New Jersey Transit Rail / Bus lines you'd liked to see? (Newark: 2015, buying)

[Nexis4Jersey]

What lines would like to see. My Engineer friend told me yesterday that the Morris & Essex Network would need 500-1.5 Billion $$$ in Upgrades to get up Faster speeds / HSR status. Which Amtrak might run a HSR service sometime between 2015-2030 once the Lackawanna line is restored. I would full Electrification of the network , even though that won't happen for decades. I would like to see all Cities connected by Rail , that will happen slowly over the next 2 decades. I would like see Rural Bus routes. I would like to see the Sparta and Newton Rail lines reactivated. I would like to see a Subway under JFK Boulevard in the NJ Gold Coast. Streetcars running on certain busy lines in the NJ Gold Coast and Essex County Empire. So what is it you would like to see? No NJT Bashing please....

[TheGambler]

"Essex County Empire?" That's a new one!

I'm not really sure what more people want from NJT. I know for sure we can't actually afford anything more. I think the MOM line is a good idea, but North Jersey seems pretty covered. I can't think of any area up north where it is more than a 15 minute ride to a train station. And even though MOM is good in theory, we plainly just can't afford it unless people want to be paying $25 one-way to their destination so we can afford all of these capital expenditures.

As we've mentioned before here, I think people mostly complain about times and the cost of a ticket. But the people who complain live far away from NYC and Philly, so of course it takes a while to get there. I live in Ocean County and don't try to commute to NYC or PHL. Some people do, however. I think more train lines may be needed in distant suburbs as people move farther away from the cities to escape the high property taxes in those areas, so perhaps that will be something to think about. A train from Philly to Toms River, cutting right across the state, would open up a lot of eastern Burlington and western Ocean counties to development since as the crow flies, it's not a long ride to Philly even from the coast. It would also be good for Shore tourism, so visitors from Philly and western NJ would have a better choice of destinations.

I actually like your street car idea, but I'm wondering if it's feasible given the narrow streets up north. I have a friend who lives in Caldwell and the main drag seems to be Bloomfield Ave. I doubt you could fit a street car lane in many places there - at least safely. Maybe cable cars? Haha.

[tahiti]

would love to see weekend express service from western morris county. it takes ~2 hrs from the closest train stop to me. i know it's not feasible though.

[Just Flossin']

30 minute express trains into Penn from Morristown

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by TheGambler

"Essex County Empire?" That's a new one!

I'm not really sure what more people want from NJT. I know for sure we can't actually afford anything more. I think the MOM line is a good idea, but North Jersey seems pretty covered. I can't think of any area up north where it is more than a 15 minute ride to a train station. And even though MOM is good in theory, we plainly just can't afford it unless people want to be paying $25 one-way to their destination so we can afford all of these capital expenditures.

As we've mentioned before here, I think people mostly complain about times and the cost of a ticket. But the people who complain live far away from NYC and Philly, so of course it takes a while to get there. I live in Ocean County and don't try to commute to NYC or PHL. Some people do, however. I think more train lines may be needed in distant suburbs as people move farther away from the cities to escape the high property taxes in those areas, so perhaps that will be something to think about. A train from Philly to Toms River, cutting right across the state, would open up a lot of eastern Burlington and western Ocean counties to development since as the crow flies, it's not a long ride to Philly even from the coast. It would also be good for Shore tourism, so visitors from Philly and western NJ would have a better choice of destinations.

I actually like your street car idea, but I'm wondering if it's feasible given the narrow streets up north. I have a friend who lives in Caldwell and the main drag seems to be Bloomfield Ave. I doubt you could fit a street car lane in many places there - at least safely. Maybe cable cars? Haha.

North Jersey is lacking alot promised NJT connections like between all the cities and a few lines with Rail. Sussex County hasn't gotten a line yet , although 3 should be reactivated sometime later this decade. The MOM Network would close a huge gap in the growing Central Jersey Region. Who said it would cost 25$ , maybe to NYC. But the MOM network would go other popular areas. I was thinking the wider streets , it works in Philly and Portland i think it will be fine here. Streetcars are just longer Bus , usually 2-3x longer. Other then the New Tunnel , which is needed NJT has gone mad in what is needed. Poor ppl come last to that agency and Urban areas have to wait for the Suburbs to get there routes. Which isn't fair because the Urban use Transit more then the Suburbs theres also more congestion then the burbs. The Trend in this state is that the Singles and Collage students seem to moving into the Cities along with Retired ppl. Cities like the NJ Gold Coast , New Brunswick , & parts of Newark have seen a huge spike in this and NJT hasn't taken advantage of that. I think instead of widening the Parkway we should take advantage of a few Abandoned lines that run near it and build a Coastal Railway.

Originally Posted by tahiti

would love to see weekend express service from western morris county. it takes ~2 hrs from the closest train stop to me. i know it's not feasible though.

Probably will happen sometime later this decade along with Electrification west of Dover.

Originally Posted by Just Flossin'

30 minute express trains into Penn from Morristown

Impossible , maybe 50 mins.

[TheLuckoftheDraw]

Originally Posted by TheGambler

I can't think of any area up north where it is more than a 15 minute ride to a train station.

Much of Sussex county seemed to be further than that from a train. That's one of the things that made us hesitate about buying there. We'd still like to live there, but commuting is still a concern because of that.

[shorebaby]

Express train service from the shore.

[Marv95]

Originally Posted by shorebaby

Express train service from the shore.

Impossible and unnecessary. There will be low ridership and not everyone's going past the airport or Middlesex County. Unless it's a trip during a weekend or a holiday during peak season there's no need for it.

[TheLuckoftheDraw]

Originally Posted by Marv95

Impossible and unnecessary. There will be low ridership and not everyone's going past the airport or Middlesex County. Unless it's a trip during a weekend or a holiday during peak season there's no need for it.

That it wouldn't make a ton of money for NJT might be why they'd not see it, but the question was what they'd like to see.

I'd like to see so that no matter where you are, a train station is never more than, say, 7.5 miles away from you, and a bus stop that connects to train stations (and elsewhere) is never further than 1 mile away in any direction, and the lines are interconnected, and the buses and trains are very frequent and around the clock, and all lines alternated locals and expresses, so that you can get all over NJ & NY easily and cheaply, whenever you'd like, but I know it's not going to happen . . . but it's what I'd like to see.

I'd like to see that all over the country, actually. If we had that all over the country, very few people would even need to drive anywhere. It should be cheap enough that it's no more than 30% what you'd pay for gas at the most--so it's still cheaper to take than if you were pooling with two other people for gas.

[Infamous92]

Rail between Cape May & Atlantic City.

Stops in between would be (South-North):

Diamond Beach
Wildwood Crest
Wildwood
North Wildwood
Stone Harbor
Avalon
Sea Isle City
Ocean City
Margate City
Ventnor City

Maybe even the Cape May Courthouse too.

It'd be either Light Rail or that thing they proposed for the East End of Long Island using 2 cars on preexisting non electrified tracks (can't find the article).