Tag: New York Penn Station

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Trump Administration Official Throws Cold Water on Gateway Tunnel Funding Agreement

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December 30,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, earlier this month Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced commitments to fund 100 percent of their respective share of the new Gateway tunnel. The agreement follows a 2015 framework agreement in which the federal government agreed to fund 50 percent of the project.

The agreement for a combined $5.5 billion states that the State of New York will contribute $1.75 billion with NJ Transit committing $1.9 billion and the Port Authority contributing $1.9 billion.

But the Trump administration through cold water on the idea on Friday . In a letter to New York and New Jersey officials, a top Federal Transit Administration Deputy Administrator Jane Williams signaled that the Trump administration would not recognize the agreement struck under former President Barack Obama that called for the federal government to pay half the cost of the project.

The letter stated that ,“There is no such agreement,” and “We consider it unhelpful to reference a nonexistent ‘agreement’ rather than directly address the responsibility for funding a local project where nine out of 10 passengers are local transit riders,”

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NJ TRANSIT SAYS LEAVE YOUR BOOZE AT HOME DURING SANTACON

SantaCon

December 9, 2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, just a reminder if you are traveling in and out of the city today ,be it for SantCon or not ,NJ TRANSIT is prohibiting liquid beverages on all of its trains, light rail vehicles and buses on Saturday December 9th and the early morning of Sunday December 10th to coincide with the annual SantaCon event in New York City.

NJT says ,”This policy will be strictly enforced. ”

Reminder: All beverages, including alcohol, are not permitted on NJ TRANSIT buses at any time regardless of event.

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AMTRAK: Major Work to Impact New York Penn Station in January 

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Two A.M. Peak and Three P.M. Peak Trains To Be Affected On NEC and NJCL Beginning January 8

November 14, 2017

Ridgewood NJ,  Upcoming Amtrak track work at Penn Station New York (PSNY) will impact select NJ TRANSIT peak period train service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and North Jersey Coast Line (NJCL) with scheduled service adjustments to begin on January 8, 2018 through May 28, 2018.

The work will mainly affect a total of five trains per day which includes two in the a.m. peak and three in the p.m. peak periods.  Of these five trains, one NJCL train in both the a.m. and p.m. will be diverted to Hoboken; one NEC train in both the a.m. and p.m. will terminate/originate at Newark Penn Station and another NJCL train in the p.m. will be cancelled.  Other trains may have adjustments made to the timetable or station stops, and customers are advised to check the service timetables carefully.

“While this impact is far less than what we experienced this past summer, we encourage our Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line customers to do their homework and adjust their commuting plans if needed,” said Executive Director Steven H. Santoro.  “I want to thank our customers in advance as we continue to support Amtrak’s efforts to renew critical infrastructure at Penn Station New York and avoid a repeat of the derailments we saw this past spring.”

The affected trains are as follows:

A.M.

NJCL train 3216, the 6:11 a.m. eastbound Long Branch departure, will now depart at 6:23 a.m. and will be diverted to Hoboken renumbered as 2604
NEC train 3122, the 7:06 a.m. eastbound departure from New Brunswick will terminate at Newark Penn Station renumbered as 5822.

P.M.

NJCL train 3267, the 5:25 p.m. departure from PSNY, will originate from Hoboken at 5:22 p.m. renumbered as 2609
NEC train 3171, the 5:43 p.m. departure from PSNY, will originate at Newark Penn Station at 6:03 p.m. renumbered as 5869
NJCL train 3441, the 6:51 p.m. departure from PSNY, will be cancelled
Customers are advised that trains prior to or following the affected trains may experience crowded conditions.

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AMTRAK SAYS PENN STATION REPAIRS LIKELY TO END SOON AFTER LABOR DAY

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JOHN REITMEYER | AUGUST 7, 2017

Upgrades right on schedule, agency says, but there might be more work needed after summer is over that could affect NJ Transit commuters

The major repairs at New York’s Penn Station that have pushed thousands of New Jersey Transit commuters off their normal routes into Manhattan this summer are right on-schedule after the first month of work.

The steady progress means service changes that have been in place since early July are still likely to end soon after Labor Day. But with the aging station and its heavily used infrastructure in need of even more fixing up once summer ends, additional track outages that could again impact NJ Transit may be looming.

According to the latest update from Amtrak, the agency that owns Penn Station and has been leading the ongoing repairs, workers will need roughly another month to finish fixing up Track 10 and a part of the facility that includes a very busy section known as “A Interlocking.” While the workers still have “considerable challenges ahead,” Gery Williams, Amtrak’s chief engineer, said they remain on course to complete those repairs by September 4.

“Really, overall, we’ve had a really, good week,” Williams told reporters on Friday as the project reached its official midway point. “From the project aspect, we’re 50 percent completed.”

“We’re very focused on delivering by Labor Day,” he said.

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/17/08/06/amtrak-says-penn-station-repairs-likely-to-end-soon-after-labor-day/

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Train-mageddon Starts July 10 and runs through Friday, September 1, 2017

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June 3,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, its coming ,the modified Service Plan Due to Amtrak’s Summer Track Repair Work in Effect Monday, July 10 through Friday, September 1, 2017

NJ TRANSIT rail customers have been forced to deal with delays, derailments and unreliable service because Amtrak, which owns the tracks our service relies upon, has neglected the maintenance of its critical infrastructure for years. For three-quarters of NJ TRANSIT rail customers travel patterns will not be modified, including the Trenton to New York Northeast Corridor Line. However, delays on all rail lines, except for the Atlantic City Rail line, are inevitable.

Long overdue Amtrak track repair work will significantly disrupt travel this summer for customers who normally travel on the Morris & Essex Midtown Direct service to and from Penn Station New York. As a result, for their inconvenience, Morris & Essex Lines customers will receive about a 50 percent discount off the regular Hoboken ticket cost, in addition to cross-honoring with ferry and PATH service at Hoboken Terminal.

Below is the overall rail service plan for customers who will be traveling into Penn Station New York and Hoboken Terminal this summer.

NJ TRANSIT Service Plan for July 10th – September 1st
The following weekday rail service plan will be in place continuously from July 10th through September 1st.

Midtown Direct trains on the Morristown Line will be diverted to Hoboken.
Midtown Direct trains on the Gladstone Branch will be diverted to Hoboken.
All Midtown Direct trains on the Montclair-Boonton Line will operate on regular weekday schedules with minor time changes to/from PSNY.
All Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line trains will operate on regular weekday schedules with minor time changes to/from PSNY.
Raritan Valley Line will operate on regular weekday schedules with adjustments to PSNY schedules.
Main/Bergen, Pascack Valley and Port Jervis Lines will operate on regular weekday schedules however customers may need to adjust their connections to New York at Secaucus.

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Ridgewood Commuter update from New Jersey Transit

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June 1,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi shares a commuter update from New Jersey Transit.

COMMUTER UPDATE from NJ Transit:

NJ TRANSIT has heard from our customers that their lives have been turned upside down by the almost daily delays resulting from Amtrak’s emergency repair work that is going on at Penn Station New York (PSNY). This is before the continuous summer work that Amtrak will perform in July and August.

Amtrak has acknowledged that it must do extensive and disruptive work to its tracks and infrastructure at PSNY this summer due to years of its neglect. NJ TRANSIT has challenged Amtrak to make the necessary repairs and Amtrak maintains this work must be done now.

Amtrak’s summer repair and renewal work will reduce the number of trains that NJ TRANSIT can send in-and-out-of PSNY, particularly during peak periods. With Amtrak taking out multiple tracks that NJ TRANSIT uses every single day, NJ TRANSIT developed a modified summer rail schedule that will be in effect from July 10th through September 1st. The location and extent of Amtrak’s work means that instead of being able to send 21 trains into New York during the busiest hours of the morning rush, NJ TRANSIT will send 15.

Even under these constraints, NJ TRANSIT’s experienced transportation service planners were able to develop a service plan that allows three-quarters of our customers to continue to experience their regular travel pattern into New York. Nearly all customers traveling on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line, Raritan Valley, Montclair-Boonton, Pascack Valley, Main/Bergen and the Port Jervis Lines will continue their same travel pattern as they do today.

However, there is an impact to having fewer trains per-hour into New York during this two-month period; some of NJ TRANSIT’s customers will move to a two-seat ride into-and out-of Manhattan each weekday.

Recognizing the inconvenience of the affected customers on the Morris & Essex Lines, they will be charge much lower fares – 50 to 63 percent less than the price they usually pay for tickets and passes. To provide the maximum number of travel options, we are also developing a strategic increase to bus service in affected areas; light rail service will be adjusted and NJ TRANSIT will offer free cross-honoring with PATH and the ferries.

Customers will see a robust communication campaign in concert with the release of schedules and travel alternatives the first full week of June through all traditional and social media outlets available to us. NJ TRANSIT employee ambassadors will be out at key terminals including Penn Station, Hoboken, Newark and other locations beginning next month, to answer questions and hand out information to help prepare customers for the continuous Amtrak outages that will impact them this summer.

For the summer, NJ TRANSIT has insisted on having a Joint Station Operations Center at PSNY for better crowd management and customer communication. NJ TRANSIT has also insisted Amtrak have rescue engines crewed and ready to respond if there is a breakdown or disruption this summer, to keep one delayed train from creating a cascade of misery for the customers on many other trains.

NJ TRANSIT also insisted on a number of other steps to benefit New Jersey customers this summer, including:
· That the west end concourse at PSNY be opened for NJ TRANSIT customers.
· That the blanket 10 mph speed restriction now in place near PSNY be lifted prior to July 10.
· That NJ TRANSIT is allowed to perform field inspections of the renewal work.
· That Amtrak provide daily written progress reports.
· And that an NJ TRANSIT representative be involved in day-to-day dispatching decisions.

Longer term, NJ TRANSIT will demand that New Jersey have more input on Amtrak’s priorities for repair and replacement of infrastructure, to ensure that state of good repair efforts – those projects most directly tied to the safe and reliable service, are being advanced where they are needed most, so that NJ TRANSIT’s customers can have safe, reliable service, day in and day out.

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Commuter says Mr President Please do not bail out NY/NJ at Penn Station

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Dear President Trump – please do the right thing here. Ask NY/NJ to drop dead. I say this as someone who has to endure the torturous commute every single day.

These states are involved in pillaging BILLIONS of dollars collected as taxes/tolls/fares, paid by honest citizens, on their union cronies and other political constituents, instead of spending the same on desperately needed infrastructure.

Not a penny of federal aid is required to build and maintain infrastructure. There is no shortage of money. A few years of tolls collected on the three 50-100 year old Hudson crossings alone is enough to build a new tunnel. Of course, no one really knows where that money goes.

Please do not bail them out. This will only encourage them to steal more.

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NJ Transit Should Cut Fares This Summer, Senate Candidate Says

Kelly Langschultz,

By Alyana Alfaro • 05/03/17 5:12pm

Kelly Langschultz, a Republican candidate for the state Senate in Bergen County, is calling on NJ Transit to slash its fares during the coming season of repairs and service outages at New York Penn Station.

“NJ Transit needs to reduce the cost of their ticket prices and start accommodating riders for the decline in service,” she said in a statement Wednesday. “We have plenty of people here who have already spent hundreds of dollars on monthly passes, and now we’re learning that there will be even further interruptions in service.”

Amtrak is conducting urgent track repairs this summer, planned for July 7 to July 25 and Aug. 4 to Aug. 28, according to a draft plan. At least five of Penn Station’s 21 tracks would be affected by the August repairs and NJ Transit riders are expected to face long delays and service outages. Amtrak, which owns and operates Penn Station, says it has no choice but to fix the tracks after two recent derailments at the station.

https://observer.com/2017/05/kelly-langschultz-calls-for-fare-reduction-nj-transit/

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NJT Apologizes for the Mess

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April 25, 2017

Dear Valued Customer,

First, I want to thank you for your continued patience and understanding during the recent and ongoing delays to your train service, especially traveling in and out of Penn Station New York.

These delays have caused considerable frustration, inconvenience and stress for many of you as you travel to work, appointments, events and then back home. Traveling on NJ TRANSIT should be the easy part of your day, not the most challenging.

We share your frustration and are committed to earning back your trust. I personally met with Amtrak’s CEO recently to discuss the importance of NJ TRANSIT having a voice at the table around prioritization of track and other maintenance, tunnel evacuation protocols, customer flow at Penn Station New York among other topics. These issues are important to NJ TRANSIT, have a direct impact on you our customers, and must be addressed.

If you have experienced delays that have compromised your work situation, please stop by one of our Customer Service offices and pick up a delay letter for your employer. You also can obtain a letter by visiting our website and clicking here to access our Contact Us form on the website.

I will work every day to ensure that we do everything we can to improve your trip, and sincerely apologize for the inconveniences you, your families and fellow commuters may have experienced in recent days.

Thank you for remaining a loyal NJ TRANSIT customer.

Steven H. Santoro
Executive Director, NJ TRANSIT

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NJT: Expect 15-30 Minutes Delays for the Foreseeable Future

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April 26,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, ,Due to ongoing Amtrak track maintenance work and track inspections leading to speed restrictions, effective immediately and continuing until further notice, NJT customers traveling to and from New York Penn Station will experience estimated delays of 15 minutes on weekdays and 30 minutes on weekends.

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Amtrak at a Junction: Invest in Improvements, or Risk Worsening Problems

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By EMMA G. FITZSIMMONSAPRIL 24, 2017

When Amtrak’s new chief executive took responsibility for two recent train derailments at Pennsylvania Station in New York, it was a low point for a railroad already confronting a series of urgent challenges.

Commuters have long complained that the station is overcrowded and dreary, but now Amtrak had acknowledged that its tracks were in poor shape and not being properly maintained.

The derailments have set off alarms over Amtrak’s management of the station, its safety record and the railroad’s perennial funding problems. The days of commuting turmoil prompted by the accidents also offered an ominous preview of the future if the railroad’s aging infrastructure is not soon overhauled.

Today, Amtrak finds itself at a crossroad: Is the 46-year-old national railroad at the cusp of a new era of investment as it pushes to build a train tunnel between New York and New Jersey — one of the country’s largest infrastructure proposals — or will service deteriorate to levels that could damage the economy in the corridor between Washington and Boston?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/nyregion/amtrak-infrastructure-crisis.html?_r=0

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Boost in Ridership Leaves New York’s Penn Station Platforms Packed

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Many weekday commuters struggle to exit trains as the number of riders is increasing and construction compounds the problem

By
MELANIE GRAYCE WEST and
ANDREW TANGEL
March 20, 2017 4:13 p.m. ET

The morning rush has become the morning crush for some NJ Transit commuters arriving at New York Penn Station.

The scene plays out like this: When a train pulls in, commuters queue up for the doors and arrive on a platform that is both narrow and jammed, people shoved together elbow to elbow. To exit from the platform, commuters sometimes encounter an onslaught of passengers trying to catch another train or a crush of passengers from an arriving train.

Sometimes the escalator is going down instead of up, the narrow stairwells are packed single file or, in a truly frustrating situation, a new stairwell is gated.

The morning commute for thousands already ends at the much maligned Penn Station. Now, some say, the escape from Penn Station is worse, with platforms more jammed than ever as the number of commuters increases.

In 2016, average weekday boardings at Penn Station numbered 94,859 people, up from 92,314 in 2015 and 87,130 in 2014, according to Nancy Snyder, a NJ Transit spokeswoman. Each weekday, about 57,000 NJ Transit customers use Penn Station platforms between the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., according to Nancy Snyder.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/boost-in-ridership-leaves-new-yorks-penn-station-platforms-packed-1490040830

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Delays Plague Ridgewood NJ Transit Train Riders

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August 24,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, if have noticed your having trouble getting to work on time ,its true you are the NJT rail on-time performance data, found in NJ Transits annual report, calculates the percentage of trains that arrive on-time to their destination.

The current data shows that while the Main/Bergen County Line on time performance has actually improved from 2011 to 2015 , you connection to New York Penn Station at Secaucus Junction has suffered significant deterioration.

The Northeast Corridor commuter trains (NEC) are the now the most frequently late, and more of them are arriving later.The NEC has had the lowest percentage of on-time trains every year for the past five years. It’s been getting worse, falling to a low of 89.9 percent on-time in 2015 after reaching a five year high in 2013 of 94.4 percent.

NJT considers a train late if it arrives to its final destination six minutes after its scheduled time.The performance measures are in fiscal years, which for NJ Transit starts July 1 and goes through June 30.

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Video warns of transit apocalypse if new tunnels aren’t fast-tracked

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By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on August 16, 2016 at 2:49 PM, updated August 16, 2016 at 3:49 PM

A former writer for “The Daily Show” has produced a video explaining how red tape could delay the Gateway Tunnel project, potentially increasing gridlock and costing billions in tax dollars.

The video by Alex Marino explains the complex tunnel issues in “Transportation Armageddon.” It was produced for Common Good, which advocates cutting red tape and bureaucratic reform.

It warns how road gridlock would expand in New York and New Jersey if one of the existing 106-year old tunnels has to be taken out of service for rehabilitation and rail commuters instead have to use their cars.

https://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/2016/08/video_warns_of_transit_apocalypse_if_new_tunnels_arent_fast-tracked.html

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Hudson Tunnel Project Environmental Impact Evaluation

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May 15,2015

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood commuters ,the Federal Railroad Administration and NJ TRANSIT are jointly preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the Hudson Tunnel Project. Two public meetings have been set up with will offer a presentation and take comments .

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and NJ TRANSIT are jointly preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the Hudson Tunnel Project. The Project is intended to preserve the current functionality of the Northeast Corridor’s (NEC) Hudson River rail crossing between New Jersey and New York and strengthen the resilience of the NEC. The Project would consist of construction of a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River, including railroad infrastructure in New Jersey and New York connecting the new rail tunnel to the existing NEC, and rehabilitation of the existing NEC tunnel beneath the Hudson River, referred to as the North River Tunnel.

The North River Tunnel is used by Amtrak for intercity passenger rail service and by NJ TRANSIT for commuter rail service. The approach to the tunnel begins east of NJ TRANSIT’s Frank R. Lautenberg Station in Secaucus, NJ (which is 5 miles east of Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT’s Newark Penn Station). East of the Secaucus station, the NEC has two tracks that approach the tunnel on a raised embankment through the towns of Secaucus and North Bergen, NJ. Tracks enter a tunnel portal in North Bergen, passing beneath Union City and Weehawken, NJ and the Hudson River before emerging within the Penn Station New York (PSNY) rail complex in New York City. The tunnel has two separate tubes, each accommodating a single track for electrically powered trains, and extends approximately 2.5 miles from the tunnel portal in North Bergen to PSNY.  The existing North River Tunnel is a critical NEC asset and is the only intercity passenger rail crossing into New York City from New Jersey and areas west and south.

Service reliability throughout the tunnel has been compromised because of the damage to tunnel components caused by Superstorm Sandy, which inundated both tubes in the North River Tunnel with seawater in October 2012, resulting in the cancellation of all Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT service into New York City for five days. While the tunnel was restored to service and is now safe for travel, chlorides from the seawater remain in the tunnel’s concrete liner and bench walls, causing ongoing damage to the bench walls, imbedded steel, track, and signaling and electrical components.

The damage caused by Superstorm Sandy is compounded by the tunnel’s age and the intensity of its current use (operating at capacity to meet current demands), resulting in frequent delays due to component failures within the tunnel.

Public Scoping Meetings

FRA and NJ TRANSIT will hold two public scoping meetings on the following dates:

May 17, 2016
Hotel Pennsylvania
Gold Ballroom, 3rd Floor
401 Seventh Avenue at West 33rd Street
New York, NY

May 19, 2016
Union City High School
2500 Kennedy Boulevard
Union City, NJ

Both days will include an afternoon session from 3 to 5 PM with a brief presentation about the Project at 4 PM, and an evening session from 6 to 8 PM with a brief presentation about the Project at 7 PM. The public will be able to review Project information, talk informally with members of the study staff, and formally submit comments to the FRA (to a stenographer or in writing). The meeting facilities will be accessible to persons with disabilities. Spanish language translators will be present. If special translation or signing services or other special accommodations are needed, please contact the Project team five days prior to the meeting at 973-261-8115, or email team@hudsontunnelproject.com.