NJT Atlantic City Line

[Septa9739]

Made my first trip today. Ridership seemed about on par with SEPTA for midday on a Saturday, 100ish each way. Found the fare to be reasonable at $10.75 each way. Punctual in both direction. Crew was nice, but one conductor took a call on his cell phone during the trip (NJT’s unequivocal commitment to safety once again).

I know this line was struggling for a while, does anyone know how its doing today? It could obviously benefit from a kinder schedule with better headways, electrification, and the whole shabang, but it seemed to be a relatively useful intercity service. I’m not so sure about commuter. Travel time seems a bit high, mostly due to routing.

 

[BlackDiamond]

I think the highlight of the AC line was when Amtrak had trains running from PHL airport to Atlantic City with a code share with I think it was Midway Airlines so you could by a through ticket flying into PHL then train to Atlantic City. Not sure why Amtrak gave up on the ACL service.

 

[jis]

I think the highlight of the AC line was when Amtrak had trains running from PHL airport to Atlantic City with a code share with I think it was Midway Airlines so you could by a through ticket flying into PHL then train to Atlantic City. Not sure why Amtrak gave up on the ACL service.

Amtrak never hit the original ridership goals for the line IIRC. Part of the reason for that was that the Casinos never really got on board with providing the sort of incetives that they provided the bus lines, and Atlantic City + NJT never got their act together for providing credible Shuttle service connecting the station to the Casinos until way after Amtrak was gone. There really is almost no real traffic generator other than the Casinos, and the main user of the NJT service even now are employees of the Casino and related people, and not so much Casino clients.

 

[TheVig]

From my perspective as a tourist, who has used the line many times between Philly and AC. Most riders were casino and related employees. With a decent amount of gamblers of moderate to advanced age.

One of best conversations I ever overheard on a train was on that line. Two blue hairs complaining about the cost of meds, and other bills. But feeding the one arm bandits for 8 hours plus.

 

[Shawn Ryu]

What about people from NJ commuting to Philly? Any ridership there?

 

[Maverickstation]

What about people from NJ commuting to Philly? Any ridership there?

Minimal, most commuters from South Jersey heading to Philly drive the to PATCO Lindenwold Station and take the High Speed Line from there.
Other use the various NJT Commuter Busses from their local towns, and even pre COVID a good number drove. Driving into Center City at Rush Hour using the Ben Franklin Bridge is a cakewalk compared to driving into other cities at Rush Hour.

Ken

 

[MARC Rider]

Minimal, most commuters from South Jersey heading to Philly drive the to PATCO Lindenwold Station and take the High Speed Line from there.


Ken

The Atlantic City Line train also stops at Lindenwold, and I would expect that there are some folks who live down the line who might transfer to PATCO at Lindenwold, too.

 

[jis]

The Atlantic City Line train also stops at Lindenwold, and I would expect that there are some folks who live down the line who might transfer to PATCO at Lindenwold, too.

Originally the NJT Atlantic City service terminated at Lidenwold and only Amtrak continued onto the NEC. Some went to Philly and Philly Airport and others reversed at Shore Interlocking (near the erstwhile Frankford Junction station site) and headed to New York. NJT was later extended to Philly 30th St. possibly around the time that Amtrak discontinued all ACY service, though I do not have a clear recollection of it.

 

[AFS1970]

Anyone remember ACES? I never got the chance to ride it, but it obviously wasn't a success.

 

[jis]

Anyone remember ACES? I never got the chance to ride it, but it obviously wasn't a success.

Yes. I rode it many times. It was subsidized by the Casinos. When the subsidy went away so did the train.