The LIRR/MNR Hurricane Recovery Thread

[TheKorean]

Maybe they should just end Port Jervis service permanently. Seems like no one uses that line anyway.

[Amtrak7]

Maybe they should just end Port Jervis service permanently. Seems like no one uses that line anyway.

 

2007 ridership:

 

Port Jervis: AM peak 102, weekday off peak 64, Saturday 33, Sunday 64

Otisville: AM peak 26, weekday off peak 8, Saturday 3, Sunday 29

Middletown: AM peak 486, weekday off peak 86, Saturday 112, Sunday 92

Campbell Hall: AM peak 142, weekday off peak 21, Saturday 8, Sunday 17

Salisbury Mills: AM peak 472, weekday off peak 54, Saturday 25, Sunday 38

Harriman: AM peak 717, weekday off peak 134, Saturday 218, Sunday 130

Tuxedo: AM peak 138, weekday off peak 35, Saturday 35, Sunday 68

Sloatsburg: AM peak 48, weekday off peak 6, Saturday 12, Sunday 6

 

Note these are INBOUND figures, so double.

 

Buses run as follows:

 

Port Jervis-Middletown-Beacon

Otisville-Beacon

Campbell Hall-Beacon

Salisbury Mills-Ramsey

Harriman-Tuxedo-Sloatsburg-Ramsey

 

Notice how the least used stations have nonstop service to/from the train station, while the busier ones have multiple stops on the same bus. While it's necessary to maintain reasonable travel times because the low ridership stations are in the middle of nowhere, it's economically painful!

 

Hopefully MNR's test will be successful and they can run trains Port Jervis - Harriman for bus connections there.

[Shortline Bus]

Fresh off the presses woops i mean website lol, here the latest update on the "Post-Irene" service changes on the Pt. Jervis line as of Friday

Sept. 9, 2011.

 

Beginning Monday 9/12/11, Metro-North Provides Buses At Every Port Jervis Line Station

 

Beginning Monday, Metro-North Provides Buses At Every Port Jervis Line StationMTA Metro-North Railroad will provide bus service instead of train service for the entire Port Jervis Line with the introduction of bus service at the Otisville and Campbell Hall stations on Monday, September 12.

 

The bus program will remain in effect, seven days a week, for several months until the line, damaged by flooding during Hurricane Irene, can be repaired.

 

Otisville and Campbell Hall customers will be taken to the Beacon Station for Hudson Line train service to Grand Central Terminal. For all available service alternatives and Port Jervis Line updates, see mta.info."

 

 

"In the two weeks since flooding crippled 14 miles of the Port Jervis Line, Metro-North has worked to provide buses to transport the 2,300 people who depend on the railroad each weekday. They will be taken to nearby stations in New Jersey and across the Hudson River in a complex and evolving plan to provide alternative public transportation," said Metro-North Railroad President Howard Permut. "It is the most extensive and complex busing program ever implemented by the railroad."

 

"The full resources of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have been harnessed to help the Port Jervis Line recover. We are grateful to the MTA Bus Company, which has sent 40 buses from New York City to Orange County for this effort," Permut added.

 

"Our service partner, NJTRANSIT, has been very helpful in accommodating the influx of our customers at its Ramsey/Route17 Station, including bus staging there," Permut said. "Similarly, Leprechaun Lines of New Windsor pitched in and provided the first buses from Harriman just two days after the storm and continues to supply 15 buses each day."

 

The effort has been extensive and complicated. Many local roads also were damaged by flooding and have just been reopened. Bus routes had to be mapped and test runs made from each station to either Ramsey/Route 17 or Beacon so that travel times could be compared. MTA Bus drivers had to familiarize themselves with Orange County roads. Metro-North planners had to develop bus schedules that take into account local traffic so that buses will meet train departures. Signs had to be posted at stations and Customer Service personnel mobilized in the field.

 

Some West of Hudson customers are being bused to the Hudson Line primarily to avoid confusion at the Ramsey/Route 17 Station in the afternoon when so many buses are lined up, each with a different Orange County destination. Also, there is better road access at Beacon. And ultimately the travel time is essentially the same via Beacon or Ramsey/Route17 to either midtown or downtown.

 

Otisville and Campbell Hall customers who wish to go to Hoboken or Penn Station can drive to the Salisbury Mills station, where there is ample parking and buses are going to the Ramsey/Route 17 station.

 

In addition, Metro-North has added about 80 parking spaces at Harriman by striping an unused, but paved area at the north end of the existing facility. All West-of-Hudson parking permits will be good at the Harriman Station, where buses will take customer to and from the Ramsey/Route17 Station.

 

Previously, Metro-North has provided shuttle buses during off-peak track or during temporary service disruptions. The current bus operation from all eight Port Jervis Line stations will be in operation seven days a week. Each scheduled train has a corresponding bus departure.

 

In addition, customers can use Port Jervis Line commutation tickets on the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry or the Newburgh-Beacon Shuttle Bus and on the Hudson Line.

 

Customers from stations from Port Jervis through Salisbury Mills with a valid LAZ parking permit can park at any West of Hudson station as well as at Beacon or Cortlandt stations on the Hudson Line. A permit does not guarantee a space.

 

To receive updates on the Port Jervis Line, customers should sign up for email alerts and call the Customer Information Center at 212-532-4900.

 

Meanwhile, AECOM of New York City is in the process of a conditions analysis of track and structures along 14 of the hardest hit miles of the right-of-way. A hydrology study also is being conducted. A sub-consultant, Systra of New York City, is assessing all railroad communications and signal systems, and M.G. McLaren of West Nyack, another sub-consultant, is assessing damage to the 16 rail bridges in the affected area. AECOM was granted an emergency contract not-to exceed $500,000."

 

http://mta.info/mta/news/releases/?en=110909-MNR48

[Shortline Bus]

Maybe they should just end Port Jervis service permanently. Seems like no one uses that line anyway.

 

 

As Amtrak has shown with the data, although it's the lowest used Metro North/(NJT)line in the region it provides a vital link as the only rail link between Hoboken/NYC and Orange County, NY.

 

 

If there was 2 tracks on that line at least between Middletown/Walkill and Suffern to run more trains, ridership would go up. As someone when i still lived in NYC busfanned on Shortline/Coach USA's Middletown-Midtown line, people in Orange County would gladly hop on a train than a very expensive private regional bus line like CUSA/Shortline.

 

In Middletown area, many who work in Manhattan already drove to/from 'halfway' to a station either Beacon on Hudson Line or Suffern "Pre-Irene." Still problem is parking at both Beacon or Suffern during weekdays was already a nightmare. Thus why for the busing around the Pt Jervis shutdown.

 

Also since I-84(let's be real it's not a parking lot like the LIE or Cross bronx lol:p)during rush hours can be busy. Thus when the Pt. Jervis is up and running that the IMO consider permanetly at least during rush hours running a bus link between Beacon station and Middletown/Walkill since beacon has almost no parking weekdays.

[TheKorean]

Does freight trains run on that line?

[Shortline Bus]

Does freight trains run on that line?

 

Yes!

[JAzumah]

Run the buses to Secaucus Junction or Manhattan or risk destroying the passenger base. They are leaving by the bunch.

[Shortline Bus]

For those of you who think no one rides the Pt Jervis line, think again. Here a story from Wed. 9/14/11 post-irene update. Good news is that in 'near future' train service between Pt Jervis and Harriman might be restored. Bad news is that the section between Harriman and Suffern might take at least several months to reopen.

Here article from the Orange County, NY Time Hearld newspaper.

 

 

Western side of Port Jervis line OK: Irene's damage is on east side

 

By Judy Rife

 

Times Herald-Record Reporter

 

09/14/11

 

PORT JERVIS — Metro-North has tested its Irene-ravaged rail line from Port Jervis to Harriman and found it sound.

 

The test run, conducted Monday, demonstrated that washouts in the vicinity of Otisville weren't fatal and cleared the way for Metro-North to eliminate busing at Port Jervis line stations west of Harriman.

 

"Everything is still being discussed," said Marjorie Anders, a Metro-North spokeswoman. "No decisions have been made; no plans are in place."

 

 

The prospect, however, is still heartening to Metro-North customers who are now in Week Three of a post-Irene commute that adds as much as two hours travel time to their days. Short Line commuters are discovering, too, that they have to leave home earlier — and wait longer — to compete with Metro-North customers for parking spots at the park-and-rides and seats on the buses.

 

"I asked a train person this morning why he wasn't using the bus the MTA was providing, and he said it had made his commute a three-hour ordeal," said Nancy Fasano of Highland Mills, an 18-year Short Line customer, on Tuesday.

 

Of course, Fasano and other commuters who take the bus to the city from the Central Valley park-and-ride, are now waiting as long as 45 minutes for a seat because buses are filling up before they arrive and not stopping.

 

Metro-North's next step will be to move the eight locomotives and 43 rail cars stored at the Port Jervis yard to NJ Transit's Meadowlands Maintenance Complex in Kearney, N.J., for federally required inspections, a process that, once started, will take about a week.

 

Anders said there's no timetable for moving the equipment yet, but Metro-North and NJ Transit have reached an agreement with the New York, Susquehanna & Western — known as "the Susie-Q" — to use its freight line. NJ Transit engineers will operate the trains at the direction of Susie-Q pilots.

 

The freight line branches off the Port Jervis line at Campbell Hall and runs south through Warwick into New Jersey, where it joins NJ Transit's Main line.

 

By the time inspections of the rolling stock are completed, decisions will have been made about whether some equipment will be left in New Jersey to boost capacity on NJ Transit trains from Ramsey. Then, Metro-North will draft a new interim plan for getting its customers past the 14 miles of damaged track between Harriman and Suffern.

 

"By the third stop, it's standing-room-only," said Dave Hamilton of Pine Bush, who is riding the bus to Ramsey from Harriman rather than to Beacon from Middletown because he works on the West Side of Manhattan.

 

Anders said the preliminary report from Metro-North's consulting engineers is expected next week. The report will outline what the reconstruction of the rail line will entail and perhaps how long it will take and how much it will cost. It may also address whether the process can be short-circuited to get trains moving south of Harriman sooner.'

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110914/BIZ/109140341/-1/COMM

[mfs NJT459]

Is it possible for Metro North to have direct bus service from the Port Jervis line stations to the Meadowlands stadium on Sundays? So there will be no hassle of going through bus to Route 17, then (NJT) :mb: train to Secaucus, then (NJT) Meadowlands line to the stadium

 

Especially for the games that don't start at 1 PM because of Metro North's "Train to the Game" service on the New Haven Line

[Shortline Bus]

Here some 'minor' good news. Partial Pt. Jervis train service is back.

 

Here MTA Press statement.

 

MTA Metro-North Railroad Will Resume Train Service from Port Jervis to Harriman

Three weeks after Hurricane Irene caused catastrophic damage that forced a complete shutdown of the Port Jervis Line, MTA Metro-North Railroad will partially resume rail service on the line on Monday September 19. Simultaneously, a massive effort is underway to repair the line as soon as possible.

 

In the days following the August 28 storm, the railroad implemented a series of bus programs to provide an alternative for the customers who rely on the Port Jervis Line.

 

To provide a more reliable and predictable service, the railroad will use that portion of the line not severely damaged by the storm from Port Jervis to Harriman, where buses will take customers to the NJTRANSIT station at Ramsey/Route17. There train service, including some newly added semi-express trains will be provided to Secaucus, Penn Station and Hoboken.

 

"This is the first of many steps Metro-North is taking to restore full train service. We believe it is an improvement over the bus plan in place for the past few weeks," said Metro-North President Howard Permut. "Train service offers the most consistently reliable travel times when compared to bus service, which can be delayed by road conditions and traffic.

 

"This unprecedented closure of an entire line highlights the critical importance of the regional transportation network provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority," Permut said. "For the New Yorkers who count on this line every single day, it's a lifeline. And for everyone in the counties west of the Hudson, it's a vital economic link to the trillion dollar downstate economy. The MTA has been unwavering in its support of Metro-North's expedited efforts to restore full service."

 

This plan provides the best level of service possible under the present situation and will be in effect for the next few months as the 14 miles between Harriman and Suffern is repaired.

 

Implementation of bus service has been a major effort from lining up buses from MTA bus and Leprechaun Lines, to checking and timing various routes at different times of day, to developing a reliable schedule, to communicating with customers, working with NJTRANSIT to begin train service between Port Jervis and Harriman and providing additional train equipment to NJT to get additional express trains for New York state customers to and from Ramsey/Route17.

 

All the while, the constant goal is to provide travel alternatives. Customer Service managers have been trying to organize the PM pickups at Ramsey/Route17 to avoid customer confusion. At the Telephone Information Center, service agents are getting an earful from customers. Other departments have been trying to count customers, striping the lot in Harriman, negotiating with the railroad's parking operator, LAZ, to change the rules to honor West of Hudson permits at Hudson Line stations.

 

Dramatic photographs make it obvious that there has been significant damage to the railroad's infrastructure. But to determine the extent of damage not visible to the naked eye, a team of engineers has been assessing damage to track, signal system and bridges. The bridges have undergone underwater inspections, which are almost complete.

 

While the assessment is not expected until the end of the month, it is estimated that the work of rebuilding washouts will require 100,000 tons of stone and tens of millions of dollars.

 

The first manifestation of the magnitude of the job to be done was the arrival Thursday of 400 tons of stone. About 10 truckloads of the crushed stone that is used as a base layer before huge boulders can be placed were delivered to Arden Station Road near the Post Office on Thursday. From there, rotary dump trucks were filled by a front end loader for the trip to the first of many washed-out sections of track.

 

At the same time, other Metro-North employees are rebuilding the line so that train service can resume as soon as possible. Capital Construction managers are assessing damage, designing repairs and writing specifications. The Procurement Department is trying to locate vendors with enough rock to fill the washouts. The Track Department is repairing the places where the damage is less severe in order to expedite the work and reduce the work of the contractor eventually hired. Further, MTA Real Estate is negotiating with landowners so that men, machines and material can get access to the railroad right-of-way at multiple locations to speed repair work.

 

"It is an all-hands-on-deck effort and all Metro-North departments are involved in the tremendous effort to get train service back on the Port Jervis Line, and I'm proud of the work our people are doing," Permut said.

 

Details of the service plan:

Five AM peak trains will operate from Port Jervis to Harriman, where express buses will connect to existing trains and newly added express train service at Ramsey/Route 17.

 

In the evening, there will be five PM trains operating from Harriman to Port Jervis. All customers will take a bus back from Ramsey/Route 17 to Harriman. There will be two routes, one that goes express to Harriman and one semi-express that makes stops at Sloatsburg and Tuxedo and then Harriman.

 

In the off-peak, there will be three inbound and four outbound trains operating between Port Jervis and Harriman.

 

All other scheduled trains, including weekend trains, will be covered by bus service between all eight Port Jervis Line stations and Ramsey/Route 17 so that frequency of service is maintained. There will be six bus routes to shorten travel time: 1) Port Jervis/Middletown 2) Otisville 3) Campbell Hall 4) Salisbury Mills 5) Harriman express 6) Harriman/Tuxedo/Sloatsburg.

 

 

Weekday Inbound (To Hoboken/Penn Station-NY) Train/Bus Schedule Effective Sept. 19. (PDF file, 45K)

Weekday Outbound (To Port Jervis) Train/Bus Schedule Effective Sept. 19. (PDF file, 46K)

Weekend Inbound (To Hoboken/Penn Station-NY) Bus Schedule Effective Sept. 24. (PDF file, 36K)

Weekend Outbound (To Port Jervis) Bus Schedule Effective Sept. 24. (PDF file, 36K)

 

For customers who prefer to drive to Harriman, Metro-North has added 97 parking spaces there by making use of a holding area and restriping the parking area.

 

In addition, customers can continue to use their Port Jervis Line commutation ticket on the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry.

 

Metro-North also is moving ahead with plans to add about 100 parking spaces at the Beacon Station to accommodate West of Hudson customers want to travel to midtown Manhattan. Until recently there had been available parking spaces at Beacon, but they have gradually filled up with West of Hudson customers.

 

Customers from Salisbury Mills Station west to Port Jervis station with a valid LAZ parking permit can also park at Harriman and Cortlandt station on the Hudson Line. Parking at these stations will be provided for West of Hudson customers, although a permit does not guarantee a space.

 

Port Jervis Line commutation tickets are being honored for travel on the Hudson Line.

 

A special schedule will be published on the website and posted at all stations. A printed scheduled also will be made available. For complete service details visit www.mta.info/mnr."

 

http://mta.info/mta/news/releases/?en=110915-MNR49