NJT to Open Mt Arlington

> Per the other recent discussion on the Pascack Valley offpeak service,
> how does existing bus service in the area compete with the upcoming
> train service? That is, will the new train opportunity be faster than
> the existing bus?

Different questions that need to be unpacked.

The scheduled bus time is faster. BUT slow and steady wins the race. The
train will get you to NYC in the scheduled time most all of the time. The
bus is a crapshoot.

As a result, the bus probably average about the same or a little slower than
the train, but on a good day will get you to Manhattan considerably faster.
On a bad day, you'll be an hour late for work.

OTOH, like all the NJT rail projects, there's connectivity that the bus does
not offer -- name the ability to change at Secaucus Jct for all [railroad]
points. If the bus diverted, say, to also serve Newark, it would lose even
its [paper] advantage.

You also have to remember that NJT fares are set up to encourage intrastate
travel. The one way fare from Mt Arlington to New York is the same as the
fare from Mt Arlington to Little Silver, Princeton, or other stations of
comparable distance. I realize only railfans might try it, but the round
trip fare from Port Jervis to NY is the same as the round trip fare from
Port Jervis to Bay Head Jct. The buses can't offer any such thing.

How many passengers will use the service? I wouldn't trust any NJT
predictions -- they're always wrong <g>.

Cheers,
Jim Guthrie

>Lots of NY-bound people will use the
>service when a one seat ride to New York
>is available.

But it's not going to be one, even if/when they re-open service on the
Lackawanna Cut-Off to the Poconos. Mt. Arlington is redundant, since the
Mount Olive station already exists near the same major highways.
Electrification to Lake Hopatcong (as well as a new, larger storage
facility at or near Port Morris) should have been undertaken in concert
with this new station construction.

The Wayne station on the Boonton line is even less useful, unless some
major service upgrades are made.

--
"Whatever you do, don't stick your head in the oven" - Keith Hernandez,
on how to end a batting slump

> Mount Arlington might be used by people going to Morristown line stations
> between Morris Plains and Summit, but there are only three direct trains
> from Port Morris via Morristown before 9 AM, and one of them is train 800,
> which leaves Lake Hopatcong just after 4 AM. Oh well.

Are you sure the schedules will not be changed at all?

Cheers,
Jim Guthrie

J.R.Guthrie wrote:
>> Mount Arlington might be used by people going to Morristown line stations
>> between Morris Plains and Summit, but there are only three direct trains
>> from Port Morris via Morristown before 9 AM, and one of them is train 800,
>> which leaves Lake Hopatcong just after 4 AM. Oh well.
>
> Are you sure the schedules will not be changed at all?
>
> Cheers,
> Jim Guthrie
>
>

The stops are already listed in the current timetable without the exact
times filled in. I wouldn't expect any further changes.

Michael Finfer
Bridgewater, NJ

>Last I heard, Wayne will get off-peak and
>weekend service with the fall timetable
>change next year..

Weekend service? Surely you jest! Montclair residents don't accept the
fact that folks need to take trains to their 9 to 5 weekday jobs in the
city. Given the significant limitations already put on Montclair/Boonton
service by these NIMBYies, I won't hold my breath.

--
"Whatever you do, don't stick your head in the oven" - Keith Hernandez,
on how to end a batting slump

>>Weekend service? Surely you jest! Montclair residents don't accept the
>>fact that folks need to take trains to their 9 to 5 weekday jobs in the

This is mythology/urban legend. There was never any restriction/agreement or
opposition (above and beyond the concept of running trains at all <g>).

Cheers,
Jim Guthrie

>The current connection with sharp curves
>and a grade crossing at the Montclair
>station is a planning abomination.
>Montclair should have gone for grade
>crossing elimination and should have
>made sere there were no new grade
>crossings. In return for quiet crossings,
>the night and weekend service should be
>allowed.

Blame local residents, not NJT, for the current awful configuration.
While NJT had agitated since 1984 for the "Montclair" connection, it was
local residents who fought it for nearly 20 years. The only way it was
finally approved was because NJT agreed to limit service to weekdays
only and to NOT run more than a couple of diesel trains east of MSU. The
only thing I blame NJT for is the inability to use MU cars on any
Midtown Direct service, leaving electric Montclair/Boonton service stuck
with sluggish push-pulls which are a nightmare on a line with such
closely spaced stations.

--
"Whatever you do, don't stick your head in the oven" - Keith Hernandez,
on how to end a batting slump

>That was never part of the agreement.

It had to have been, since NJT wants to run weekend and late night
service at least on the electrified portion.

--
"Whatever you do, don't stick your head in the oven" - Keith Hernandez,
on how to end a batting slump