# Newark Airport Improvement Plans



## jis (Nov 24, 2019)

A lot is starting to happen at Newark Airport. With the funding request for EWR Terminal 2 from PANYNJ Board, the projects to move the terminal back into where the short term parking lots are in order to make room for a third runway is picking up steam.

With that also comes a new Airtrain, and the extension of PATH to Newark Airport Train Station.

All part of the $37. Billion 2017-2026 Capital Plan of PANYNJ of which combined Airports projects are $11.6 Billion

https://corpinfo.panynj.gov/documents/Public-Process-Capital-Plan-Reassessment/

New Airtrain $2.05 Billion (that is about the same as projected budget for both Portal Bridges...)

https://www.ewrredevelopment.com/about-airtrain-ewr/

https://corpinfo.panynj.gov/documents/EWR-AirTrain-Public-Session/

Terminal One $2.7 Billion

https://www.ewrredevelopment.com/about-terminal-one-redevelopment/

Terminal Two Cost TBD but is likely to be substantially more than for Terminal 1 since it is slated to be a much bigger terminal.

https://corpinfo.panynj.gov/files/u...s/CPEAM_-_EWR_Terminal_2_-_Public_Session.pdf

PATH Extension $1.7 Billion

http://library.rpa.org/pdf/RPA_Taking_the_Path_To_NewarkAirport.pdf

https://www.panynj.gov/path/pdf/Presentation_for_the_PATH_Extension_Public_Scoping_Meetings.pdf


----------



## jiml (Nov 24, 2019)

It will be great to see this come to fruition. Newark's kind of a dump, but I've never encountered the delays there that dominate the other two NYC airports. There are also some decent hotels at Newark, which is something that certainly can't be said of JFK.


----------



## Thirdrail7 (Nov 24, 2019)

jis said:


> A lot is starting to happen at Newark Airport. With the funding request for EWR Terminal 2 from PANYNJ Board, the projects to move the terminal back into where the short term parking lots are in order to make room for a third runway is picking up steam.
> 
> With that also comes a new Airtrain, and the extension of PATH to Newark Airport Train Station.
> 
> All part of the $37. Billion 2017-2026 Capital Plan of PANYNJ of which combined Airports projects are $11.6 Billion



No wonder the George Washington Bridge toll is crippling.


----------



## jis (Nov 25, 2019)

Thirdrail7 said:


> No wonder the George Washington Bridge toll is crippling.


Yeah, that is mostly for the components outside the airport. Afterall they have to find almost $30 billion over ten years to fund the non airport projects. That would include the PATH extension since it cannot be funded out of airport ticket tax, it being outside airport property. In order to get the JFK AirTrain funded from airport taxes they had to transfer the median of Van Wyck and the land on which the station is built in Jamaica to JFK Airport/PANYNJ, crazy as it may sound. For LGA they are funding only the on airport part from airport taxes and the rest from elsewhere apparently.

If one digs into the details most of the funding for improvements at the airports is out of the moneys collected in various ways at the airports, like the ticket tax and the exorbitant fees for riding the AirTrain to the NEC station, Parking fees and such. There are some feddybucks involved possibly from programs aimed towards reduction of pollution and such probably.

It seems to me that the PATH improvements and consequent changes in the Airport NEC station, opening up local access can lead to very significant property development around the station in the Haynes Ave., Frelinghuysen Ave. area on the side of the track opposite to the airport.

Incidentally, rail advocates at NJ have strenuously opposed the PATH $2 Billion extension project saying that it is a waste of money. Afterall, that $2 Billion would be close to sufficient to complete the construction of both Portal North and South. Of course, given the crazy PA politics, probably some project costing another $2 Billion will have to be funded in NY.

Also incidentally, funding for portions of the Gateway project will come from those same exorbitant GW Bridge tolls. So don't look a gift horse in the mouth


----------



## daybeers (Nov 25, 2019)

Yikes, so much moolah! I agree some of that money should be spent on the Portal bridges instead of the unneeded PATH extension. Would have a much higher ROI as well.


----------



## jis (Nov 25, 2019)

daybeers said:


> Yikes, so much moolah! I agree some of that money should be spent on the Portal bridges instead of the unneeded PATH extension. Would have a much higher ROI as well.



But unfortunately that money is apparently not fungible/transferable. It can be either spent on PATH or not at all. Mysteries of PA accounting and budgeting buckets.


----------



## Thirdrail7 (Nov 26, 2019)

jis said:


> Incidentally, rail advocates at NJ have strenuously opposed the PATH $2 Billion extension project saying that it is a waste of money. Afterall, that $2 Billion would be close to sufficient to complete the construction of both Portal North and South. Of course, given the crazy PA politics, probably some project costing another $2 Billion will have to be funded in NY.



For the record, I tend to agree. You're spending a lot of money to duplicate services.




jis said:


> Also incidentally, funding for portions of the Gateway project will come from those same exorbitant GW Bridge tolls. So don't look a gift horse in the mouth



For the record, I'm against that too. I was also against the PA funding the Pulaski Skyway overhaul, using the tortured logic that is "like an extension of the Holland Tunnel."

They are gouging people, knowing that the only real alternative to entering NYC without using a PA crossing or public transportation to travel into MYC is to use the Tappan Zee or use a jet ski or other aquatic flotation device.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel is 23 miles and has two tunnels in the system and is almost the same price.


----------



## jis (Nov 27, 2019)

You'll have to go and argue with the US Congress, the two State's Legislatures, Governors and of course the PA bosses on that one.

The 1995 Mission Statement of the PA state:


> “To identify and meet the critical transportation infrastructure needs of the bi-state region’s businesses, residents, and visitors: providing the highest quality, most efficient transportation and port commerce facilities and services that move people and goods within the region, provide access to the rest of the nation and to the world and strengthen the economic competitiveness of the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Region.”



AFAIR it has recently been modified to state:


> “Meet the critical transportation infrastructure needs of the bi-state region's people, businesses, and visitors by providing the highest-quality and most efficient transportation and port commerce facilities and services to move people and goods within the region, provide access to the nation and the world and promote the region’s economic development.”


Funding part of Gateway seems to be not only well within that Mission, but indeed at the core of it, unless of course we believe that Gateway will provide an extremely inefficient transportation facility or something like that. Given the relative level of usage of any new Hudson crossing facilities by rail it stands to reason that significant contribution of resources would come from PANYNJ.

Interestingly the current recommendation is for the PA to shed its Real Estate operations and concentrate on transportation and commerce. The following document is a very interesting read:

https://www.panynj.gov/pdf/SpecialPanelReporttotheGovernors.pdf

Pages 45 through 48 are most relevant to the focus on transportation for efficiently "moving people around", and indeed refocusing on that aspect of its mission.

As an aside, setting up the governance structure around Gateway has been an interesting exercise because neither Amtrak nor PANYNJ are trusted enough to manage such a huge pile of funds all by itself, while allowing enough oversight by the two states who are affected the most. Hence the creation of Gateway Development Corporation, which is not a subsidiary of PANYNJ or Amtrak, through the Gateway Development Commission Act passed by the New York and the New Jersey Legislature. This keeps the states firmly in the loop and apparently the states intend to often use PANYNJ as their proxy in the affairs of Gateway. Here is an article on the creation of the bi-state Commission:

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail...d-to-establish-gateway-development-commission

Anyway, back to Newark Airport.

My feelings about PATH to EWR are mixed. I actually do not think it really is duplicated service at all having struggled to board a crowded NJT service from EWR to New York. NJT service is infrequent even though it is 2tph (one train following the others marker) and not really geared towards usage by air passengers at all. There is the need for real airport service. Whether it is PATH or something else was worthy of a discussion running upto the PATH decision.

At the present time a relatively frequent clock face airport service (train originating/terminating at the airport every 30mins or 15 mins (or more frequent) as is common in cities of equivalent size elsewhere in the world) on the NEC is apparently impossible. It may be a bit more possible after the additional tunnels are built perhaps. Such a service would be quite feasible with PATH at EWR possibly with alternate through trains to WTC and 33rd St. But it would be slower than a hypothetical NEC service.

My main beef is that if PATH is being extended to EWR, why not use it as the replacement for the dinky AirTrain within the airport too, i.e. connect to the three terminals too, instead of building yet another edifice requiring yet another change of trains?

In an ideal world of an NEC based service scenario after the new tunnels are built would be a train every 15-30 mins that connects EWR to JFK making stops at NWK, SEC and NYP on the way to Jamaica where connection is made to JFK AirTrain, unless of course they get around to reinstating the Rockaway Branch and runs such a train to Hoawrd Beach or some such. Decongests Jamaica. There would need to be a flyover built in the vicinity of CP Lane to allow turning of such a service without interfering with the NEC flow. Alternatively it could be run a little further and turned at Union/McGraw. Just dreamin'.


----------



## MARC Rider (Nov 27, 2019)

Thirdrail7 said:


> For the record, I tend to agree. You're spending a lot of money to duplicate services.



Oh, I don't know, Wall Street gets a one-seat ride from the airport to the financial district in lower Manhattan for use by lower-level staff. (Of course, the big shots have their limos and helicopters and such, but it would make it much more convenient for the grunts who work on Wall Street to not have to change trains.)


----------



## trainman74 (Nov 27, 2019)

As it happens, my dad recently sent me this photo, which I believe he found in the New Jersey state archives. 

It's an aerial view of Newark Airport from -- well, Dad said it was 1944, but I think 19*5*4 is closer to correct.


----------



## jis (Nov 28, 2019)

That shows what was then 4/22, now 4R/22L. This was constructed after the PA got the lease and started a major investment program. So it came after 1948. Hence the conjecture that this is sometime in the '50s would appear to be a reasonable one.


----------



## neroden (Nov 29, 2019)

Um... has anyone at the PA thought about making the airport flood-resistant? Expansions of construction in floodplains are a pretty dicey affair...


----------



## Qapla (Nov 29, 2019)

Is the planned PATH extension to the airport planned at grade, raised or underground?


----------



## jis (Nov 29, 2019)

Qapla said:


> Is the planned PATH extension to the airport planned at grade, raised or underground?


Partly raised above the current railroad bed and partly at the railroad grade, which is raised above the ground level east of Hunter. At Hunter, in a cut under the NJT connection to the Lehigh Valley Line and the Lehigh Valley Line and then at ground level as it approaches Newark Airport Rail Station.

For details see: https://www.panynj.gov/path/pdf/PATH_Extension_Scoping_Document_November2017.pdf



neroden said:


> Um... has anyone at the PA thought about making the airport flood-resistant? Expansions of construction in floodplains are a pretty dicey affair...



A quick Google search turns up many documents on the subject, some pretty hefty ones too. I have not read them, but they are out there. Focus appears to be more on La Guardia, but there is considerable material on JFK and EWR too. I have no idea how good or bad the contents are.


----------



## railiner (Nov 29, 2019)

jis said:


> That shows what was then 4/22, now 4R/22L. This was constructed after the PA got the lease and started a major investment program. So it came after 1948. Hence the conjecture that this is sometime in the '50s would appear to be a reasonable one.


And the parallel NJ Turnpike built in the early 50’s confirms that...


----------



## adamj023 (Jan 20, 2020)

EWR, LGA and JFK are all in desperate need of modernization and expansion with more transit links. There has been record growth of air transport in the region for both people and cargo. Rail, sea, airplane and roads are all important. For many years we neglected our infrastructure compared with other nations but that seems to be changing as there is a lot more investment now. EWR at times can have cheaper fares on long haul routes even though the other airports are closer for some, plus EWR has some exclusive routes like EWR to SIN nonstop which you won’t find at JFK on Singapore Airlines.


----------



## Long Train Runnin' (Jan 22, 2020)

adamj023 said:


> EWR, LGA and JFK are all in desperate need of modernization and expansion with more transit links. There has been record growth of air transport in the region for both people and cargo. Rail, sea, airplane and roads are all important. For many years we neglected our infrastructure compared with other nations but that seems to be changing as there is a lot more investment now. EWR at times can have cheaper fares on long haul routes even though the other airports are closer for some, plus EWR has some exclusive routes like EWR to SIN nonstop which you won’t find at JFK on Singapore Airlines.



To be a real stickler you can reach SIN from JFK on Singapore Airlines on their daily A380 service with a stop in Frankfurt, Germany. 

I for one am rooting for something to happen with both the NJ Transit NEC service and also airport to Manhattan service. 

Since moving from the NJ Coastline to NEC line the crowding on some NJ Transit services during off peak times has been mind blowing. Just this Sunday I boarded a NEC Local train at Rahway connecting from the Coastline and encountered standing room only at 2pm on a Sunday. Crazy.


----------



## jis (Jan 22, 2020)

Notwithstanding the strong opinion of many of my rail advocate friends that the PATH extension is a duplication of service, I believe that the NJT service available at EWR is not always really usable for transportation to New York, due to massive overcrowding on the trains, and hence PATH would provide a more usable service. My regret though is that PATH will not go directly to the terminals.

Now if the main head house for the airport is collocated with the EWR station, with the people mover to the individual terminals or gate pods placed on the air side, somewhat akin to the way people movers are used at MCO, then that would be an ideal setup. This has been proposed by the Regional Planning Association, but so far been ignored by the PANYNJ.


----------



## Bonser (Jan 23, 2020)

jis said:


> Notwithstanding the strong opinion of many of my rail advocate friends that the PATH extension is a duplication of service, I believe that the NJT service available at EWR is not always really usable for transportation to New York, due to massive overcrowding on the trains, and hence PATH would provide a more usable service. My regret though is that PATH will not go directly to the terminals.
> 
> 
> Now if the main head house for the airport is collocated with the EWR station, with the people mover to the individual terminals or gate pods placed on the air side, somewhat akin to the way people movers are used at MCO, then that would be an ideal setup. This has been proposed by the Regional Planning Association, but so far been ignored by the PANYNJ.



PATH should have been extended from the get go. PATH would provide 24 hour regular service. NY Transit does not. On weekends NJT often has 2 trains per hour running 6 minutes apart.


----------



## Qapla (Jan 23, 2020)

Not being from that area ... or even from an area with railed mass transit ... I found PATH to be one of the best and convenient ways to get from Newark to NYC when we were visiting - not to mention that it costs less than NJT

Extending it to/from EWR is well needed and may have been done already had they not had to do such extensive repairs to the PATH trackage after 911


----------



## adamj023 (Jan 23, 2020)

I likely won’t be using Path and many won’t as its a slower ride from Manhattan for many and also Penn Station has better connections, but it definitely will be used and seemed like the easier alternative to already build out and its a good alternative which brings different areas to the network. So it will offload some traffic and bring new traffic on as well.

Even Honolulu Airport will be getting a train connection in Hawaii and transit links to airports are in the works. The LGA Airtrain proposal is bad as the location makes no sense. It should be connected to a direct station near Harold interlocking such as the new station being built for East side access in Queens in Woodside/Sunnyside area.


----------



## jis (Jan 23, 2020)

adamj023 said:


> I likely won’t be using Path and many won’t as its a slower ride from Manhattan for many and also Penn Station has better connections.


PATH does go to Herald Square one block from Penn Station. The better connectivity statement with NJT is mostly bogus. The slower ride statement has some merit provided one ignores the sometimes 40 mins wait for NJT at EWR. And of course PATH will always be much cheaper. 

PATH would be sort of like Piccadilly Line to Heathrow Airport in London, whereas NJT would be like Heathrow Connect though inferior to it. EWR has nothing equivalent to Heathrow Express.


----------



## adamj023 (Jan 24, 2020)

Between Amtrak, NJ Transit and Path at Newark, I would be using Amtrak which is the shortest and most comfortable ride with business class seat from Penn Station, Path will get usage due to various factors as mentioned.


----------



## jis (Jan 24, 2020)

adamj023 said:


> Between Amtrak, NJ Transit and Path at Newark, I would be using Amtrak which is the shortest and most comfortable ride with business class seat from Penn Station, Path will get usage due to various factors as mentioned.



I travel to EWR about a dozen times a year and I have never used Amtrak to Penn Station, either Newark or New York. The service is too infrequent and scattershot and insanely expensive when compared to the other possibilities. Each to his or her own I guess.


----------



## adamj023 (Jan 24, 2020)

I get free Amtrak rides from rewards points as I earned a lot of them so I can get business class rides without cost to me. I would have to pay out of pocket for Path and NJ Transit. Amtrak has a shorter direct route than NJ Transit and even the future Path route to Penn Station although it doesn’t run as many trains. Will someone use Path to get to Newark airport? Sure, especially budget travelers or people close to the Path network or where time schedules fit. More room on Amtrak and/or NJ Transit if users ride Path more so I see more access as a good thing.

Other airports are closer to me however, but Newark, La Guardia and JFK airport all allow for competition on domestic and international flights and that may include using one airport over another for airport specific delays, pricing, duration of flight and so on. As all three airports have improvements scheduled, they all should be good and help spread out traffic.


----------



## Bonser (Jan 24, 2020)

adamj023 said:


> I get free Amtrak rides from rewards points as I earned a lot of them so I can get business class rides without cost to me. I would have to pay out of pocket for Path and NJ Transit. Amtrak has a shorter direct route than NJ Transit and even the future Path route to Penn Station although it doesn’t run as many trains. Will someone use Path to get to Newark airport? Sure, especially budget travelers or people close to the Path network or where time schedules fit. More room on Amtrak and/or NJ Transit if users ride Path more so I see more access as a good thing.
> 
> Other airports are closer to me however, but Newark, La Guardia and JFK airport all allow for competition on domestic and international flights and that may include using one airport over another for airport specific delays, pricing, duration of flight and so on. As all three airports have improvements scheduled, they all should be good and help spread out traffic.



The Amtrak route and NJT's route to Penn Sta are exactly the same. And the proposed PATH route would parallel theirs.


----------



## adamj023 (Jan 24, 2020)

Tom Booth said:


> The Amtrak route and NJT's route to Penn Sta are exactly the same. And the proposed PATH route would parallel theirs.



Amtrak and NJ Transit are not the same route. NJ Transit pass through Secaucus, NJ also known as Secaucus Junction. Amtrak trains are a few minutes quicker and are on separate trackage. There is a map which shows the tracks side by side and I will link to it if I can find it again. Path is a different trackage altogether although there are connections at certain stations to connect between the different lines.

Penn station does share tracks inside Penn Station between NJ Transit and Amtrak on certain trains at times but I do not specifically know which lines. The Amtrak train is more direct and saves a few minutes of time. Amtrak owns their own more direct track to leave Penn Station for the Northeastern Regional and Keystone trains which have some which go to Newark Airport. All NJ Transit trains heading towards Newark Airport pass by Secaucus, NJ which is a slightly longer route. Amtrak does not own trackage in Secaucus, NJ nor share trackage with NJ Transit there. Amtrak is longer haul interstate routes so it goes from Penn Station to Newark Penn Station as its first stop south after Penn Station. NJ Transit actually connects inside NYC but all stops outside are just in NJ. PATH has multiple stations in NYC and NJ. 

Found the map. https://nycmap360.com/nyc-airports-map. Amtrak and NJ Transit have different tunnels leaving Penn station.

From first glance the Path route from 33 street in NYC has a longer route, added stops and curves which will slow down the speed vs Amtrak which is the quickest route. It does serve added places, and has a cheaper cost however and a different schedule of service. It can be quicker on some routes perhaps if you are closer by the other PATH stations. I am comparing it to the 33 street station as opposed to Penn Station. Since the PATH was already built, it made sense to have an added connection to Newark Airport. Amtrak and NI Transit can modernize their systems to run faster and more trains to Newark Airport perhaps if such was warranted but having three separate routes is nice. JFK Airtrain has a linkage to the NYC Subway and LIRR and if the LGA project goes through, will also have a link to NYC Subway and LIRR. Newark Airport will have PATH, Amtrak and NJ Transit,

Apparently both the NJ Transit map and the map link I posted seem to not completely accurately represent the actual route, Most NJ transit trains add time and can connect in Secaucus adding time. Amtrak trains are all 21 or 22 minute ride from Penn Station. NJ North Coast line is 22 minutes and others are longer. There are a pair of tunnels I believe from Penn Station to New Jersey but Amtrak doesn’t stop at all at Secaucus, NJ and I am not sure how close the tracks get. It is true route is similar but not exactly the same and you can get the same 22 minutes on NJ Transit north coast line and 1 minute quicker on Amtrak at times and this could change in the future perhaps. I still would utilize a business class Amtrak seat however. Amtrak trains also have upgraded seats and wifi aboard trains and eventually will see new train sets. 

Maps seem to inaccurately depict actual trackage and route and I was under assumption the map I saw was correct which makes it seem like Amtrak cuts time off the route and apparently, Amtrak gets to be the same or just one minute faster than the NJ North Coast line. If Gateway tunnels get built, times will improve further as well.


----------



## MARC Rider (Jan 24, 2020)

adamj023 said:


> Amtrak and NJ Transit are not the same route. NJ Transit pass through Secaucus, NJ also known as Secaucus Junction. Amtrak trains are a few minutes quicker and are on separate trackage. There is a map which shows the tracks side by side and I will link to it if I can find it again. Path is a different trackage altogether although there are connections at certain stations to connect between the different lines.
> 
> Penn station does share tracks inside Penn Station between NJ Transit and Amtrak on certain trains at times but I do not specifically know which lines. The Amtrak train is more direct and saves a few minutes of time. Amtrak owns their own more direct track to leave Penn Station for the Northeastern Regional and Keystone trains which have some which go to Newark Airport. All NJ Transit trains heading towards Newark Airport pass by Secaucus, NJ which is a slightly longer route. Amtrak does not own trackage in Secaucus, NJ nor share trackage with NJ Transit there. Amtrak is longer haul interstate routes so it goes from Penn Station to Newark Penn Station as its first stop south after Penn Station. NJ Transit actually connects inside NYC but all stops outside are just in NJ. PATH has multiple stations in NYC and NJ.
> 
> ...


What are you talking about? Amtrak trains run through the Secaucus Jct. station, they just don't stop there. Its the exact same tracks.


----------



## jis (Jan 24, 2020)

MARC Rider said:


> What are you talking about? Amtrak trains run through the Secaucus Jct. station, they just don't stop there. Its the exact same tracks.


Exactly. I got the impression that he is looking at one of those route diagrams and arriving at (erroneous) conclusions based on it and has zero knowledge of the actual geography and track layout in the NY area, specifically between EWR and NYP.


----------

