In light of the Interstate 80 closures, NJ Transit reduced fares for riders west of Dover. We, of course, appreciate this action to ease people’s pain, described in detail elsewhere in this issue. However, if service is to increase, things must change; certain facts on infrastructure and operations must be faced: There is no weekend service. Electrification ends at Dover. The line is single track west of Port Morris Yard*.
The major limiting factor for expanding service is that single tracking. Lake Hopatcong and Mount Arlington stations are double tracked. NJT recently purchased the remainder of the line as far as Hackettstown; this was part of Northfolk Southern’s Washington Secondary. Electrifying the Morris & Essex lines to Port Morris yard (or beyond) would allow electric locomotives to access PSNY.
Another limiting factor to running substantially more trains in the area is the single tracking on the western part of the Montclair-Boonton line. Although this is a completely separate issue, it would be remiss not to mention this parallel problem. Riders on both lines would benefit from more service made possible by double-tracking.
As a reminder, if you need a back-up to the train, Lakeland Bus is available at 3 stations: Dover, Mount Arlington, Netcong.
*Port Morris Yard is located west of Lake Hopatcong station.
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