The (NJ Transit) is a statewide '', April 2004. Accessed
August 22 ,
2007 . "In late 2003, 20 years after portions of the Pennsylvania, Erie-Lackawanna, Jersey Central, and Lehigh Valley railroads or their successors were combined to form the nation's third-largest commuter rail system, Secaucus Junction opened.", linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.
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 .
Public Information
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New Jersey Transit
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New Jersey , Rockland and Orange counties in New York,<br> interstate service to New York City , Philadelphia , and Wilmington
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Commuter Rail , Light Rail , Bus
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(rail) (light rail)NJTransit Facts at a Glance for FY 2006
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1983
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11 (rail) 3 (light rail) 240 (bus) NJT Press Release with key facts about the agency at the bottom of the page
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162 (rail) 60 (light rail) 27 (bus terminals), 18,000+ (bus stops)
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nearly 857,000 (weekday, all modes)
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New Jersey Transit (many lines contracted)
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See Also: New Jersey Transit Bus Operations
NJ Transit owns 3,075 buses and its Bus Operations division controls 240 bus routes (with numerous other line runs being subsidized by NJ Transit), a number that includes buses owned by New Jersey Transit, but are in other operators' colors. Bus fares are based on distance.
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).
See Also: New Jersey Transit rail operations
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.
See Also: New Jersey Transit 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.
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.
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 ,
2006 .
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.
See Also: Lackawanna Cut-Off
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 .
On ,
2006
The Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM)
NJ TRANSIT Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for MOM 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 [http://ebs.gmnews.com/news/2006/0302/Front_page/003.html].
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.
- Lakehurst/Manchester (all routes)
- Jackson (all routes)
- Lakewood (all routes)
(Note: Construction of the
Henry Hudson Trail , a
Rail-trail , upon this alignment, may preclude this route as an option.)
Henry Hudson Trail - Monmouth County Parks System
On 11 December 2006, NJ Transit introduced its first Multilevel Train, operating as train 3844 on the Northeast Corridor.
