Month: December 2009


  • NJT Expected to Cut Rail Service in January

    New Jersey Transit has announced that the Great Notch Station on the Montclair-Boonton Line will be closed after Friday, January 15th.  The station is served by only a few peak-hour trains, whereas the nearby Montclair State University Station is served by all trains on the line.  Transit management cited low ridership at Great Notch as…

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  • Coalition Supports Funding Bill for Transit of Seniors, Disabled Residents

    The Lackawanna Coalition has expressed support for a legislative initative that would increase funding for transportation for senior citizens and disabled residents.  The measure now before the legislature, Senate Bill 1830 and Assembly Bill 2046, would increase the portion of revenue from the Casino Revenue Fund for senior and disabled transportation from 7.5 to 8.5%.…

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  • NJT Changes Portal Bridge Plan

    New Jersey Transit has announced that there has been a change in the proposed replacement for Portal Bridge, west of Secaucus Station.  Previous plans had called for a fixed span 50′ above water and another 10′ lower, which could be raised for a passing boat.  The new plan calls for two 50′ fixed spans.  NJT…

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  • Montclair Weekend Service Begins

    New Jersey Transit now runs trains to Montclair on weekends.  The service, which began on November 8th, runs as far as Bay Street Station every 2 hours during the day and every 3 hours in the evening.  This marks the first Sunday service since 1959 and the first Saturday service since 1966. The Lackawanna Coalition…

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  • Bergen Record Questions Deep-Cavern Terminal Plan

    Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin questioned the cost-effectiveness of the NJT proposal to build a deep-cavern terminal under 34th Street in Manhattan rather than bring new tunnels and tracks to the East Side.  In his column published on Monday, December 21st, Doblin said, “The reality is that putting more people in the same part…

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  • NJT Board Approves Over $1 Billion in “ARC” Contracts

    The Board of Directors of New Jersey Transit approved $1.15 Billion in contracts for the “ARC” (Access to the Region’s Core, also known as Mass Transit Tunnel) and Portal Bridge Projects on December 9th, the last Board meeting before incumbent Governor Jon Corzine leaves office.  The contracts call for construction under Manhattan to build a…

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  • Rail Advocates Propose “Penn Station First” Plan

    An alliance of passenger rail advocates in the region has proposed and endorsed a plan to connect any proposed new rail tunnels and the tracks they contain to the existing Penn Station, rather than building the deep-cavern terminal proposed by New Jersey Transit.  The plan, known as the “Penn Station First” plan, also calls for…

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  • History of the Lines We Represent

    The railroad lines operated today by NJ Transit as the Morris & Essex and the Montclair-Boonton Lines have a fascinating history, dating from the earliest days of American railroading in the middle of the Nineteenth Century. This page gives a brief history of the construction, improvement, and operation of these lines, which today form vital…

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