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Quiet Cars Coming to Midday Hoboken Trains

In a move for which members of our organization have recently been calling, NJ Transit has announced the expansion of its Quiet Commute program outside of rush hours, according to a report from Mike Frassinelli.  The trial program will begin with midday trains to and from Hoboken Terminal on weekdays staring May 5.  The quiet car will be the same position in the train as the existing rush-hour Hoboken trains — that is, the first car of trains to Hoboken and the last car of trains departing from there.  NJT Executive Director Ronnie Hakim added that this program is a part of a new initiative called COR (“Civility, Order and Respect”). “This seemed like the right time to undertake a bit of a public education campaign — a reminder, really — to people that we want to have a very calm, civil, respectful environment in our transit system,” she said. “It’s going to cover the gamut.  Because I’ve been on the train when you hear young people using foul language, for an example, and it’s not pleasant and it’s not appropriate.” We at the Coalition look forward to seeing a reduction in loudness and rowdy behavior on trains, which has been far more common outside of peak hours. 

Read Mike Frassinelli’s article here.

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A Hoboken Cure for the Midtown Woes

Does it seem like almost every other day that there is a delay on trains to New York?  Based on data from NJ Transit’s e-mail alerts, there have been delays, more often than every third day, reported to this rider, whose home station is Mount Tabor, on the M&E Line west of Morristown!  In the 92 days from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, I received 49 delay alerts on 33 different days.  The vast majority, 41 alerts on 27 days, affected Midtown Direct service.  I believe this is due to the sheer number of trains going through the two Midtown tunnels.  At least three times, the Midtown tunnels were so jammed that all Midtown trains on the M&E were redirected to Hoboken.

Continue Reading A Hoboken Cure for the Midtown Woes

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Quiet Cars Coming to Midday Hoboken Trains

In a move members of our organization have been calling for recently, NJ Transit has announced the expansion of its Quiet Commute program outside of rush hours according to a report from Mike Frassinelli. The trial program will begin with midday trains to and from Hoboken Terminal, on weekdays staring May 5. The quiet car will be the same position in the train as the existing rush-hour Hoboken trains — that is, the first car of trains to Hoboken and the last car of trains departing from there. NJT Executive Director Ronnie Hakim added that this program is a part of a new initiative called COR (“Civility, Order and Respect”). “”This seemed like the right time to undertake a bit of a public education campaign — a reminder, really — to people that we want to have a very calm, civil, respectful environment in our transit system,” she said. “It’s going to cover the gamut. Because I’ve been on the train when you hear young people using foul language, for an example, and it’s not pleasant and it’s not appropriate.” We at the Coalition look forward to seeing a reduction in loudness and rowdy behavior on trains, which has been far more common outside of peak hours.

Read Mike Frassinelli’s article here.

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A Hoboken Cure for the Midtown Woes

Opinion

Does it seem like almost every other day that there is a delay on trains to New York? Based on data from NJ Transit’s e-mail alerts, there have been delays, more often than every third day, reported to this rider, whose home station is Mount Tabor, on the M&E Line west of Morristown! In the 92 days from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, I received 49 delay alerts on 33 different days. The vast majority, 41 alerts on 27 days, affected Midtown Direct service. I believe that this is due to the sheer number of trains going through the two Midtown tunnels. At least 3 times, the Midtown tunnels were so jammed that all Midtown trains on the M&E were redirected to Hoboken.

Continue Reading A Hoboken Cure for the Midtown Woes
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Report from the Chair, Mar./Apr. 2014

Everybody knows that New York’s Penn Station (NYP) is crowded with commuters during peak-commuting hours, and we have a way to reduce demand for those scarce seats that will not require any capital investment.  We call on New Jersey Transit to restore reduced “off-peak” rail fares, and to implement fare policies that will make it less expensive to go to New York through Hoboken Terminal.

Commissioner James S. Simpson has called for the restoration of off-peak rail fares several times, and we strongly agree.  As the official representative of our riders and our communities, we continue to request a meaningful opportunity to participate in decision-making about these fare policies.

We objected strenuously when NJT eliminated off-peak rail fares in 2010, a change that removed an incentive for riders to travel at times when there is enough train and station capacity to accommodate them easily.  The next fare increase could come soon, and it will provide an opportunity to switch to a fare structure that will promote efficient use of our rail system.  It would not be good for our riders, or for NJT, if the current fare policies continue.  One important step toward restoring a discounted off-peak rail fare is to refrain from raising off-peak fares when peak-hour and commuter fares are increased.  The last fare increase was high for commuters and peak-hour riders: 25%.  It was massive and unprecedented for off-peak rail riders: 47% and as high as 64% for some fare zones.

Continue Reading Report from the Chair, Mar./Apr. 2014

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Hoboken Terminal Coming Back, One Piece at a Time

Hoboken Terminal is slowly coming back, following mold contamination due to severe flooding damage from Hurricane Sandy more than one year ago.  The waiting room, with its historic benches, reopened on November 18th.  Now, the ticket office and some of the eateries in the station have reopened, as well.  Some of the stores are still closed, and the customer service facility and station master’s office are still located in a trailerlike structure located on the concourse between the high-numbered tracks and the building.  We hope the rest of the building will reopen soon.

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Hoboken Waiting Room Reopens

NJ Transit has reopened the historic waiting room at Hoboken Terminal; a visit on Monday, November 19 at 5 p.m. confirmed that the terminal has reopened.  The most recent reporting on the subject, just a few days ago, forecast the reopening before winter weather sets in; apparently, NJT has been able to beat those predictions.  The availability of the terminal, and its restrooms, has a checkered history following the flooding on October 29, 2012; the terminal had initially been reopened on November 18, 2012, a few weeks after the storm, but then mold was discovered and the terminal was closed again on December 19, 2012.  During the 2012-13 winter, riders had to rely on parked trains for heated waiting space and use nonflushable toilets.  In recent months, the terminal reopened but with the historic wooden benches still closed off, and temporary seating installed.  In the final stages of restoration, the terminal was again closed off, but restrooms were accessible through a side entrance facing Warrington Plaza at the north side of the building.  Some of the doors to the rail platform area remain out of service, as temporary ticket offices were built and block access to those doors.

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Hoboken Waiting Room Closed—Restrooms Open

NJT has announced that the waiting area in the main waiting room at Hoboken will be closed for several months starting Monday, October 7, at 9 a.m.; restrooms will remain open, with alternative access.  Since the waiting room was flooded in Hurricane Sandy almost a year ago, the historic benches have been closed, with alternative seating provided; this new closure presumably will allow the eventual reopening of the entire historic waiting room.

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Hoboken Recovery: Restrooms to Reopen

It’s been almost 10 months since Hurricane Sandy devastated NJ Transit’s operations.  Nearly all trains have since returned, but at the railroad’s iconic Hoboken terminal, things are far from normal.  The storm flooded the main waiting room and its restrooms have been out of service ever since; passengers are directed to hard-to-find replacements.  For months, the only “facilities” were on a parked train.

NJT has now announced the reopening of the restrooms as of Monday, August 19, according to reporting  by Mike Frassinelli in the Star-Ledger (August 15).  However, the restoration is not complete: the waiting room will be shut down for about 8 weeks starting about October 1 to restore its historic wooden benches and woodwork.  The benches are currently covered, pending the restoration work.  During the closure, NJT said, arrangements will be made to ensure access to the restrooms, which are inside the waiting room, and incentives will be offered to the contractors to get the work done before the onset of winter, when the heated waiting room becomes a real necessity.

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NJT Says 97% of Hoboken Trains Will Be Running by March 24

New Jersey Transit says that 97% of the level of service to and from Hoboken Terminal that ran before Hurricane Sandy flooded the facility last fall will be running by March 24th.  Timetables effective March 24 can now be downloaded from the NJT web site.  The same document from NJT also said that the rest of the trains would not be restored until the end of 2013.