Passenger Trains > NJ Transit to cut many trains on May 23

NJ.com has a list of trains to be cut as a result of the recent drop in state aid for NJ Transit rail operations. At least two trains from each line, resulting in fewer trains operating during the course of a day.

Nobody's getting spared on this reduction, but it looks like a lot of rush hour service will be consolidated, as well as midday services on most lines. Interestingly, it looks like some Pascack / Suffern services will continue, but no longer serve NJ stations. I wonder how that actually saves any money (unless it lets NJ Transit charge the whole train cost to metroNorth)?

It looks like changes will be made to 38 trains, some weekday only, some weekend only, etc. I've ridden a few of these trains, and it seems that they've tried to spread the cuts around, and to make adjustments in other services to pick up the gaps if they can.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/05/nj_transit_rail_lines_to_lose.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/10 14:13 by Lackawanna484.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Interestingly, it looks like some Pascack
> / Suffern services will continue, but no longer
> serve NJ stations. I wonder how that actually
> saves any money (unless it lets NJ Transit charge
> the whole train cost to metroNorth)?

I think you answered your own question.

I think the title should say 32 trains, not 300.

Sign of the times! Metrolink LA is doing the same thing! More unemployed people means fewer people going to work!

Here's the irony, this comes on the heels of NJT taking delivery of its multilevel cars (to deal with what was intended to be increased patronage) an order of electric motors (to replace the ALP44's), a new fleet of diesels, and an order out for dual-mode locomotives. So now NJT may be "parking" some motive and passenger cars as a result of the cuts. And now the new Hudson River tunnel to NYC may be on hold.....

The multilevel cars were specifically designed to get more people into midtown Manhattan than what a single level coach could. Be it last year or the year before, NJT even proceeded to exercise an option to get more multilevel cars, while potentially retiring more single level coaches.

Is operations talking to the capital expenditure department?

Hey ... What's wrong with a couple of $12,600,000/unit "1st ever at this level of complexity" dual-mode locomotives? The state may as well buy (what, 20?) of them. It's only MONEY. I was going to type "$12.6 million" but, like the national debt, the string of zeros makes it all sink in so much harder.

This will probably generate a long string of nasty comments about "Don't you know that EMD built FL9s for the New Haven in 1956!?" Ya, I know about the FL9s and the GE dual-modes for Amtrak and MNCR and the EMD thingamibobbies on Long Island. These Jersey machines will be super dooper snazzy. Twin Cat engines, AC traction, a Man-size step down transformer and a pantagraph on the roof.

I know it's comparing apples to bananas, but $12,600,000 (what the taxpayers in NJ will be paying for ONE of the super dooper dual-mode units) would, on the freight side, purchase roughly 210 aluminum coal gons or hoppers. Or almost 6 big freight units.

Somehow the image of Al Pacino as gangster Tony Montana with white powder on his nose comes to mind. "Hey, gimme some of !THAT!" Remember the sculpture of a globe in Tony's house? It was wrapped in the slogan "The world is yours."

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> I think the title should say 32 trains, not 300.

The original title said "many." What happened?

Gov. Christie's tax policies are encouraging people to leave rail transit and go back to autos. This flies in the face of transportation policy world wide.

NJT is a capital-enriched political patronage mill that loves to spend capital money, has little use for customers who are non-commuters, and not Manhattan-bound. Warrington once referred to these other rail passengers as "incidental ridership".
The fare increase was 25%. But they eliminated off-peak fares, or it would have been 30%. Off-peak fares therefore went up 47%.
I expect off-peak service to be cut 50% next year. NJT will become even more irrelevant.

The Legislature yawned as citizens will restructure their home and work lives over time to get NJT out of their lives.

I see no solution but to invoke an immediate bankruptcy on the entire corporation, contract out rail operations to Metro North, SEPTA (the ACRL), and Academy Bus lines, and let NY MTA's fare and operational policies be implemented. MTA values non-commuters. (Take a look at LIRR's weekend getaway packages available online). New Jersey is simply too corrupt, stupid, and immature to have its own transit corporation.

NJT is a broken Soviet model with a joke of a board, whose chair is the DOT Commissioner, who all do and think what upper management tells them to do. The lies and con jobs they have paid lobbyists to brainwash all politicians in the state on the benefits of the ARC project (like tripling ridership on the diesel branches) is a public sin.

To those who state the state is broke, the gas tax is the 3rd lowest in the nation, hasn't gone up in 22 years, yet the highway department keeps functioning. The Transportation Trust Fund will bankrupt in 2011 and there is no solution in sight. The governor is as oppsoed to raising the gas tax as he opposes rasing the tax on millionaires. We have a governor and a legislature who love congestion, expensive rail and highway projects, but have a stupid, macho, bully-boy, pubescent love-affair with automobiles.

joemvcnj Wrote:
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>>
> To those who state the state is broke, the gas tax
> is the 3rd lowest in the nation, hasn't gone up in
> 22 years, yet the highway department keeps
> functioning. The Transportation Trust Fund will
> bankrupt in 2011 and there is no solution in
> sight. The governor is as oppsoed to raising the
> gas tax as he opposes rasing the tax on
> millionaires. We have a governor and a legislature
> who love congestion, expensive rail and highway
> projects, but have a stupid, macho, bully-boy,
> pubescent love-affair with automobiles.



You also have one of the few gasoline service startion "full employment laws" in New Jersy -- as I recall self-service stations are prohibited and all gas must be pumped by a paid attendant.

>
>
>
> You also have one of the few gasoline service
> station "full employment laws" in New Jersey -- as
> I recall self-service stations are prohibited and
> all gas must be pumped by a paid attendant.


Oregon is the other state with "full employment laws." Also can't pump gas yourself in that state!

stone23 Wrote:
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> >
> >
> >
> > You also have one of the few gasoline service
> > station "full employment laws" in New Jersey --
> as
> > I recall self-service stations are prohibited
> and
> > all gas must be pumped by a paid attendant.
>
>
> Oregon is the other state with "full employment
> laws." Also can't pump gas yourself in that state!


Governor Christie was elected on a "no new taxes" pledge, so the gasoline tax will remain one of the lowest in the nation for a while. The practical result is less money for road repairs, rail improvements, etc

ProRail Wrote:
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> joemvcnj Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I think the title should say 32 trains, not
> 300.
>
> The original title said "many." What happened?


After Joe commented, I went back and checked the linked article more carefully for the number. It looks more like 150 train movements weekly will be canceled, so I changed the title to "many".

Some lines, like Atlantic City, will lose a lot of weekend trains, while others will lose just weekday trains

Here's another take on current Governor Christie from a non-partisan political blog (The Hill), NJT is just part of the bigger statewide picture....

"Upon taking office Christie declared a state of emergency, signing an executive order that froze spending, and then, in eight weeks, cutting $13 billion in spending. In March he presented to the Legislature his first budget, which cuts 9 percent of spending, including more than $800 million in education funding; seeks to privatize numerous government functions; projects 1,300 layoffs; and caps tax increases.

Teachers unions are incensed, fighting Christie’s proposal that — in order to avoid cuts to education — teachers accept a one-year wage freeze and contribute 1.5 percent to the generous-by-every-standard healthcare plans they now enjoy for free. New Jersey, which has the highest unemployment in the region and highest taxes in the country, lost 121,000 jobs in the private sector in 2009 while adding 11,300 new education jobs. During the last eight years, K-12 enrollment rose just 3 percent while education jobs increased more than 16 percent. According to the Newark Star-Ledger, during the recession that has cost many residents their homes and jobs and scaled back hours and pay for the employed, teachers’ salaries rose by nearly 5 percent, double the rate of inflation.

Christie is adamant about lowering taxes. After taxes were raised 115 times in the last eight years, he said the wealthy are tapped out. Property taxes rose nearly 70 percent in the last decade, and studies show top earners — the 1 percent of taxpayers paying 40 percent of income tax — are fleeing the Garden State."

A fare is a tax by another name. A fare increase is a tax increase.

I guess the number of trains cut depends on how you're counting them (daily, weekly, etc.).

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ProRail Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > joemvcnj Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > I think the title should say 32 trains, not
> > 300.

> > The original title said "many." What happened?

> After Joe commented, I went back and checked the
> linked article more carefully for the number. It
> looks more like 150 train movements weekly will be
> canceled, so I changed the title to "many".
>
> Some lines, like Atlantic City, will lose a lot of
> weekend trains, while others will lose just
> weekday trains

With the service cuts coupled with new equipment either on the property or about to arrive, perhaps NJT could lease out some of its ALP46's electric motive power to Amtrak (re-gearing them for 125 mph running). NJT could keep the ALP44's around for a little bit longer (even though they should likely be retired sooner rather than later). Then if NJT was to get the dual-mode units, they could put the dual modes to use and lease out some of the PL42 diesels to Amtrak as well. All would be short-term until Amtrak gets it's own order together. Course Amtrak may have its order together prior to any NJT dual mode engines entering the property. And the dual modes were for the ARC project - or additional Hudson River tunnel capacity. I don't see this coming about any time too soon, but it's possible the dual modes may come first.

With the recent service cuts, NJT can likely do more turns with its equipment, thus creating a surplus of equipment. Granted it, all these equipment orders may have been placed prior to the recession hitting. However, in my opinion, NJT should have NEVER opted to purchase the extra multilevel cars that it did. I believe this order ended up retiring the Comet III's. Too many shortcomings with these multilevel cars.