Lackawanna Coalition

advocating for rail passengers since 1979

  • Station Inspection Form

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    We are reviving our past practice of station inspections and will be compiling results to bring to the attention of NJ Transit, both concerns and compliments. We encourage folks to submit their findings.

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  • From Florida on Valentine’s Day

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    Member Gary Kazin, a “snowbird” who winters in Florida and is an avid cyclist, sent in this report from his travels this past Valentine’s Day: We’re in Kissimmee, Florida, an appropriate destination for Valentine’s Day weekend, for the Florida Folk Dance Council’s Winter Camp, which started Friday evening and ends at noon Monday.  Eat (too…

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  • AmeriStar Rail: More Service on the NEC, Rail Plans for LaGuardia

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    As we learned at our November, meeting, there could be a lot more trains on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC) with AmeriStar Rail’s operating plan (www.ameristarrail.com/impact). Chief Operating Officer Scott R. Spencer presented that plan to us, saying that the NEC is currently underutilized. The restructured plan for intercity trains would not affect NJ Transit (including…

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  • Report from the Chair, Jan./Feb. 2022

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    Sally Jane Gellert

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    The Lackawanna Coalition and the N.J. Rail Passengers’ Association have both argued that the proposed “Customer Advocate” position in the NJ Transit reform bill is erroneously and misleadingly named, and our position has itself caused some confusion. Take a look at the dictionary definition of the word advocate (from dictionary.com) Advocate, noun: a person who…

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  • Accomplishments over the Past Year

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    testified (both David Peter Alan and Sally Jane Gellert) at Transit Equity Day, Feb. 4, hearings organized by the Labor Network for Sustainability, stressing the needs of the transit-dependent and the value of public transit for a healthy environment encouraged NJ Transit to open its larger stations as vaccination sites, which they did in August…

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  • A Tribute to Mr. G.

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    Sally Jane Gellert

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    We read in the Star-Ledger of the passing of Mr. Russell Graddy, “Mr. G.”, whom we had met in the course of his fight for justice from NJ Transit.  Over 2 or 3 years, he and his group of dedicated supporters showed up at each board meeting in “Justice for Mr. G.” T-shirts, speaking truth…

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  • Resolved: We Call for Permanent Federal Operating Support for Transit

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    At a meeting of the Lackawanna Coalition held at Millburn, New Jersey and by telephone conference on October 25, 2021, the following resolution was adopted: WHEREAS the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes in travel patterns in the United States, including reduced commuting on New Jersey Transit (NJT) and similar railroads that formerly served…

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  • Report from the Chair, Nov./Dec. 2021

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    Sally Jane Gellert

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    At the October NJ Transit board meeting, I commented on the difficulty of finding information on agenda items in order to make meaningful comments. In previous administrations, the final written agenda included a lot more detail on action items. As I looked over the packed agenda, there were items on which I had questions. I…

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  • NJT Board Members: Wake Up!

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    Portal North Bridge Is Out of Money Already! Stop the presses, NJ Transit Board members, please wake up! The $1.56 billion Portal North Bridge construction contract you approved unanimously at a special meeting last Oct. 12 is a whopping $340 million (28%) over the $1.22 billion contract cost in the PNB Project capital budget! The…

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  • Secaucus to Meadowlands Transitway

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    At the added August board meeting, a concept/design contract for this project, which began in April with an Innovation Challenge. The goal is to improve transit between Secaucus Junction and the Meadowlands complex. We question spending $3.5 million for the study—for that, we could surely have weekend service to Montclair State!—but given the approval, hope…

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