on Monday, October 10, 2016.
Cross-honoring will continue on Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, NJ TRANSIT bus and private carriers ONLY.
A section of the terminal suffered extensive damage following a train accident September 29. Due to the ongoing National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation, debris removal and safety concerns, the entire Hoboken Terminal was placed out of service.
Beginning with the first train Monday morning, NJ TRANSIT will reopen Tracks 10-17 for rail service. Tracks 1-9 will remain out of service until further notice as repair work in that section of the terminal continues.
When the partial reopening occurs, Main/Bergen County, Pascack Valley and Port Jervis Line trains will return to a weekday schedule, with some adjustments, to and from Hoboken. Select express trains will be eliminated and certain other trains will be combined. Customers are urged to go to njtransit.com for more specific information after 10 p.m. tonight.
On the Montclair-Boonton Line, trains originating west of Montclair State University (MSU), including from Denville will operate into Hoboken, with additional stops east of MSU.
Most Gladstone Branch trains to Hoboken will be restored.
North Jersey Coast Line and Raritan Valley Line trains scheduled to terminate in Hoboken will continue to terminate at Newark Penn Station.
Because rail service will be modified in and out of the terminal, other NJ TRANSIT bus, rail and light rail services may experience crowding conditions and delays.
As repair work continues at the terminal, customers are advised to stay clear of all work areas.
The Hoboken Terminal waiting room, Customer Service office and restrooms will be open. In addition, there will be limited Ticket Vending Machines located in the waiting room. Customers are urged to download the NJ TRANSIT App and sign up for MyTix to purchase their tickets.
NJ TRANSIT bus, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, PATH and NY Waterway also continue to operate in and out of Hoboken on their regular routes and schedules.
NJ TRANSIT would like to thank its customers for their continued patience and support.
Hoboken Commuter Train Event, Video Recorders Provide Investigators Usable Data
October 7,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The National Transportation Safety Board released Thursday details downloaded from the event data and forward-facing video recorders on a NJ Transit commuter train involved in the Sept. 29, 2016, accident at the Hoboken Terminal, Hoboken, New Jersey.
The following information, gathered from both recorders, is preliminary and subject to change as data is validated.
· Information from the forward-facing video and event data recorders was successfully recovered Thursday at the NTSB’s recorder laboratory here. Both recorders appear to have been working as designed, and captured the engineer’s entire trip that morning, including the accident sequence. The forward-facing, color video from the cab car of train 1614 is of good quality and includes audio from an exterior microphone. Information obtained from the recorders includes:
· The forward facing video showed the cab car colliding with and overriding the bumping post at the end of the track #5 platform at the Hoboken Terminal. A large flash was observed as the car collided with the panel just beyond the bumping post.
· The forward facing video recorder captured the sound of one blast of the train’s horn about one minute before the collision, while the train was in the yard leading to the terminal. The train’s bell began sounding shortly afterward and continued until the end of the recording.
· The event recorder indicates throttle increased from idle to the #4 position while the train was traveling about 8 mph, approximately 38 seconds before the collision. Train speed began to increase and reached a maximum of about 21 mph.
· According to the event recorder data the throttle position went from #4 to idle just prior to the collision, and then engineer-induced emergency braking occurred less than a second before the collision with the bumping post.
· The event recorder shows train speed was about 21 mph when it collided with the bumping post. Event recorder speeds during the final seconds are consistent with train speed estimates obtained from the NTSB’s preliminary analysis of images from the forward facing video camera.
A group of technical experts from the NTSB and the parties to the investigation is scheduled convene at NTSB headquarters, Washington, Oct. 11, to continue to verify and validate the data recovered from both cab car recorders.
No analysis is provided in the facts released from the event and video recorder data extractions. The NTSB has not determined probable cause and cautions against drawing conclusions from these facts alone. Analysis of the findings from these recorders and from other facts gathered during our comprehensive investigation will take place after the factual record is complete.
The investigation remains in the fact-gathering phase, which could take a year or more.
Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey Transit would like you to know; We are grateful to all of our customers for your patience and support during this difficult time.
Nearly one week ago, tragedy struck at Hoboken Terminal when one of our customers lost her life following a devastating train accident. No words can adequately express our sincere condolences to the family of Mrs. Fabiola Bittar de Kroon and we extend our heartfelt sympathies to the injured onboard Pascack Valley Line Train #1614.
We know this is not an optimal commuting environment and that many of our customers have experienced longer wait times and overcrowding due to the ongoing circumstances.
As work progresses to stabilize and secure Hoboken Terminal, we have redoubled our efforts to provide parallel service across multiple modes to address the needs of those who utilize the station either as point of origin or terminus or as a pass through to other transportation outlets.
The loss of track space at Hoboken Terminal has had the greatest impact on our scheduling and is a key contributor to the crowded conditions our customers are experiencing. NJ TRANSIT employees are working non-stop to return Hoboken Terminal to service for our commuter rail customers.
To provide you with options, an alternate service plan is available and can be found on our website at www.njtransit.com. The alternate service plan is updated in the afternoon for the following days commute.
Additional trains and shuttle bus service have been added. Schedules have also been adjusted to reflect a more realistic timetable given the temporary limitations of the system.
Again, during peak travel (6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.) the system is experiencing overcrowding. To address this condition, we have had trains and buses on certain lines (Main, Bergen, Pascack Valley, Port Jervis, and Montclair-Boonton and North Jersey bus routes) functioning in a “skip stop” fashion. This means as we become aware of overcrowding at stations and stops further down a route, when we can, we send an additional bus or train to fill in behind those vehicles that passed by regularly scheduled stops.
Again, we know these are trying times and we are striving to provide as much service as possible in a safe and efficient manner. Our efforts remain focused on restoring regular service across our system as soon as we are able with safety at the forefront. We encourage our customers to refer to our website atwww.njtransit.com for additional information or contact our customer service office at 973-275-5555 (Operator-assisted 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.).
Ridgewood NJ, Public access to Hoboken Terminal for both customers and the news media remains restricted at this time due to safety concerns.
This restriction also includes a bar for all media outlets from filming or conducting interviews on the walkway to the Ferry Terminal, PATH, and Light Rail Station known as “Brick Alley” which can cause a safety hazard by restricting the movements of those using the pathway.
This is a narrow passageway intended for customer use and remains the only public egress point to access these facilities. As such there cannot be bottlenecks caused by interviews and filming for any reason. In addition, this is an active construction zone and pausing to film inside the open view to the station is a safety issue and an ongoing distraction to those performing dangerous work.
*** Reporters can access customers near the base of the Sloan Statue directly behind the Hoboken Land Building at the east side of Newark Street. Hand held cameras only – NO TRIPODS because of the limited space.***
Access to the Terminal and its environs will be granted to the media at such time as it is safe to do so. Failure to follow these restrictions will result in the immediate removal of the offending news personnel from the property.
NJ TRANSIT Service Plan for Tuesday Commute – Tuesday, October 4, 2016 Main/Bergen County/Pascack Valley/Port Jervis Lines Remain on Weekend Schedule
Ridgewood Nj, NJ TRANSIT has announced service plans for tomorrow, Tuesday October 4th, and until further notice, following the commuter train accident at Hoboken Terminal. All rail service into and out of Hoboken Terminal remains suspended. Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service has been restored into and out of Hoboken and will continue to operate on a full weekday schedule.
Cross honoring with PATH, ferries, NJ TRANSIT bus and private carriers will continue until further notice.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
Customers who normally travel to Hoboken should still purchase tickets and passes to Hoboken, so that they may be cross honored by rail into New York Penn Station or by shuttle bus from Secaucus to Liberty State Park.
Customers for trains normally bound for Hoboken are advised NOT to use Trip Planner on njtransit.com or on the mobile app. Please use the latest customer notice by clicking on the “Critical Service Advisory” located on njtransit.com.
Rail
View printable schedules HERE.
Main, Bergen, Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines will continue to operate on a weekend schedule originating/terminating in Secaucus, with stops at Teterboro and Woodcliff Lake stations (weekdays only).
Two additional peak-period trains will operate from Port Jervis in each direction:
In the morning, two trains will depart Port Jervis at 5:33 a.m. and 6:33 a.m. These trains will make all stops to Suffern, then stop only at Route 17, Ridgewood, Glen Rock-Boro Hall, and Radburn before operating express to Secaucus.Connecting trains depart Secaucus at 7:48 a.m. and 8:46 a.m. and arrive in New York at 8:03 a.m. and 9:01 a.m.
In the afternoon/evening, two trains will depart Secaucus at 5:19 p.m. and 7:27 p.m. (connections from New York at 5:03 p.m. and 7:08 p.m.). These trains will operate express to Radburn, then stop at Glen Rock-Boro Hall, Route 17 and Suffern. After Suffern, these trains will make all stops to Port Jervis, arriving there at 7:29 p.m. and 9:22 p.m., respectively.
All rail service to and from New YorkPenn Station will operate on a normal weekday schedule. This includes Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line and MidTOWN DIRECT trains.
Raritan Valley and Atlantic City Rail Lines will operate on normal weekday schedules.
Customers in New York City who need to access Secaucus are urged to take trains from New York Penn Station or use the Port Authority Bus Terminal forNJ TRANSIT and private carrier busing alternatives.
Customers in Hoboken and Jersey City who need to access Secaucus are urged to use Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to Liberty State Park, where shuttle buses will take them to Secaucus.
Morris & Essex Line, Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Line will have limited service running every two hours for points west of Montclair State University and west of Dover, in addition to regular MidTOWN DIRECT service.
Please note: MidTOWN DIRECT service will make additional stops east of Summit.
Additional Note: All Raritan Valley and North Jersey Coast Line trains scheduled to terminate in Hoboken will terminate at Newark Penn Station
Customers may experience overcrowding and possible delays caused by congestion.
NJ TRANSIT urges customers to check njtransit.com for service updates and sign up for MyTransit alerts, which provide service updates via text or email.
The Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) located near the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station at Hoboken now sell bus tickets and passes.
Metro North Service for Pascack Valley Line and Port Jervis Customers
Two additional peak-period trains will operate between Port Jervis and Hoboken in each direction:
In the morning, two trains will depart Port Jervis at 5:33 a.m. and 6:33 a.m. These trains will make all stops to Suffern, then stop only at Route 17, Ridgewood, Glen Rock-Boro Hall, and Radburn before operating express to Secaucus. Connecting trains depart Secaucus at 7:48a.m. and 8:46 a.m. and arrive in New York at 8:03 a.m. and9:01 a.m.
In the afternoon/evening, two trains will depart Secaucus at 5:19 p.m. and 7:27 p.m. (connections from New York at 5:03 p.m. and 7:08 p.m.). These trains willoperate express to Radburn, then stop at Glen Rock-Boro Hall, Route 17 and Suffern. After Suffern, these trains will make all stops to Port Jervis, arriving there at 7:29 p.m. and 9:22 p.m., respectively.
Ridgewood NJ, The National Transportation Safety Board issued an investigative update Saturday October 1st about its investigation of Thursday’s crash of NJ Transit Pascack Valley Line train #1614 into the platform of the Hoboken Terminal.
Updated information includes the following:
Investigators interviewed the accident train engineer. No interview summaries will be provided until interviews are completed.
Environmental and structural issues still prevent removal of the train from the station. Extensive debris removal must be completed before investigators can access the train and then have the train removed.
With the assistance of NJ Transit, investigators obtained video from other trains that were at the Hoboken Terminal, to see what those cameras captured from the accident event. The event recorder and camera from the controlling cab of the accident train remain inaccessible to investigators.
The event recorder from the trailing locomotive #4214 has arrived at the recorder manufacturer’s facility in Kentucky and NTSB personnel are supervising the attempted download.
There were no signal anomalies found on the tracks leading to the terminal. A full signal study cannot yet be completed because the accident train remains in the terminal.
Investigators completed the walking inspection of the track and found nothing that would have affected the performance of the train.
Main/Bergen County/Pascack Valley/Port Jervis Lines Remain on Weekend Schedule
October 3,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, NJT has announced service plans for tomorrow, Monday October 3rd, and until further notice, following the commuter train accident at Hoboken Terminal. All rail service into and out of Hoboken Terminal remains suspended. Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service has been restored into and out of Hoboken and will continue to operate on a full weekday schedule.
Cross honoring with PATH, ferries, NJ TRANSIT bus and private carriers will continue until further notice.
Rail
Main, Bergen, Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines will continue to operate on a weekend schedule originating/terminating in Secaucus, with stops at Teterboro and Woodcliff Lake stations (weekdays only).
All rail service to and from New York Penn Station will operate on a normal weekday schedule. This includes Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line and MidTOWN DIRECT trains.
Raritan Valley and Atlantic City Rail Lines will operate on normal weekday schedules.
Customers in New York City who need to access Secaucus are urged to take trains from New York Penn Station or use the Port Authority Bus Terminal for NJ TRANSIT and private carrier busing alternatives.
Customers in Hoboken and Jersey City who need to access Secaucus are urged to use Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to Liberty State Park, where shuttle buses will take them to Secaucus.
Morris & Essex Line, Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Line will have limited service running every two hours for points west of Montclair State University and west of Dover, in addition to regular MidTOWN DIRECT service.
Please note: MidTOWN DIRECT service will make additional stops east of Summit.
Customers may experience overcrowding and possible delays caused by congestion.
NJ TRANSIT urges customers to check njtransit.com for service updates and sign up for MyTransit alerts, which provide service updates via text or email.
Metro North Service for Pascack Valley Line and Port Jervis Customers
Ridgewod NJ, NJ TRANSIT has announced service plans for the weekend of October 1st and October 2nd, 2016 following the commuter train accident at Hoboken Terminal. All rail service into and out of Hoboken Terminal remains suspended. Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service has been restored into and out of Hoboken and will continue to operate.
Cross honoring with PATH, ferries, NJ TRANSIT bus and private carriers will continue throughout the weekend.
Rail
View temporary printable schedules for the Main Line, Montclair-Boonton and Pascack Valley Line HERE.
Normal weekend service will operate on the Main Bergen and Pascack Valley Lines with trains not operating into and out of Hoboken Terminal. Trains will originate/terminate in Secaucus.
Normal weekend service will operate on the Montclair Boonton Line with trains not operating into and out of Hoboken Terminal. Trains will originate/terminate at Newark Broad Street.
Meadowlands Train Service will operate between Secaucus and Meadowlands stations only on both Saturday and Sunday.
Customers in New York City who need to access Secaucus are urged to take trains from New York Penn Station or use the Port Authority Bus Terminal for NJ TRANSIT and private carrier busing alternatives.
Customers in Hoboken and Jersey City who need to access Secaucus are urged to use Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to Liberty State Park, where shuttle buses will depart approximately every 30 minutes and take them to Secaucus.
Customers may experience overcrowding and possible delays caused by congestion.
Metro North Service for Pascack Valley Line and Port Jervis Customers
Ridgewood NJ, full transcript of Governor Christie addressing yesterdays train crash in Hoboken.
Governor Christie: “ Good afternoon. I’m pleased to be joined here today by Lieutenant Governor Guadagno, by my partner in New York, Governor Cuomo. Governor Cuomo and I have just taken a tour of the damage inside. Obviously an extraordinary tragedy. We pray for the family of the one fatality that we have confirmed for her and for her family. We now have a revised total of injured. We have 108 injured in this accident and all of those have been evacuated to local hospitals, where they’re receiving the care they need. We pray for their recovery. The engineer who was operating the train was also critically injured. He is at a local hospital and cooperating with law enforcement officials in the investigation. What we know is that this train came in at a high rate of speed into the station and crashed through all of the barriers bringing it right to the interior wall of the Hoboken Terminal. Extraordinary reaction from local law enforcement and EMS along with civilian passengers, who assisted EMS, and local police and State Police in evacuating the trains as quickly as possible and helping with the triage of the passengers who were injured and getting them immediately to local hospitals for them to receive health care. There will be others who will speak today about some of the specifics, Commissioner Hammer, Mr. Prendergast from the MTA, about the specifics of commuting both this afternoon and tomorrow. We won’t address that specifically. Both Governor Cuomo and I come from a law enforcement background, as does the Lieutenant Governor. My admonition when I was U.S. Attorney all the time to my prosecutors and agents was, don’t jump to conclusions, let the facts lead you to the proper conclusions, and so we’re not going to speculate about the cause of the accident. It is that we’re in the midst of an investigation. I was called by the White House today as well. They have not only dispatched the NTSB and the Federal Railway Administration but also have pledged any resources that we need additionally to deal with the victims or to deal with what’s happened here at the Hoboken Terminal. We were pleased to get that call. As I said to a number of you earlier today, from the time that the incident happened this morning, Governor Cuomo and I have been in communication since the train began its journey today in the state of New York and we have a number of New York citizens who were on that train as well coming here to New Jersey, and so we’re going to work together to make sure that the investigation is seamless and coordinated, that we come to a conclusion as quickly as possible and then if there are steps that need to be taken thereafter to provide for even greater assurance of safety for the people of our states, you can be assured that we’ll work together through the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, MTA and New Jersey Transit to make sure that that occurs. And so we again, we pray for the victims and their families. We are on the scene. We’re going to continue to monitor what’s going on. We have engineers that are examining the structural integrity of the building now. We have no estimate as to when the terminal will be able to be reopened, except to say that it appears that the PATH terminal, the structural integrity there is fine and so that PATH trains will be able to use the terminal. As for the New Jersey Transit portion, we don’t have an estimate yet on that and we’re going to need some time to do that, so I want to turn this over to Governor Cuomo. We will also have Commissioner Hammer and MTA director Prendergast to make some comments and then Governor Cuomo, and I will come back to take on-topic questions.”
