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West trenton line thread


metsfan

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You don't understand the traffic problems in my state are horrendous but not as bad where the WTL is. You come to central and the shore areas of NJ and you will see we need more railservice, where the people are now and still expanding. Us in NJ fund transit for our state not for yours, most of us are going to NY not Philly.

 

The WTL will not alleviate any problems on the NEC. Its not going into the CNJ terminal anymore...its going to Newark Penn,where it will dump more people on to trains or they will continue in on a dualmode powered trains on the NEC. That just adds to the NEC it does not alleviate anything. Same really goes for any project that will be built, but at least MOM or service in South Jersey would help areas of the state that are in need of it. Route 1 is a mess yes, but the NEC is right there for the most part that.

 

What needs to be done is a rebuilding of the NEC through NJ, MOM line, additional South Jersey services, Lackawanna Cutoff to at least the Watergap, WTL, and Phillipsburg service. In that order. This can all be done however once and only once ARC is done.

 

The other thing that can be done is what was said before a continuation of the RIVER Line to WT. Then there would be no reason for the WTL as there would be the needed connection to continue to NYP or anywhere in NJ.

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I know how bad the traffic can get. :eek::confused::cry::mad::tdown::P

 

I agree that it isn't a huge top priority that needs to be done yesterday.

 

I also think though, that it would spur economic development, and allow people to leave their car at home vs park & ride or park at trenton. :tup:

 

I know it wouldnt be this huge burden off the :nec:, but it would have some improvement on crowding especially in combination with ARC.

 

Like i said before, the :rvl: track needs to be built, and the ARC project complete before wtl goes into service at all. I also think that (NJT) could use this time to bring the track up to spec, and double track it for the whole length making it 3 tracks where needed so freight trains can park when not moving but not block or bottleneck traffic.

 

Ok so moving on. What speeds should they realistically aim for? I think having track capable of 110 would be fine, because it would allow all current and future equipment to run reasonable times. You could upgradde the track to allow higher speeds as stuff progresses in the future. The :rvl: should be upgraded as well if possible to at least 100 from whatever it is now. Not saying every train is going to be going 100 mph, just saying it would be a good idea to allow for fast moves.

 

As for yards, they could construct one right before the station on the NJ side of the river, perhaps 3 tracks plus the 2 in service tracks, and one siding for :septa: trains to chill at.

 

- A

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110? Try at max maybe 90...CSX owns the WTL and is still going to want to run their trains. If were talking about the RVL 90-100 could be done with some work and would be nice, however once they rejoin in Aldene their on Conrails terms so I hope were talking after Aldene.

 

As for yards on the WTL, they could in theory expand the yard at WT. That or go up the line a bit a build a new one if need be.

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ARC is definitely not needed at this time. I wish they can put it second and have them complete the Lackwanna Cutoff instead, where residents are dragging NJT's feet for commuter service.

 

WHAT?!

 

ARC is needed in order to add capacity to Penn Station which will allow for more services so ARC is most definitely needed. The problem with ARC is that the NEC will still be a choke point.

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Without ARC ridership will plateau due to crowded trains. This will stifle economic growth.

 

I think everyone who saw the result of the train being stuck in the tunnel not too long ago would agree that even one new track would be a good idea.

 

You can't just "oh terminate at hoboken".... Hoboken division is mostly separated for a reason. It has its own capacity issues, and it only has 2 tracks of its own that connect to :nec:....

 

They are all ready doing both projects anyways.

 

About the freight, maybe unca sam can give them a lil sumpin sumpin to look the other way so (NJT) can sneak 120 tpd each way without them noticing. :cool::D

 

- A

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Like you said Kaback, either way the NEC would still be jammed regardless. In fact, provisions aren't made to connect the 34th St station to the East River Tunnels and therefore Amtrak cannot use the tunnel regardless. If Amtrak can access 34th St station, there should be a relief on the NEC traffic flow.

 

Also Metsfan, there are three tracks connecting the Hoboken division to the NEC if you count the Midtown Direct and Waterfront Connections together.

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ARC cleans up the mess in and around NYP and once thats cleared up the choke point moves to Newark. However that could be fixed by rebuilding the NEC in and around Newark. IMHO what needs to be done is an entire rebuild of the NEC through NJ(as I keep saying). If you read most of my posts you will note that I say ARC needs to be built before any expansion can begin and theres alot of truth in that. As of now where are trains going to go in NYP from these new expansions? There are no slots and the tunnels are full, you may not realize it but on occasion you are only feet away from another train while under the Hudson on approach to NYP. This is a result of too many trains in a station with not enough capacity for the demand. Have you ever heard them on the radio around NYP? Its a coordinated mess!

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My best friend's late dad while alive used to work for the power system (wire for the trains to move) for amtrak. He was literally responsible for every inch of wire from 30th st to sunnyside.

 

My really good friend who grew up in bk but lives in CT now, her dad and grandfather worked for PC then amtrak also.

 

I asked them about what amtrak was planning to allow :septa: and (NJT) to fit more trains, with specific interest in the tunnels under the hudson and the bridge over the delaware.

 

They said that basically the only thing in their way (this was 3-4 years ago) was funding, and they had basically a plan developed both solely in house, and another set of plans jointly put together with reps from :septa: and (NJT)...

 

Now that funding has arrived, the next 10 years is vital that political atmosphere and local support stays for these projects.

 

As you may or may not know, one of the 2 PA senators just i think yesterday switched parties from R to D. He is a huge advocate of pax rail. One more ally in DC to fight for funding. Corzine is a bit more complex on the issues, but is 100% supportive of (NJT) amtrak, PANYNJ and :septa:.

 

All of these things will factor into the final result for both LC, and WTL.

 

As far as rebuilding the :nec: in (NJT) territory... Yes. They need so bad in some areas just basic modernization. :septa: is also ramping up its efforts in its segment of the nec and its share of responsibilities there.

 

Once ARC is up and running, how many more trains per day will that mean? How does this affect the wtl project?

 

Should NWK be rebuilt as well?

 

If ARC is up and running today, where would WTL trains arrive/depart? Should we keep all arrivals to track A, and all departures to track 3, 4 and 5?

 

What stations on the :rvl: would the WTL trains stop at? It is a very long ride at 70 mph, perhaps they could hit bound brook, plainfield, roselle park, and union. You could have a few trains leave from hob each day as well. Make them ALP-45dp.

 

Should/could/would it be wise to allow (NJT) equipment to travel between wtl and nec via :septa: tracks? What about rev trains or equipment moves to philipsburg from wtl?

 

Do you think it reasonable to have at least 95 mph on all of these lines vs 75?

 

- A

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