# NJ Transit to restore Atlantic City Line & Dinky 5/12/19.



## Thirdrail7

Wow! I never thought it would come to this. I wonder if their representatives will let them get away with this. There is already a sort of North Jersey vs South Jersey battle for funds. This will make things worse.

http://nj1015.com/nj-transit-to-suspend-entire-atlantic-city-line-for-half-a-year/



> TRENTON — NJ Transit will suspend service on its Atlantic City Line in September and temporarily suspend off peak one-seat service to New York on the Raritan Valley Line.
> 
> The changes were announced Friday as part of NJ Transit's ongoing efforts to outfit train cars with positive train control braking technology.
> 
> Both changes take effect Tuesday, September 4 and will last at least four months, according to a statement from the railroad. The changes will allow for PTC work of rail cars and the railroad right of way.


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## Acela150

The AC line is lightly traveled.. Rumor has it that the numbers are less then 1000 a day. BUT I'll assume that doesn't include the number of Amtrak workers that are most likely allowed a professional courtesy. If it does include that.. That's sad.


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## Thirdrail7

It's lightly traveled because they have a horrible schedule that includes large head ways. If you don't commit to the service, of course ridership will suffer. Frequent service that actually helps the riders instead of helping the positioning of equipment would be helpful.

Knocking the service out will do nothing to improve ridership on this line.


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## jis

You have to remember that NJT is perhaps the most ineptly run transit agency in the country at this time, and even the new management appointed by the new Governor is a bunch of incompetent morons with no experience in running anything like NJT, and it shows.


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## cpotisch

jis said:


> You have to remember that NJT is perhaps the most ineptly run transit agency in the country at this time, and even the new management appointed by the new Governor is a bunch of incompetent morons with no experience in running anything like NJT, and it shows.


Worse than the MTA?


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## jis

cpotisch said:


> jis said:
> 
> 
> 
> You have to remember that NJT is perhaps the most ineptly run transit agency in the country at this time, and even the new management appointed by the new Governor is a bunch of incompetent morons with no experience in running anything like NJT, and it shows.
> 
> 
> 
> Worse than the MTA?
Click to expand...

MTA can provide no credible contest in the department of incompetence to NJT. Many in NJ actually hope that the entire NJT thing would be handed over to the MTA - specifically MNRR. It would be a vast improvement according to them.


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## cpotisch

jis said:


> cpotisch said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> jis said:
> 
> 
> 
> You have to remember that NJT is perhaps the most ineptly run transit agency in the country at this time, and even the new management appointed by the new Governor is a bunch of incompetent morons with no experience in running anything like NJT, and it shows.
> 
> 
> 
> Worse than the MTA?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> MTA can provide no credible contest in the department of incompetence to NJT. Many in NJ actually hope that the entire NJT thing would be handed over to the MTA - specifically MNRR. It would be a vast improvement according to them.
Click to expand...

MNRR and NJT share some equipment, right?


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## jis

NJT operates MNRR's West of Hudson service under contracts. For that it contributes equipment to the Hoboken pool.

MNRR is not particularly happy with NJT's performance according to someone I know on the MNRR Customer Council. But they really have no choice for West of Hudson, since NJT has strangle hold on everything in NJ, and they are working hard at strangling everything while they are at it.

It has been quite a fall from getting awards for the Best Transit Agency 15 -20 or so years back. The magic touch of Warrington started the downhill journey. So they named a plaza after him


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## Mystic River Dragon

Might be more to North Jersey/South Jersey tension than meets the eye here. Steve Sweeney (NJ Senate president) is from way down South Jersey, and Phil Murphy (our new governor) is from way up North. Sweeney and Christie did not always get on, but that was fine in public because they are different parties. Sweeney and Murphy must look on the surface like they can agree on things, because they are from the same party.

But Sweeney and Murphy have the North/South divide between them, and Sweeney is very powerful and seems to have been winning the most recent arguments. So, here we have a rail line in South Jersey that goes to one of the most popular tourist places there, and, my goodness, we'd better shut it down for months! (Can you imagine what would happen if they tried to shut down the North Jersey commuter trains for months?) So my guess is that there are wheels within wheels here and under the surface.


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## jis

And the announcement comes while Murphy is vacationing at his Villa in Italy too





Notwithstanding all that things are pretty bad up North too. Hoboken Division is in shambles with staff and operable equipment shortages. Somewhere between 10 and 20 trains are getting cancelled on the Morris and Essex Line each day these days. Often weekend service is reduced to one train per two hours, down from hourly.


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## Mystic River Dragon

Yes, good timing on the governor's part!





I have noticed the problems up north, too, just from commuting home from Princeton Junction. I check every day before I leave my office to see which of the several trains I can take (all of which start up in NYC) have been cancelled--at least one early rush hour one each day is, and whichever one I get has twice as many people as usual getting off (and looking even more unhappy than they usually do).

By the way, I forgot to mention in my earlier post that Steve Sweeney is one tough dude. As an example, the leaders of the powerful teacher's union (who love Murphy) detest Sweeney because he is a vocal critic of them (not of teachers, just the leaders of their union), and they tried to get him defeated in the last election (they even supported his Republican opponent--unheard of!). Sweeney trounced them and was reelected with no problem, which only made him look tougher.

Many observers in NJ think Sweeney has more actual power than Murphy, even though Murphy is the governor. And the only thing keeping them from all-out hostilities may be the assembly leader, who is a peaceable middle-ground (literally--he's from central Jersey



) kind of person who tries to bring them both together.

Whether NJT service to Atlantic City is a pawn in all this is a good question--might be answered by whether the line is still closed down by the start of next tourist season.


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## Bob Dylan

Seriously, who in their right mind wants to go to Atlantic City?

How you gonna keep em down @ that Jersey Pit once they've seen Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun?


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## jis

The NJT Atlantic City Line is actually not one that is used by the "tourists" that much. It is a commuter line used by people going to work or to visit friends and such.

The tourist traffic was supposed to be handled by Amtrak, and they bailed a long time back. Then the Casinos tried in conjunction with NJT. That effort wound up after a year or two. NJT's charter does not say it is a "for profit" corporation. It is a for service organization which would no9t survive two days without funding from the state. It is expected to provide service for which the state is supposed to subsidize it. But of course Fatso screwed the pooch while trying to make up his mind about what he stands for. And here we are.


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## MARC Rider

jis said:


> You have to remember that NJT is perhaps the most ineptly run transit agency in the country at this time, and even the new management appointed by the new Governor is a bunch of incompetent morons with no experience in running anything like NJT, and it shows.


 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/nyregion/nj-transit-train-delays.html

According to the article, the cancellations had to do with a shortage of engineers, for reasons that had been happening for a long time, and probably had a lot to do with the previous management. apparently installation of PTC had also been sucking up a lot of their money. (In fact, with all the angst we are now having about PTC in general as an unfunded mandate, I wonder what the discourse will be like after we have the first rail disaster caused by malfunctioning PTC.)

But you gotta cut this guy Corbett some slack. At least he actually commutes to work on New Jersey Transit, thus subjecting himself to whatever he inflicts on his customers. Not every high executive is willing to do that.


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## Mystic River Dragon

Thanks for posting that article link, MARC Rider. I agree with you about Corbett. I think he really did inherit a lot of this mess.

I just googled "NJT engineers" and came up with a headline from almost a year ago (September 2017) saying that they were going to soon lose about 50 engineers all at once, many to retirement, others going elsewhere.

It doesn't sound like they tried all that hard to recruit new ones. I don't know if they didn't bother, or if they tried, but no engineer wants to be anywhere near NJT if they can find something elsewhere.

Now NJT is actually blaming the engineers for the engineer shortage



, saying some of them are taking unscheduled days off. (Which to my mind are fully deserved days to restore yourself to sanity if you have to work for this outfit!)

It is actually so bad that I am considering preparing to retire completely by the end of the year if necessary--I truly don't think they will have PTC done by their deadline, and in the current Amtrak climate, Amtrak may stick to its threat and tell NJT to stay off its tracks. I am lucky to be at the end of my career life if I want to be and feel bad for those who aren't and who must get to their work no matter what. (For those of you thinking "Just drive," driving to New York from New Jersey in rush hour would be a nightmare, and not everyone has a car for each person in their household.)


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## Thirdrail7

You need funding to hire crews. If the funding isn't there, you're not going to be able to hire. Additionally, you have to hire well before people retire. That part is easy, but when you have Mafia-North, CTTrails, Wrong Island Railroad and even Amcrap in your neck of the woods, looking for certified T&E employees, and your company refused to sign a contract, your employees will leave for seemingly greener pastures. That is a huge problem that leads to manpower shortages.


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## Mystic River Dragon

You're completely right, Thirdrail7. I think the part where NJT deserves the blame the most is that they were not proactive and trying to hire way before it was going to become a shortage. They knew the retirement ages of their employees and knew there would be a shortage but didn't do enough earlier recruitment to replace them, I think.

I do agree that many possible employees went elsewhere (I heard VRE a couple of years ago, but don't know if that was a rumor or just a few people). Do you think the new Connecticut service really has taken a few? That would make sense--brand new, so they would need all new employees and might be attracting some from elsewhere?

By the way, I just checked online to see which afternoon train has been cancelled going south today, and it is the one that gets to PJC at 3:56 (due to not enough available equipment, according to NJT). So they told people to take the next one. The 3:56 is usually a double-decker. The one after that is usually a dumpy, crowded, trash-filled floor, single-level that is full even without twice as many people on it and how they have the nerve to cancel the nice one and keep the garbage one is beyond me. And how can you not have enough equipment? Did 10 train cars all of a sudden become unavailable? Or is that codespeak for "We don't have enough engineers and conductors for all our rush hour trains?" and has nothing at all to do with equipment?

And if that sounds like a stream of consciousness rant about NJT, I can only imagine what someone who has to ride the thing all the way from New York must be saying--probably this:





And they've just cancelled another one out of New York (no equipment for that one either). Those poor people--this is getting completely out of hand. Never did I think I would feel bad for the New York commuters who I have to avoid being knocked down by as they rush on and off the train at Princeton Junction, but I do now.


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## Bob Dylan

Time to get out of Jersey Patty, and move to the Sunshine State which you like!


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## Acela150

Bob Dylan said:


> Seriously, who in their right mind wants to go to Atlantic City?
> 
> How you gonna keep em down @ that Jersey Pit once they've seen Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun?


Believe it or not Jim, AC is coming back right now.


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## Thirdrail7

Mystic River Dragon said:


> You're completely right, Thirdrail7. I think the part where NJT deserves the blame the most is that they were not proactive and trying to hire way before it was going to become a shortage. They knew the retirement ages of their employees and knew there would be a shortage but didn't do enough earlier recruitment to replace them, I think.


Again, when your agency is starved for funds, it is difficult to hire. When your employees aren't operating under an operating agreement, it is hard to entice recruits.



Mystic River Dragon said:


> I do agree that many possible employees went elsewhere (I heard VRE a couple of years ago, but don't know if that was a rumor or just a few people). Do you think the new Connecticut service really has taken a few? That would make sense--brand new, so they would need all new employees and might be attracting some from elsewhere?


That wasn't a rumor. I think they took 4 or 5 engineers. A bunch have gone to Metro-North and a few went to CT trails. Amtrak has picked up quite few over the last few years and for good reason. Since the compensation package almost balances out, they left NJT to Amtrak so they could make use of the entire network. Most of them moved off the corridor to escape NJ's high cost of living. This is what happens when your compensation package (which comes with a mandatory in state residency) doesn't keep up with the compensation.

I didn't even bring up Brightline but I know a few NJT employees and quite a few Amtrak employees went down there. It is cheaper to live.

Again, how can you plan for that...unless you're willing to fork it over to your current employees.



Mystic River Dragon said:


> By the way, I just checked online to see which afternoon train has been cancelled going south today, and it is the one that gets to PJC at 3:56 (due to not enough available equipment, according to NJT). So they told people to take the next one. The 3:56 is usually a double-decker. The one after that is usually a dumpy, crowded, trash-filled floor, single-level that is full even without twice as many people on it and how they have the nerve to cancel the nice one and keep the garbage one is beyond me.*And how can you not have enough equipment? Did 10 train cars all of a sudden become unavailable? Or is that codespeak for "We don't have enough engineers and conductors for all our rush hour trains?" and has nothing at all to do with equipment?*



Actually, the two are intertwined. The trains and their lines aren't linear. One of the things I'm harped on for years is trains don't just "appear." Trains represent trains. There must be balance. A 10 car train can become unavailable and there is no equipment...if there is shortage in one area.

Allow me to use an example that applies to your neck of the woods. If you check your timetable, you'll notice two trains that seemingly originate and depart from Jersey Ave: Trains 3712 (739a) and train 3714(755a.). These two trains are pains, but the key to this conversation is 3714 that train turned off X377, an extra deadhead move from New York. It arrived at Jersey Ave, wait for 3712 to leave, pulls in on the branch, and turns. As you can see, the window is narrow. The thing about that train is X377 (which becomes a NEC train) turns from 6606, a Midtown Direct train that origins in Dover. When 3712 doesn't operate, sometimes they grab 3928 (an limited stop express) and have that train make additional stops.

In this example, if the Hoboken division has a manpower shortage or disruption, there may not be equipment to feed the NEC or any other line that train will touch until they can grab another set from somewhere....and that is another problem.

With the PTC mandate looming, numerous cab cars and engines have been removed from service. This is terrible for NJT, since that means when your train arrives at a terminal, it cannot operate in the opposite direction. As such, trains that previously were used to fill in the blanks no longer have the ability to "ping pong" back and forth. What can a train without a cab car or locomotive on the opposite end do when it arrives in Trenton, as an example?

Nothing....except continue to Morrisville yard, where they can park the train, cut the engine off, runaround the train, do a brakes test, and report back out. That would take time and the current schedule doesn't have that kind of time since it was based upon push-pull operation.

As such, these trains typically make a one way trip, wait for rush hour and make another trip.

Another problem is parts for aging equipment. This has been a problem for many railroads, including Amtrak. Add to the fact that is summer, and now you may have coaches o/o/s for hot cars.

It isn't one thing, combine to one area. One thing spreads throughout the system because the balance is off. A train that starts in Great Notch may finish in Long Branch while a train that starts in Long Branch will finish in Great Notch.

NJT should take a hard look and make realistic schedules.....that aren't influenced by politics. Certain trains that have adjacent trains continue to run merely because some politician or senator demanded must run without regard for the fluidity of the operation.

Some of the PJC expresses should get scaled back and make more stops. That would free up more equipment. This should be attempted before you cut off access on another line.



Acela150 said:


> Bob Dylan said:
> 
> 
> 
> Seriously, who in their right mind wants to go to Atlantic City?
> 
> How you gonna keep em down @ that Jersey Pit once they've seen Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun?
> 
> 
> 
> Believe it or not Jim, AC is coming back right now.
Click to expand...

I believe this is part of the politics. There are many people and interests that WANT to see Atlantic City fail. If you recall, they wanted to allow gambling in the Meadowlands but they failed to overturn the law that only allows gambling in Atlantic City. If you starve Atlantic City, it may help the cause.


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## Mystic River Dragon

Thirdrail7,

Thanks again. Your example of how the trains turn (or right now just can't be push-pull like they used to) explains a lot and clears up a lot of the confusion of why there are so many delays.

As for staffing, it sounds like you are essentially saying that the other commuter railroads and Amtrak have passed NJT by, offering better packages and of course a contract? Also, if they are forced to live in NJ, a lot of people would say no to any job right there--much better if you could live across the river in (much cheaper) PA and still work for NJT.

Although I follow trains a bit, I still needed to have all this explained to me. The sad thing is that the typical NJ commuter just wants to get to work and back, does not follow how trains work like we do here on AU, and probably does not realize that there are legitimate reasons for the mess. Therefore, they are, understandably, really upset with NJT right now. I like your point about making more trains from PJC locals with more stops. Because I only travel between Trenton and Princeton Junction, I can get any train, just as someone going to/from Hamilton can. But someone going farther north is limited in train choice if they need to take a local instead of an express. Not sure how the commuters would react to that, though--the ones who must wait for a local now would be happy, but those who take the express now and would get into New York 20 minutes later would be furious.

You are also exactly right about some wanting Atlantic City to fail (North/South again).

By the way, there is an article today in the Trenton Times asking "Is Steve Sweeney the most powerful person in New Jersey?" Unfortunately, I'm not sure how he feels about NJT.

Jim,

You are absolutely right about Florida. That sounds perfect, but perhaps in January or February. Right now, it would be like jumping from one frying pan into another, and, as you might have gathered from my rant about NJT on Friday, I get slightly irritable in hot weather



. (If there were cancellations on a nice balmy 45 degree day, I would just say "Whatever--something will be along sometime" and be much more philosophical about it!)


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## Seaboard92

I'll help Transit out. Me and some friends just applied for engine service. Five men from the steam side. Besides it pays 76k after training a year. Not a bad gig.


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## Bob Dylan

Seaboard92 said:


> I'll help Transit out. Me and some friends just applied for engine service. Five men from the steam side. Besides it pays 76k after training a year. Not a bad gig.


The Bad News is you have to live in Expensive,Tax Crazy Jersey!
But Good Luck with the Gig!


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## Seaboard92

Bob Dylan said:


> Seaboard92 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I'll help Transit out. Me and some friends just applied for engine service. Five men from the steam side. Besides it pays 76k after training a year. Not a bad gig.
> 
> 
> 
> The Bad News is you have to live in Expensive,Tax Crazy Jersey!
> But Good Luck with the Gig!
Click to expand...

I need something to do


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## Metra Electric Rider

Seaboard92 said:


> Bob Dylan said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Seaboard92 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I'll help Transit out. Me and some friends just applied for engine service. Five men from the steam side. Besides it pays 76k after training a year. Not a bad gig.
> 
> 
> 
> The Bad News is you have to live in Expensive,Tax Crazy Jersey!
> But Good Luck with the Gig!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I need something to do
Click to expand...

Are you serious it pays that well! That's better than professional salaries in Chicago - how much does it increase over a hypothetical career and what benny's, like pension, health care, etc?


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## Seaboard92

Metra Electric Rider said:


> Seaboard92 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Bob Dylan said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Seaboard92 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I'll help Transit out. Me and some friends just applied for engine service. Five men from the steam side. Besides it pays 76k after training a year. Not a bad gig.
> 
> 
> 
> The Bad News is you have to live in Expensive,Tax Crazy Jersey!
> But Good Luck with the Gig!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I need something to do
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Are you serious it pays that well! That's better than professional salaries in Chicago - how much does it increase over a hypothetical career and what benny's, like pension, health care, etc?
Click to expand...

That's what their website claims. Now how true it is I can't tell you. It qualifies for Railroad Retirement (which is what I really want), and they claim a good benefits package.


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## Mystic River Dragon

Wow! Good luck, and keep us posted on how it goes!


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## Thirdrail7

Metra Electric Rider said:


> Are you serious it pays that well! That's better than professional salaries in Chicago - how much does it increase over a hypothetical career and what benny's, like pension, health care, etc?


https://www.njtransit.com/var/var_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=JK7To

They also get sick time.



> ✔ Starting salary of $76,000 (post training) with opportunities for overtime
> 
> ✔ Railroad retirement, an Employer Contribution 401a Plan plus 457 tax-deferred benefit pension plan
> 
> ✔ Exceptional medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage
> 
> ✔ Paid time off
> 
> ✔ Life insurance
> 
> ✔ Paid training


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## Mystic River Dragon

Local newspaper today reported that Gov. Murphy wants the legislature to fast-track a bill to waive the residency requirement for engineers. State Senate president Sweeney agrees with the idea, but says that the legislature already has such a bill in the works.

So they are essentially arguing over who came up with the same idea first. Good grief.





However, it does look like a start, even if it's just for the engineers and not everyone else.


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## Bob Dylan

Typical Politicial BS Patty!

As the Late,Great Harry Truman ( a Real Man of the People!)once said:

" A lot can be accomplished when it doesn't matter who gets the Credit!"


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## me_little_me

Bob Dylan said:


> Typical Politicial BS Patty!
> 
> As the Late,Great Harry Truman ( a Real Man of the People!)once said:
> 
> " A lot can be accomplished when it doesn't matter who gets the Credit!"


I'll bet he wanted credit for saying that.


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## Thirdrail7

NJT will be called on their chicanery soon. They won't be able to hide behind the B/S about PTC closing the line.  That's because the work that never managed to shut down other single track rail lines is completed.

Work on Atlantic City Rail is done, but when trains will run remains unclear

http://www2.philly.com/transportation/atlantic-city-rail-train-nj-transit-new-jersey-suspended-20181214.html



> The safety system installation that shut down the Atlantic City Rail Line this fall is complete, but transit officials still aren’t saying when trains will begin running again.
> 
> 
> 
> “We don’t have a determined date in regards to the [Atlantic City Rail Line] restoration,” said Nancy Snyder, a spokesperson for NJ Transit. “We are going to restore service on the ACRL as quickly as possible.”
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The line, which carried fewer than 2,000 riders a day, stopped service on Sept. 5 so NJ Transit could install equipment for Positive Train Control, an automated system that ensures trains travel at safe speeds, on its 60 miles of track. Congress mandated that the system be active on America’s railroads by the end of the year, a deadline most are expected to miss.
> 
> 
> 
> All required PTC equipment has been installed on the Atlantic City line, Snyder said. The line also needed 7½ miles of new track. That, too, is complete, Snyder said. The line still must be tested as required by the Federal Railroad Administration, she said.


Yet, there is still no date for restoration of service? What do you mean you'll restore service as quickly as possible? How are you going to do that if you're not making a plan? People are recognizing the B/S:



> The news has revived questions about why service was suspended. Most of NJ Transit’s lines have continued running through PTC installation. PTC installation, during which vehicles must be pulled out of service, has required NJ Transit to make do with fewer cars throughout the state, creating scheduling chaos on its busiest routes. The Atlantic City line’s riders represent less than 1 percent of the people NJ Transit serves, and the four locomotives and 16 passenger cars used to run the southern route, along with some staff, were transferred to busier lines in the past months to ease scheduling woes.
> 
> 
> 
> The need for vehicles in North Jersey plays “a small part” in determining when the Atlantic City line would reopen, Snyder acknowledged.


If the need for vehicles was a small part, why isn't there a firm timeline for restoration? After all, the "work" is complete.

It is no wonder they let this article fly on a Friday. If this stands, it will show how weak the South Jersey legislature has become.


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## Thirdrail7

Check out this spin:

https://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&amp;PRESS_RELEASE_ID=3263



> *NEWARK, NJ* — Following the completion of end-of-year federally mandated Positive Train Control (PTC) installation, NJ TRANSIT is committed to reopening the Atlantic City Rail Line (ACRL) in early 2019 pending the review and approval of our recent submission to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for the alternate schedule, which extends the deadline for full PTC implementation to December 31, 2020.[SIZE=small] [/SIZE]  In recognition of the continued impact on ACRL customers, NJ TRANSIT will extend the 25 percent discount on tickets and passes through the end of January 2019.


Ummm...why do you need FRA approval to reopen the ACL, particularly if you put a press release stating that you met the FRA criteria for an extension? I could understand it if you stated that you didn't meet the deadline for an extension so it make sense to keep it shut down since it will have to close anyway.

Is it because you're still short engineers up north? Shame shame shame!!


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## jis

NJ Transit has become the ultimate BS artist. They are completely shameless.


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## Anderson

This is an aside, but with the exception of several sub-sets of jobs where it can reasonably be attached to performing the job, I'm kind-of surprised that in-state residency requirements have been upheld as not being irrational.  Distance requirements are one thing (e.g. requiring someone to live within X miles of their job where an emergency call can be foreseen), but this is another.

As a serious question here, where do the ACL crews base out of?


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## jis

Didn't they just remove the in-state requirement recently?


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## Thirdrail7

Anderson said:


> As a serious question here, where do the ACL crews base out of?


They were based out of AC. They even had a small extra list. That's why the place was robbed...and anyone that doesn't realize it at this point has their head in the sand.



jis said:


> Didn't they just remove the in-state requirement recently?


Yes.


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## Mystic River Dragon

Was the in-state requirement removed just for engineers? Or have they extended it for all NJT employees?


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## jis

AFAIK all T&E staff.


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## Thirdrail7

The travesty continues.

http://www.njbiz.com/article/20190110/NJBIZ01/190119997/assemblymen-mazzeo-and-armato-urge-nj-transit-for-ac-rail-timeline



> “Since September, commuters who depend on the Atlantic City Rail Line to get to work, school or home have needed to seek out other often more inconvenient options to get where they need to go,” Mazzeo, D-2nd District, said in a press release. “We know that NJ TRANSIT had to install federally mandated positive train control mechanisms, which we hope will make our transportation system safer and more effective. However, it is still our belief that a full shutdown of the line wasn’t at all necessary, and could have been avoided with better planning from NJ TRANSIT. And with the PTC installation now complete as of December, it was their promise that the Atlantic City line would be open by now.”
> 
> Mazzeo and Armato sent a letter to Transit on Jan. 2 requesting an official reopening date be announced.
> 
> “A week later, we still haven’t received a formal response,” Armato, D-2nd District, said in a news release. “Now, some officials and press outlets are conveying the reopening may be as late as March. That’s unacceptable for our commuters, who’ve endured crowded daily bus rides and lengthy commutes for months on end. We call on NJ Transit to not only announce a formal reopening date, but hold a true public information meeting in Atlantic County to make sure new operating schedule is properly distributed to riders. Our commuters deserve nothing less than to be informed and assured when their daily lives will return to normal.”


The politicians along this line should withdraw the contribution from their respective counties until service is restored.


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## jis

Thirdrail7 said:


> The travesty continues.
> http://www.njbiz.com/article/20190110/NJBIZ01/190119997/assemblymen-mazzeo-and-armato-urge-nj-transit-for-ac-rail-timeline
> 
> 
> 
> “Since September, commuters who depend on the Atlantic City Rail Line to get to work, school or home have needed to seek out other often more inconvenient options to get where they need to go,” Mazzeo, D-2nd District, said in a press release. “We know that NJ TRANSIT had to install federally mandated positive train control mechanisms, which we hope will make our transportation system safer and more effective. However, it is still our belief that a full shutdown of the line wasn’t at all necessary, and could have been avoided with better planning from NJ TRANSIT. And with the PTC installation now complete as of December, it was their promise that the Atlantic City line would be open by now.”
> Mazzeo and Armato sent a letter to Transit on Jan. 2 requesting an official reopening date be announced.
> “A week later, we still haven’t received a formal response,” Armato, D-2nd District, said in a news release. “Now, some officials and press outlets are conveying the reopening may be as late as March. That’s unacceptable for our commuters, who’ve endured crowded daily bus rides and lengthy commutes for months on end. We call on NJ Transit to not only announce a formal reopening date, but hold a true public information meeting in Atlantic County to make sure new operating schedule is properly distributed to riders. Our commuters deserve nothing less than to be informed and assured when their daily lives will return to normal.”
Click to expand...

 The politicians along this line should withdraw the contribution from their respective counties until service is restored.

Unfortunately the NJT budget is not funded by any County. It is a statewide appropriation. South Jersey being more sparsely populated than the north does not really have the political clout to achieve this.


----------



## Thirdrail7

We all knew this PTC story was a falsehood.  Now, after Jan has come and is almost over, NJt announces they will restore service...sometime in spring.

https://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&amp;PRESS_RELEASE_ID=3271



> *[SIZE=11pt]NEWARK, NJ[/SIZE]*[SIZE=11pt] — NJ TRANSIT will begin restoring rail service that has been subject to temporary service adjustments in the second quarter of 2019, starting with the Atlantic City Rail Line (ACRL) and the Princeton Branch (Dinky). The agency continues to address a continuing shortage of locomotive engineers, as well as equipment availability, as Positive Train Control (PTC) installations, maintenance inspections and testing continues. NJ TRANSIT will communicate updates as new information becomes available.[/SIZE]
> 
> [SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE]
> 
> [SIZE=11pt]NJ TRANSIT Executive Director Kevin Corbett said the agency is focused on restoring consistent, dependable service.[/SIZE]
> 
> [SIZE=11pt] [/SIZE]
> 
> [SIZE=11pt]“We recognize the impact that these service adjustments have had on our valued customers, particularly those who use our ACRL and Princeton Dinky services. Our goal is to begin restoring a service that remains reliable and predictable for customers as quickly as possible,” Corbett said. “I share our customers’ frustration and thank them for their continued patience during this time. While service reliability has improved since January 1, that’s no consolation when it’s your train that is affected.”[/SIZE]


Some politician will now grandstand for the camera:

https://whyy.org/articles/congressman-slams-nj-transit-over-ongoing-atlantic-city-rail-line-closure/



> New Jersey Transit announced Friday it plans to resume service on the line that carries approximately 2,000 daily commuters sometime in the second quarter, which begins April 1.
> 
> But that announcement is unacceptable to Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat who represents the southern Jersey Shore.
> 
> “The lack of communication and the delay of the ACRL’s restoration line is completely unacceptable, causing extreme frustration for South Jersey commuters and impacting our regional economy,” he said in a statement issued late Friday afternoon.
> 
> NJ Transit says causes include an engineer shortage and equipment availability as braking system installations, inspections, and testing continue.
> 
> Van Drew said he won’t tolerate “South Jersey getting the short end of the stick.”
> 
> “I am immediately going to call New Jersey Transit and find out what the hell is going on and respond accordingly,” the congressman added.


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## Thirdrail7

The feds have finally exposed the NJT Lies. Will anyone do anything about it?

https://www.nj.com/traffic/2019/02/dont-blame-us-feds-say-nj-transit-can-resume-service-on-suspended-rail-lines-whenever-they-want.html


Don’t blame us. Feds say NJ Transit can resume service on suspended rail lines whenever they want.






> NJ Transit doesn’t need federal approval to resume service on three suspended rail lines that were sidelined for months to install Positive Train Control, Federal Railroad Administration officials said.
> 
> *“New Jersey Transit does not need approval from FRA to reinstate commuter rail service on the lines **where NJT had voluntarily decided to temporarily reduce or suspend service, including the Atlantic City Line,” **said Warren Flateau, an FRA spokesman. “NJ Transit may, at any time, resume commuter rail service on those lines.”*
> 
> The comments come in response to Gov. Phil Murphy and other officials, who said they were waiting for FRA approval as one of several issues to be overcome before service can be restored.


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## Ryan

Thirdrail7 said:


> Will anyone do anything about it?


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## Mystic River Dragon

The positive that I get out of this is that they say they are going to restore service on the Dinky.

This was, of course, their perfect chance to kill it off for good, but it looks like it is coming back.

Unless, of course, they decide after all that it isn't :unsure: .


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## jis

Dinky is a temporary reprieve at best, since they have no plan yet to acquire equipment that will work for the Dinky after the Arrows are retired.


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## neroden

The Princeton Township/Borough merger was a setback for the politics of the Dinky, but demographics continue unabated: the political power in Princeton which demands the Dinky is *massive*.  I don't think they'll ever be able to kill it no matter how much they want to.  Maybe eventually they'll convert it to light rail like they should have during the 1990s.


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## Mystic River Dragon

Thank you, neroden.

You said what I tried to in a couple of posts, but much more clearly.

I like the idea of a light rail on that line--is there equipment that might be available and that would work on that line?


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## jis

Mystic River Dragon said:


> Thank you, neroden.
> 
> You said what I tried to in a couple of posts, but much more clearly.
> 
> I like the idea of a light rail on that line--is there equipment out there that would fit the tracks?


It's standard gauge track so anything will fit. They will have to change the elctrification to lower voltage, unless they want to blaze new trains and consider Tram-Trains which are gaining ground in other parts of the world. Equipment is available today, off the shelf that will run on mainline standard lectrified lines, and transition over to a street running tram using standard tram infrastructure.

I rode one in Mulhouse in France several years back, and it was quite interesting. In the city you are on a street car, and then in the suburbs you are one a commter train, while sitting in the same seat. That is how you get from the city center in Mulhouse to the French National Rail Museum, though the actual transition from tram on separate right of way to the shared main line train mode happens a little further on from the Museum station.

Of course such a thing will first require the FRA to go through its usual extended conniption about anything different from the mid-20th Century setup.


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## Mystic River Dragon

Thanks, jis.

If anything will fit, and there's equipment already available, I think there's a good chance of saving the Dinky for good (and maybe even making it nicer, when those old NJT cars disappear!  ).

I think I am a bit more optimistic about it than you are, but I commute with Dinky riders a lot, and their feeling for it is practically like what you'd feel for a favorite relative--it's pretty much taken on a life of its own, and I don't think they'll let it go away.


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## jis

I am neither pessimistic, nor optimistic. I am just stating the current situation. Unless NJT gets around to ordering appropriate new equipment or decides to retain a few Arrow IIIs, or decides to for example, lease a couple of Silverliners from SEPTA, there currently is nothing in the plans to keep the Dinky running after the Arrow IIIs are retired.


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## cpotisch

jis said:


> I am neither pessimistic, nor optimistic. I am just stating the current situation. Unless NJT gets around to ordering appropriate new equipment or decides to retain a few Arrow IIIs, or decides to for example, lease a couple of Silverliners from SEPTA, there currently is nothing in the plans to keep the Dinky running after the Arrow IIIs are retired.


Would it be the end of the world to just put a few three-car MultiLevel sets (one power car and two cab cars each) on the Dinky? I get that that's around twice the capacity of a current two-car Arrow III set, which is quite unnecessary, but if there really is so much political support of the Dinky, is too much capacity really that much of an issue?


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## jis

Multi-levels are too heavy for at least one (maybe more) of the bridges on that branch. I think this has been posted by me more than once on AU, but for those that have not seen those, here goes again. ^_^ . So it will need some significant upgrade of the trackage in places before that can be done.

Besides, at present political support is pretty thin. There has not been enough political support to prevent the line from getting repeatedly cut shorter and shorter to get it far and away from downtown, and also there was not enough support to prevent the otherwise unnecessary cessation of service, all for the want of two sets of operating crew a day. The line running a single train up and down running at 35-45 mph does not require PTC since the train cannot really collide with itself. So that was mostly bollocks.


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## neroden

The political dynamic is that the former borough wants it , the former township didn't care, the students demand it, the professors want it, the university administration is mildly hostile... and every year, support in each group increases as demographics get younger and traffic gets worse.  The professors have the ability to cause *trouble* for NJT since they know how to deploy lawsuits and media.  Getting an expansion of the Dinky requires shifting the balance in the former township and turning the administration from hostile to neutral.  Cancelling it permanently will get whoever does it in personal legal trouble for the rest of his life (if appointed) or will kill his political career (if elected), and I think they mostly know that.

This is why they are resorting to sneaky nonsense like "suspensions".  I don't think they'll get away with that either, given that they're being actively pressured already.


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## Mystic River Dragon

NJT and NJ DOT meeting scheduled for tonight (February 19) at 6:00 p.m. at the Dinky station in Princeton. First in a series of meetings around the state, so a later meeting probably will be about the Atlantic City line.

https://planetprinceton.com/2019/02/18/njdot-and-nj-transit-to-host-public-forum-about-dinky-train-service-tuesday/


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## jis

Let’s see what new lies they come up with this time.


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## Acela150

jis said:


> Let’s see what new lies they come up with this time.


You taking bets? :lol:


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## Thirdrail7

This first of many public drubbings.

https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/frustration-and-flaring-tempers-at-nj-transit-meeting/article_fd235008-a2da-53c8-8c1b-3bf6bdf326e5.html



> We would like to have given you a date certain today,” said Executive Director Kevin Corbett, but he could only continue to say sometime in the second quarter, which ends with June.
> “I can say June 15 — I’m 100 percent covered with June 15 or June 30,” said Corbett, adding it could be sooner. “We want to open this as soon as possible.”
> 
> 
> When someone asked what the backup plan is if the train isn’t restored in time for August’s Atlantic City Airshow, when hundreds of thousands of people come to town, Corbett said he would lose his job if the train isn’t restored by then.
> “I would fire me,” he said.


Let's hold him to it!!


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## Mystic River Dragon

And an update on the Dinky meeting--NJT says Dinky will return by June 30 and there is no sinister plot to get rid of it forever.

I know appearance doesn't mean anything anymore, but I think it says a lot that Diane is wearing what looks like a casual sweater over a casual top and didn't even bother to dress professionally for a meeting with the public. It seems (to me, at least) to imply disdain for the audience.

At least Kevin is wearing a tie and trying to look professional.

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2019/02/dinky-set-to-return-by-june-30


----------



## Bob Dylan

Keep the Heat on NJT Patty! 

They're not known for truth telling as I'm sure you know! <_<


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## Mystic River Dragon

Our governor told NJT they have to tell rail riders by the end of this week when the Atlantic City line, the Dinky, and the Raritan Valley line will return, instead of by the end of the three-week period they had given themselves.

That's a nice gesture, but of course they can say anything and then say later that it had to be changed....we'll see.


----------



## jis

Mystic River Dragon said:


> Our governor told NJT they have to tell rail riders by the end of this week when the Atlantic City line, the Dinky, and the Raritan Valley line will return, instead of by the end of the three-week period they had given themselves.
> 
> That's a nice gesture, but of course they can say anything and then say later that it had to be changed....we'll see.


He is not saying that out of the goodness of his heart. He has been read the riot act by some of the legislature and apparently been told that he might be looking for another job soon, or feel an unusually strong urge to spend more time with his family, unless things improve faster, with specific commitments that are met. IOW no more pussyfooting, and lying. The Governor is feeling the heat and getting nightmares about continuation in office after the next election being put in jeopardy.


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## Mystic River Dragon

jis said:


> He is not saying that out of the goodness of his heart.


When I said "That's a nice gesture," I actually was being a bit sarcastic.

I realize the power conflicts--it is ironic that some of the state power brokers got on better with a governor from the opposite party than they do with the current one :wacko: .


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## Thirdrail7

https://www.nj.com//traffic/2019/02/good-news-atlantic-city-and-dinky-riders-your-nj-transit-trains-are-coming-back.html  

The return date for AC service and the Dinky is allegedly May 24th.

Just in time for Amtrak to announce their NYP summer operations plan, which will limit capacity. 

Even though the doesn’t directly impact the aforementioned services, it does impact Raritan service.


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## Mystic River Dragon

And, I'm assuming, just a few weeks before summer vacation starts for Princeton University.

So then NJT can say, "Look, there's hardly anyone on the Dinky--more justification for us to get rid of it!"

(I was never this cynical til NJT entered my life!)


----------



## jis

Meanwhile in NJTransit-land ....

https://www.nj.com/traffic/2019/03/nj-transit-canceled-20-trains-because-there-werent-crews-to-run-them.html

20 trains canceled during Monday morning rush hour due to lack of staff.

Maybe they should not have laid off that batch of Engineers in 2017 when they came up for promotion, just to save money.


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## Thirdrail7

jis said:


> 20 trains canceled during Monday morning rush hour due to lack of staff﻿.


Uh-oh. They may cancel service on the Gladstone Branch next.....for...eerrrrrr, PTC implementation, of course! h34r:


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## jis

Thirdrail7 said:


> Uh-oh. They may cancel service on the Gladstone Branch next.....for...eerrrrrr, PTC implementation, of course! h34r:


LOL! Maybe they can borrow the latest scandal from LIRR and claim that the transponders were tested against wrong test models or something.


----------



## Mystic River Dragon

jis said:


> Meanwhile in NJTransit-land ....
> 
> https://www.nj.com/traffic/2019/03/nj-transit-canceled-20-trains-because-there-werent-crews-to-run-them.html
> 
> 20 trains canceled during Monday morning rush hour due to lack of staff.
> 
> Maybe they should not have laid off that batch of Engineers in 2017 when they came up for promotion, just to save money.


51 NJT trains had been cancelled by the end of the day Monday, mostly because engineers and conductors called out sick, I believe (with a few that had the regular excuses--mechanical issues, etc.). That is way over normal even for NJT. 

I mentioned it to a friend yesterday, and her immediate question was, "Are contract negotiations coming up?"

She and I both thought this could have been a "sick-out" to put pressure on the governor or legislature, and it's interesting that our current governor just gave his budget address, including more emphasis on NJT.

Anyone with more knowledge than I have any information about this?


----------



## jis

Ultimately NJT will have to give salaries and benefits that are competitive with MTA railroads. I don't know if this had something to do with that.

But then again, the new Governor also seems to have appointed a Transport Commissioner who appears to be completely free of any knowledge about transportation, specially bus and train or what her department is responsible for, and apparently any competence and short term memory too. So who knows what goes on in NJ. :lol:


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## Thirdrail7

Mystic River Dragon said:


> 51 NJT trains had been cancelled by the end of the day Monday, mostly because engineers and conductors called out sick, I believe (with a few that had the regular excuses--mechanical issues, etc.). That is way over normal even for NJT.
> 
> I mentioned it to a friend yesterday, and her immediate question was, "Are contract negotiations coming up?"
> 
> She and I both thought this could have been a "sick-out" to put pressure on the governor or legislature, and it's interesting that our current governor just gave his budget address, including more emphasis on NJT.
> 
> Anyone with more knowledge than I have any information about this?


Ummm...it goes back to what I stated before. Trains represent trains.  The divisions cross. Issues on the Hoboken Division ultimately impact issues on the Newark Division and vice versa.   North Jersey had terrible weather, particularly in the North West area of the state. This resulted in treacherous driving conditions due to closed roads,  trees down, snow and ice accumulation. A lot of the Hoboken Division crew (which a great deal of the initial terminals being nestled in the mountainous regions) couldn't make it in a safe and timely fashion.

Now, years ago, the railroads would foresee these types of weather incidents and take steps to house their crews to make sure they show up. The railroads have scaled back these practices citing costs and not being responsible for where the employees live. The employees, citing safety and costs(e.g. is the cost of putting myself up in hotel greater than, equal to or less than what I will make braving the elements) often go home and hunker down without pay.

That means divisions aren't fed their trains, leading to a cascade effect. It is a different generation of workers. They favor quality of life over finances.


----------



## Mystic River Dragon

jis said:


> But then again, the new Governor also seems to have appointed a Transport Commissioner who appears to be completely free of any knowledge about transportation, specially bus and train or what her department is responsible for, and apparently any competence and short term memory too. So who knows what goes on in NJ. :lol:


I looked her up on Wikipedia, and she was in charge of the NJ Turnpike and the Florida Turnpike.

So that pretty much says it all as to where her transportation experience is from.


----------



## Mystic River Dragon

Thirdrail7 said:


> Ummm...it goes back to what I stated before. Trains represent trains.  The divisions cross. Issues on the Hoboken Division ultimately impact issues on the Newark Division and vice versa.   North Jersey had terrible weather, particularly in the North West area of the state. This resulted in treacherous driving conditions due to closed roads,  trees down, snow and ice accumulation. A lot of the Hoboken Division crew (which a great deal of the initial terminals being nestled in the mountainous regions) couldn't make it in a safe and timely fashion.
> 
> Now, years ago, the railroads would foresee these types of weather incidents and take steps to house their crews to make sure they show up. The railroads have scaled back these practices citing costs and not being responsible for where the employees live. The employees, citing safety and costs(e.g. is the cost of putting myself up in hotel greater than, equal to or less than what I will make braving the elements) often go home and hunker down without pay.
> 
> That means divisions aren't fed their trains, leading to a cascade effect. It is a different generation of workers. They favor quality of life over finances.


Thanks, Thirdrail 7. 

I hadn't realized how many of the initial terminals were so far up in the state or that so many feed into areas farther down. And they did have much worse weather than where I live. It just seemed like an excessive amount of trains cancelled, but your explanation explains it well.


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## Thirdrail7

NJ Transit adds bus stop at Atlantic City Rail Terminal

https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic_city/nj-transit-adds-bus-stop-at-atlantic-city-rail-terminal/article_d89a1111-5c9e-5ed9-9b44-dd9d94766e50.html



> ATLANTIC CITY — NJ Transit will temporarily adjust its substitute bus service to make an additional stop at the Convention Center until the Atlantic City Rail Line is restored in May.
> Beginning March 9, the 551 express bus route from Atlantic City to Philadelphia and the 340 route from Atlantic City to Lindenwold Express will each stop at the rail terminal on most trips.


Weeeee!


----------



## Mystic River Dragon

And in the kicking someone when they are down category, it was in the local news today that Metro-North has been hiring engineers away from NJT. And has a surplus, so some of them are on-call and being paid for being home as they wait for work!


----------



## Bob Dylan

jis said:


> You have to remember that NJT is perhaps the most ineptly run transit agency in the country at this time, and even the new management appointed by the new Governor is a bunch of incompetent morons with no experience in running anything like NJT, and it shows.


I believe that WMATA in our Nations Capitol can give NJTa run for their ( Wasted) Money when it comes to Cluster Flub Agencies.


----------



## neroden

One common element between NJT, Amtrak, and WMATA during periods of high incompetence was Thomas Downs. Somehow he keeps failing upwards and has now been hired by the international consulting branch of Network Rail in England to help give terrible advice to Americans and other foreigners.


----------



## Anderson

Thirdrail7 said:


> Ummm...it goes back to what I stated before. Trains represent trains. The divisions cross. Issues on the Hoboken Division ultimately impact issues on the Newark Division and vice versa. North Jersey had terrible weather, particularly in the North West area of the state. This resulted in treacherous driving conditions due to closed roads, trees down, snow and ice accumulation. A lot of the Hoboken Division crew (which a great deal of the initial terminals being nestled in the mountainous regions) couldn't make it in a safe and timely fashion.
> 
> Now, years ago, the railroads would foresee these types of weather incidents and take steps to house their crews to make sure they show up. The railroads have scaled back these practices citing costs and not being responsible for where the employees live. The employees, citing safety and costs(e.g. is the cost of putting myself up in hotel greater than, equal to or less than what I will make braving the elements) often go home and hunker down without pay.
> 
> That means divisions aren't fed their trains, leading to a cascade effect. It is a different generation of workers. They favor quality of life over finances.



First of all, thank you for the explanation.

Second, I have to wonder if this isn't an unintentional result of better pay. If their pay is high enough, if someone can't make it in because of the weather, it becomes a loss they can weather (no pun intended) whereas in a previous time that would have been harder to absorb (to say nothing of the benefits of union protections...I rather suspect that if someone is otherwise not prone to absenteeism, sacking them for no-showing for a few days during a blizzard is harder to justify), particularly if that is compounded by losing another $100-150 on a hotel room net of their shift pay.

Of course, as jis noted, thinning out the staff rosters (and by connection the extra boards) can't help a bad situation.


----------



## Mystic River Dragon

Today's _Trenton Times_ had an article rating Kevin Corbett in his first year as head of NJT. They asked two commuter rail experts, commuters, and Kevin himself.

The two experts: C- and D (and both said it would have been worse except that NJT met the first PTC deadline). (The first is the chairman of the Lackawanna Commuter Coalition, the second is the president of NJARP.)

The commuters (both train and bus): a B-, C, and D+, two Ds, and two Fs. (And the B- commutes on the NEC between Metropark and Newark, so a lot shorter distance than some of the others.)

Kevin's grade for himself: between a B and a C, but leaning toward a C because he is a hard grader and considers this his midterm grade as he works on his final grade. Judging from the photo of him in the article, he said this with a straight face.


----------



## Bob Dylan

Reminds me of a certain Politician who currently resides ( Temporarily) in a Big White Mansion/Museum on Pennsylvania Avenue!

Maybe they're Grading on the Curve?


----------



## Thirdrail7

Anderson said:


> Second, I have to wonder if this isn't an unintentional result of better pay. If their pay is high enough, if someone can't make it in because of the weather, it becomes a loss they can weather (no pun intended) whereas in a previous time that would have been harder to absorb (to say nothing of the benefits of union protections..



In a great deal of cases, it is the opposite. Since a lot of the employees aren't making a lot of money, they aren't counting on it. They often don't live near their means, let alone exceed them. 

Therefore, they don't "have" to make sacrifices for the money. They don't NEED the extra whereas years ago, it was money grab...simply because it was available...and that was the key mistakes a lot of railroad made.

They assumed as they cut, employees would remain hungry and chase the work. They failed to consider that many people would adapt and the younger force wouldn't miss something they weren't accustomed to getting. 

That is also why you have manpower shortage. Not only will people not come out for overtime, they also may not show up for their schedules.


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## Acela150

Service to Resume on May 12th on the Dinky and ACL. 

https://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&PRESS_RELEASE_ID=3289


----------



## Mystic River Dragon

And I love the way they are patting themselves on the back for restoring the service two weeks before their target date. (After how many months? At least four? of delays from their initial target date.)


----------



## lonewolfette9847

I’m glad for the 2 weeks sooner. I need it going from & to Philly during that time! [emoji4]


----------



## Acela150

Transit ran a few rust breaker trains on the ACL today.


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## Mystic River Dragon

I came into the office today, and on my walk from PJC to my office building, I heard a lovely "chug, chug, chug" and "honk, honk, honk"--the Dinky back again! The Dinky tracks run along the end of our office parking lot, and I hadn't realized how much I missed hearing it when I am outside here.

They are having a party for it (I think Tuesday evening) at the Dinky station in Princeton itself, with WAWA giving out free coffee and pretzels.


----------



## neroden

Yay! Now everyone promote it and ride it extra much ASAP to fight any bogus attempts by NYT to claim low ridership...


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## MARC Rider

neroden said:


> Yay! Now everyone promote it and ride it extra much ASAP to fight any bogus attempts by NYT to claim low ridership...



Now there's a joy ride for me. Anything to see in Princeton? Or at least a good place to have lunch within walking distance of the station?s


----------



## jis

MARC Rider said:


> Now there's a joy ride for me. Anything to see in Princeton? Or at least a good place to have lunch within walking distance of the station?s



The Princeton University campus and downtown Princeton of course. [emoji57] Plenty of nice eateries downtown.


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## Thirdrail7

Welcome back, Raritan Trains. I'm sure everyone missed the clutter they caused.

https://pix11.com/2019/11/04/direct-service-resumes-on-nj-transits-raritan-rail-line/



> WESTFIELD, N.J. — Trains on one New Jersey Transit route that had been curtailed last year as the agency scrambled to finish installing a federally mandated braking system are finally set to be restored Monday.
> 
> Transit officials and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said back in October that off-peak direct service on the Raritan Valley Line to New York would resume November 4. The trains serve towns in Essex, Union, Somerset and Hunterdon counties.
> 
> The service was halted last fall to accommodate the system-wide installation of the braking system, called positive train control, that had to be completed by year's end. The work also caused delays and individual train cancellations on other lines and prompted NJ Transit to suspend service to Atlantic City.
> 
> Atlantic City trains resumed service in May.
> 
> Contributing to the delay in restoring the Raritan Valley Line service was an engineer shortage that officials have blamed on under-investment in training by former Republican Gov. Chris Christie. NJ Transit has undertaken an aggressive recruitment effort since last year and currently has several classes of engineers undergoing the 20-month training.


----------

