Lackawanna Coalition

advocating for rail passengers since 1979

  • NJT’s Board and Executive Director Honor Jim Raleigh

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    Donald Winship

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    At its meeting on Nov. 13, the New Jersey Transit Board of Directors paid tribute to the late James T. Raleigh (1934-2013), who had served as the Lackawanna Coalition’s Legislative Director for seven years prior to his death. Commissioner and Board Chair James S. Simpson and NJT Executive Director James W. Weinstein praised Raleigh for…

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  • NJT Offers a Ticket Good Everywhere, But Only for Super Bowl Week

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    David Peter Alan

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    New Jersey Transit is offering a special ticket, good on NJT bus, rail, light rail and Access-Link paratransit. It is called the Super-Pass and offers unlimited transportation for eight days from Monday, Jan. 27 through Monday, Feb. 3. It costs $50 and can be purchased only on NJT’s website, www.njtransit.com, through Jan. 14. This one-time…

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  • Report from the Chair: Jan./Feb. 2014

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    David Peter Alan

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    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…

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  • Drive, Don’t Ride: Congress

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    John Bobsin

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    Once again, it appears that Congress has no trouble subsidizing people who drive to work, but transit users?  That’s another matter. The disparity is sharply in focus these days, as the program that allows transit riders a tax benefit was slashed at the turn of the year, while benefits for drivers increased.  The disparity amounts…

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  • Hoboken Terminal Coming Back, One Piece at a Time

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    David Peter Alan

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    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…

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  • NY Restrooms Closed for Renovation

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    John Bobsin

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    Nearly 6 months after NJ Transit’s 7th Avenue Concourse restrooms at New York Penn Station embarrassed the railroad when their decrepit conditions were publicly disclosed, a 2-week renovation began on January 2 as the facilities were closed for the work.  Temporary repairs had been made after NJ Association of Railroad Passengers President Albert Papp Jr.…

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  • Metro-North Hit by Worker Fraud Charges

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    John Bobsin

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    Metro-North Railroad, still reeling from the fatal train wreck on December 1 and consequent operating changes forced by federal inquiries, now is contending with an investigation by the inspector general of its parent agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to reporting by Matt Flegenheimer in The New York Times (Dec. 19). The investigation, covering a…

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  • Raritan–Manhattan Direct Service Begins March 2

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    John Bobsin

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    NJ Transit will begin offering limited direct service from stations on the Raritan Valley Line to New York Penn Station beginning March 2, the first direct service to Manhattan ever offered to riders on the line.  However, the service will not be provided during peak commuter hours, because of the unavailability of timeslots to add…

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  • Charges Unlikely in Metro-North Wreck

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    John Bobsin

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    After 4 passengers died in the Metro-North wreck on December 1, suspicion rapidly focused on the engineer after it became apparent that he either dozed off or was in some sort of “highway hypnosis” state before the crash—but does that put him at fault, or is he just human?  According to reporting online by Murray…

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  • Metro-North Safety Commitment Questioned

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    John Bobsin

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    Two weeks after Metro-North (M-N) Railroad’s fatal crash on December 1, questions continue to surface regarding the railroad’s attention to safety.  Significant changes in the line’s safety procedures were implemented startlingly quickly after the wreck, within days in some cases, leading observers to wonder why they couldn’t have been in effect earlier and prevented the…

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