Lackawanna Coalition

advocating for rail passengers since 1979

Month: September 2013

  • PATH to EWR? Maybe.

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    John Bobsin

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    NJ’s Gov. Christie might require PATH service to Newark Liberty Airport—but only if United Airlines agrees to beef up service at Atlantic City.  The airline has balked, according to reporting by Ted Mann in the Wall Street Journal (Sept. 30).  If the long-contemplated PATH extension were to be built, it would likely go only to the Newark…

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  • Transit Pushes Pepsi

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    John Bobsin

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    Pepsi ads on NJT for the Super Bowl will earn NJT $635,000, according to reporting by Mike Frassinelli (Star-Ledger, Sept. 26).  The ad agency involved will get another $400,000 or so from the deal.  Ads will appear at multiple stations, and on the backs and sides of buses and sides of rail cars.   Digital…

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  • Concrete Blocks Replace Seats

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    John Bobsin

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    NJT denies waging war on the indigent, but the railroad has replaced benches outside its Newark Penn Station entrance with unappetizing concrete blocks.  NJT officials deny any discrimination in the $435,000 “improvement” project, which added greenery, “pedestrian upgrades”, flower beds, and improved lighting—but replaced comfortable benches seating 12 with plain concrete blocks, which seat 36—if…

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  • NJT Conductor Nabbed in Ticket Fraud

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    John Bobsin

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    A highly-paid NJT conductor has been arrested for reselling used rail tickets.  According to reporting by Mike Frassinelli in the Star-Ledger (Sept. 23), Joseph Abate, a 46-year-old 24-year NJT veteran, made $57,346 in regular salary last year, plus $33,415 in overtime—but apparently that wasn’t enough.  He concocted a scheme to sell apparently unused tickets to…

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  • James T. Raleigh (1934–2013)

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    Donald Winship

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    It is with profound sadness that we note the passing of our Legislative Director, James T. Raleigh. Jim was a scientist, a historian, and a great advocate.  He understood politics, and how officials make the decisions that affect our daily lives.  He made history through his brilliant strategies that helped to defeat New Jersey Transit’s…

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  • NJT to Sandbag Critical Facilities

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    John Bobsin

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    Exploring yet another technology to protect its Meadows Maintenance Facility rail yards in Kearny from possible flooding, NJ Transit has announced its latest effort: sandbags.  Not just any sandbags, these will be pentagon-shaped bags called “TrapBags,” sloped on angles to form a 6-foot-high protective dam around critical electrical facilities, according to reporting by Mike Frassinelli in…

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  • NJT Secrecy Under Fire

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    John Bobsin

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    NJ Transit’s methods for settling personal-injury lawsuits and other legal claims against it, as well as managing its insurance program, have come under fire.  According to reporting by Karen Rouse of The Record and reported in the Star-Ledger (Sept. 12), the railroad has not voted in public on such issues in years.  The votes apparently come…

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  • Gladstone Service Returns Aug. 25 after Storm Disruption

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    John Bobsin

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    Less than 10 months after Hurricane Sandy devastated NJ Transit’s rail operations, the railroad received a sharp reminder of the power of nature on Thursday, August 22, as intense local storms struck northern Somerset County and wiped out the roadbed on the line’s Gladstone Branch in multiple places, disrupting train service for days.  Local weather…

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  • Flood-Proof Yards Make Progress

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    John Bobsin

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    After Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, NJ Transit belatedly realized that not all of its storage yards for rail equipment are storm-safe, after storm-surge waters flooded yards in Hoboken and the Jersey Meadows and damaged many cars and locomotives in the NJT fleet.  In response to the disaster, the railroad decided to invest in additional…

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  • NJT Shortens Princeton ‘Dinky’ Despite Ongoing Legal Challenges

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    Donald Winship

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    The New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers (NJ-ARP) and local Princeton residents have gone to court to stop New Jersey Transit from cutting off 460 feet of the Princeton Branch, known locally as the “Dinky” because it is less than 3 miles long.  These cases are still pending, but NJT has relocated the Princeton station…

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