The New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) is a statewide public
transportation system serving the state of New
Jersey, and Orange and Rockland counties in New York. It operates bus,
light rail, and commuter rail services throughout the
state, notably connecting to major commercial and employment centers both within the state and in the adjacent cities of
New York and Philadelphia. All but
two of NJ Transit's commuter trains feed into New York's Penn
Station in Midtown Manhattan or Hoboken
Terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey. The exceptions are the Atlantic City Line, which terminates at 30th Street
Station in Philadelphia and the Raritan Valley Line, which terminates at
Newark's Penn Station. Most NJ Transit commuter buses go to Manhattan's
Port Authority Bus Terminal and to Philadelphia's Greyhound Terminal (or Market Street in Philadelphia). Covering a service area of 5,325 square miles, NJ
Transit is the nation's largest statewide public transit system[1] and the nation's third largest provider of bus, rail and light rail transit[3], linking major points in New Jersey, New York and
Philadelphia.
History
NJ Transit, founded in 1979, was an offspring of the New Jersey
Department of Transportation (NJDOT), mandated by the state government to address the many transportation issues that had
developed at the time. NJ Transit came into being with the passage of the Public Transportation Act of 1979 to "acquire, operate
and contract for transportation service in the public interest." NJ Transit originally acquired and managed a number of private
bus services. Conrail (or Consolidated Rail Corporation) had been formed
in 1976 through the merging of a number of financially troubled passenger railroads, and operated commuter railroad service under
contract from the NJDOT.
In 1983, NJ Transit assumed operation of all commuter rail service in New Jersey from Conrail. It now operates every passenger
and commuter rail line in the state except for Amtrak; the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), which is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; the PATCO Hi-Speedline, which is owned by the Delaware River
Port Authority; and a handful of tourist trains in the southern and northwestern parts of New Jersey. New Jersey Transit
also runs most of the state's bus lines. In northern New Jersey, many of the bus routes are arranged in a web. In southern New
Jersey, most routes are arranged in a "spoke-and-hub" fashion, with routes emanating from Trenton, Camden, and Atlantic City. In addition to routes run by New Jersey Transit, NJ Transit also subsidizes and
provides buses for most of the state's private operators, such as Coach USA, Lakeland, and Academy, providing fixed route or commuter
service.
In the 1990s, the system expanded, with new Midtown Direct service to
New York City and new equipment. On October 21,
2001 it opened a new station at Newark
International Airport. On December 15, 2003, NJ Transit
opened the Secaucus Junction transfer station, connecting two major portions of the
system, allowing passengers on Hoboken-bound trains to switch trains to get to Midtown
Manhattan more conveniently. The transfer saves passengers headed into Midtown Manhattan an estimated 15 minutes of travel
time.
On October 31, 2005, NJT took over Clocker (NY-Philadelphia) service from Amtrak. Four new trains were
added to the schedule, but service was cut back to Trenton.
Current operations
Bus
-
- Further information: Buses used by New Jersey Transit
NJ Transit owns 3,075 buses[1] and its Bus Operations division controls 240 bus routes (with numerous other line runs
being subsidized by NJ Transit),[2] a number
that includes buses owned by New Jersey Transit, but are in other operators' colors. Bus fares are based on distance.
Light rail
NJ Transit operates three separate light rail lines:
Newark City Subway/Newark Light/River Line Rail fares, whose operations fall under NJT Bus Operations, have fares based on the
bus network, including transfers, zones et al. Fares on NJT's newer light rail lines, unlike bus fares, are not based on
distance. Instead, the Newark Light Rail and River Line fare is a flat $1.35, and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail fare is a flat
$1.90 (transfers to bus lines are extra).
Rail
-
NJ Transit has 11 commuter rail lines:
NJ Transit operates 109 diesel locomotives, of which 11 are leased from Metro-North
Railroad, and 61 electric locomotives. Its fleet consists of 677 push-pull cars, of
which 67 are leased from Metro-North, and 230 electric multiple unit
cars.[1]
Police Department
-
The New Jersey Transit Police Department (NJTPD) is a transit
police force for the New Jersey Transit Corporation in the state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with state
wide jurisdiction with the primary focus on policing the numerous bus depots, rail and light-rail stations throughout New
Jersey.
Local Programs
NJ Transit is the administrator of Federal and State grants for counties, municipalities, and non-profit organizations in the
state of New Jersey to provide accessible transportation for elderly and disabled citizens. Some areas of New Jersey are not
serviced by NJ Transit's trains or buses (including AccessLink), requiring local organizations and agencies to pick up the slack
for disabled and elderly people. These grants include funding for vehicles, and operations of county, municipal, and non-profit
transportation services.
Future
THE Tunnel
NJ Transit is preparing to construct a new two-track Hudson River tunnel adjacent to the two existing single-track tunnels
(built in the early 20th century) by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The tunnels are on
the Northeast Corridor. NJ Transit is billing this project as THE Tunnel or Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel, which using Dual-Mode Locomotives will allow for the first time
a 1-seat ride between the Port Jervis, Main, Bergen County, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley lines and Penn
Station New York. Governor Jon Corzine has announced that groundwork may begin in 2009 with
the tunnels finished in 2016[4]. Engineering has recently
commenced on this tunnel towards the goal of completion, following recent approval of $2 billion of funding by the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey[5].
Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link
Construction has been completed on a section of the Newark-Elizabeth Rail
Link, a light rail project in 3 stages that will eventually link the downtowns of
Newark and Elizabeth via the
Newark Light Rail and the proposed Union
County Light Rail. The first stage of construction, which links Newark
Broad Street and Newark Penn Station via the Newark Light Rail,
opened in July 2006. The remaining two stages of this project were removed from the list of NJ Transit's capital improvement
projects on May 10, 2006, making it unlikely that they will be
constructed.
Sparta Branch
-
This proposed branch would utilize the current NYS&W main line. Commuter trains would depart the long abandoned Sparta
Station heading east through Beaver Lake, Stockholm, Green Pond, West Milford, Butler, and Pompton. Trains would then leave
NYS&W rails via an existing connection with current NJT rail on the old Erie Main just north of Paterson Station. Passengers
would then have the option of switching trains at Seacaucus for Midtown service, or continuing to Hoboken.
Lackawanna Cutoff
-
In May of 2001, New Jersey Transit purchased the property of the Lackawanna
Cutoff. This line, constructed by the Delaware, Lackawanna and
Western Railroad between 1908 and 1911 provided a direct, level-graded route between the Delaware River (Slateford, Pennsylvania), two miles (3.25 km) below the
Delaware Water Gap, to the crest of the watershed at Lake Hopatcong (Port Morris, New Jersey). The DL&W had a penchant for extensive concrete construction, and as a result,
most of the structures, including stations, bridges, and vast viaducts are still in operational or near-operational condition,
despite the abandonment by Conrail in 1979. A 2004 study conducted by New
Jersey Transit estimates that bringing the line back into operation would cost approximately $350 million. The proposed
rehabilitation project, which still lacks funding, if completed, would provide direct, high-speed commuter rail service between
Scranton, Pennsylvania and Hoboken
Terminal on the Hudson River waterfront in New Jersey (with connecting service to trains serving New York's Penn Station). Service to Midtown
Manhattan would be made available to the growing exurban communities in
Monroe County in the Poconos, and in
upper Warren County and lower Sussex County.
NYC-Atlantic City service
On June 20, 2006, the board of New Jersey Transit approved a
three-year trial of express train service between New York Penn
Station and Atlantic City Rail Terminal. The estimated travel time
will be 2½ hours with a few stops along the way and is part of the casinos' multi-million dollar investments in Atlantic City. Most of the funding for the new transit line will be provided by
Harrah's Entertainment (owners of the Showboat,
Ballys Park Place, Clairidge, Harrah's Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City)
and the Borgata. The line is expected to be in service by the end of 2007, but details on the
line's operation are scant.[6]
Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM)
The Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM)[7] line is a proposed
central New Jersey commuter rail route offering those county's residents access to New Brunswick, Newark and New York's Penn Station. The line was originally proposed by the
Ocean County Board of Chosen
Freeholders in March of 1980. This route would run on a 40.1-mile rail corridor and would provide diesel commuter rail
service from Monmouth Junction (South
Brunswick), where the Jamesburg Branch partially joins the Northeast Corridor
(NEC), to Lakehurst. As of 2006, the line was opposed by Jamesburg and Monroe
Township [1].
From Monmouth Junction, the line would continue southeast to Jamesburg, Monroe, Englishtown, Manalapan, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township,
Howell and Farmingdale. A
new rail connection would be required in Farmingdale. It would proceed southward from Farmingdale to Lakehurst, passing through
Howell, Lakewood, Jackson, Toms River Township, and
Lakehurst/Manchester. Trains on this line would also operate on the NEC
between Monmouth Junction and Newark. Passengers destined for New York would transfer at
Newark. Eight new stations and a train storage yard would be constructed.
More information about this project can be found at Say Yes To MOM.
Possible Station Stops
- Lakehurst/Manchester (all routes)
- Jackson (all routes)
- Lakewood (all routes)
Red Bank Alignment (East Route)
Matawan Alignment (Central Route)
(Note: Construction of the Henry Hudson Trail, a rail-trail, upon this alignment, may preclude this route as an option.) [8]
Monmouth Junction Alignment (West Route)
Multilevel Trains
Introduction
Train #3967, consisting of multi-level cars, pulled by ALP46 locomotive #4607
On 11 December 2006, NJ Transit introduced its first Multilevel Train, operating as train 3844 on the Northeast
Corridor.[9] The train's six multilevel cars were
manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. By spring 2007, 18 more cars will
enter service. Next fall, multilevel trains will begin to operate on the Morris & Essex and North Jersey Coast lines. All 234
cars will be delivered by the end of 2008.
In spring 2007, NJ Transit announced that it would be cheaper to exercise a 45 car option of the multilevel Comet VI cars
rather than complete a mid-life overhaul of the 49 existing Comet III cars and that it had exercised its option. Additionally
adding more multilevel cars would be found to increase seating capactity.[10] This increased NJ Transit's order to 279 total cars including 6 additional coach cars with ADA
bathrooms, 9 additional cab cars with ADA bathrooms, and 30 additional coach cars without bathrooms.
Cars
looking through the Comet V cab car
- 92 Coach cars with bathrooms = 132 Seats (each)
- 42 Cab cars with bathrooms = 127 Seats (each)
- 145 Coach cars without bathrooms = 142 Seats (each)
Amounts to
- 279 Cars
- 38,068 Seats
- 12,144 Seats in Coach cars with bathrooms
- 5,334 Seats in Cab cars with bathrooms
- 20,590 Seats in Coach cars without bathrooms
Gallery
New Jersey Transit Arrow III at West Windsor, NJ
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New Jersey Transit RTS-06 at Market and Broad Streets in Newark, NJ
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See also
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References
External links
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