Commuting on Raritan Valley Line (Newark, Edison: transfer to, living in, train)

[adams1]

Does anyone have experience commuting on the Raritan Valley Line? We are thinking of living in Fanwood and would need to get to midtown by train. How awful is the transfer? Ive heard that The Northeast Corridor line is pretty bad too - which is worse?!? THanks.

[syncmaster]

I've never commuted regularly to the city but I've frequently had engagements at work where I had to train in to the city every day for a week or so.

I've used both the RARV (from Dunellen) and the NEC (from Edison).

RARV: The transfer isn't that bad, once you get the hang of it, it just turns into another part of your routine. Also, this line has significantly fewer trains than the NEC does, which means a delay at either end can really cascade into an even longer delay getting to your destination.

NEC: Lots of trains! That's the good part. The bad part is it is much more crowded than the RARV. Of course, it's crowded for a reason, but that's little consolation.

[CuCullin]

Originally Posted by adams1

Does anyone have experience commuting on the Raritan Valley Line? We are thinking of living in Fanwood and would need to get to midtown by train. How awful is the transfer? Ive heard that The Northeast Corridor line is pretty bad too - which is worse?!? THanks.

Generally, the transfer is kind of a benefit. If there is a delay with one train, others will jump ahead. If the service going in and out of NYC is backed up, and you get stuck on the NEC or NJC line trains, youre SOL. If you're transferring, you can just hop onto the PATH instead - if the delays are significant, this does make a difference.

Plus I use the transfer to grab a cup of coffee and wake up

[Lusitan]

Originally Posted by CuCullin

Generally, the transfer is kind of a benefit. If there is a delay with one train, others will jump ahead. If the service going in and out of NYC is backed up, and you get stuck on the NEC or NJC line trains, youre SOL. If you're transferring, you can just hop onto the PATH instead - if the delays are significant, this does make a difference.

Actually, if the NEC or NJC lines are backed up before Newark, you can just as easily hop off the NEC/NJC at Newark and transfer to the PATH train.

And if the delays only manifest in between Newark and NYC, well, then you've got just as much of a chance of getting caught in it once you hop off of the RARV and catch that train heading into NYC; the difference is you've just added a 10 minute connection to your delay.

With all three lines, you have the option to get off in Newark and take the PATH.

I have a number of friends who use the RARV line to commute to NYC and it's not a problem (two of them from Fanwood, actually). They also tend to work fairly standard hours. If you work late you'll appreciate the lack of a transfer in Newark and the more frequent trains on the NEC/NJC. If you don't deviate much from the standard workday, all of those lines are fine.