New Jersey Transit

The New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) is a private statewide public transportation system serving the U.S. state of New Jersey. It operates bus, light rail, and commuter rail services throughout the state, notably connecting to major commercial and employment centers both within the state and in the adjacent cities of New York and Philadelphia. All but one of NJ Transit's commuter trains feed into New York's Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan or Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey. The exception is the Atlantic City Line, which terminates at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Most NJ Transit commuter buses go to Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal and to Philadelphia's Greyhound Bus Terminal.

History

NJ Transit, founded in 1979, was an offspring of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), mandated by the state government to address the many transportation issues that had developed at the time. NJ Transit came into being with the passage of the Public Transportation Act of 1979 to "acquire, operate and contract for transportation service in the public interest." NJ Transit originally acquired and managed a number of private bus services. Conrail (or Consolidated Rail Corporation) had been formed in 1976 through the merging of a number of financially troubled passenger railroads, and operated commuter railroad service under contract from the NJDOT.

In 1983, NJ Transit assumed operation of all commuter rail service in New Jersey from Conrail. It now operates every passenger and commuter rail line in the state except for Amtrak; the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), which is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; the PATCO Hi-Speedline, which is owned by the Delaware River Port Authority; and a handful of tourist trains in the southern and northwestern parts of New Jersey. New Jersey Transit also runs most of the state's bus lines. In northern New Jersey, many of the bus routes are arranged in a web. In southern New Jersey, most routes are arranged in a "spoke-and-hub" fashion, with routes emanating from Trenton, Camden, and Atlantic City. In addition to routes run by New Jersey Transit, NJ Transit also subsidizes and provides buses for most of the state's private operators, such as Coach USA, Lakeland, and Academy, providing fixed route or commuter service.

In the 1990s, the system expanded, with new MidTOWN DIRECT service to New York City and new equipment. On October 21, 2001 it opened a new station at Newark International Airport. On December 15, 2003, NJ Transit opened the Secaucus Junction transfer station, connecting two major portions of the system, allowing passengers on Hoboken-bound trains to switch trains to get to Midtown Manhattan more conveniently. The transfer saves passengers headed into Midtown Manhattan an estimated 15 minutes of travel time.

On October 31, 2005, NJT took over Clocker (NY-Philadelphia) service from Amtrak. Four new trains were added to the schedule, but service was cut back to Trenton.

Current operations

Bus

NJ Transit operates a statewide network of buses. There are three subdivisions of bus operations:

Transit – local service between two points, such as the #1 bus between Newark and Jersey City
Short Distance Suburban – mostly interstate service between New York City/Philadelphia and close points in New Jersey, such as routes 123-Union City, 125-Journal Square,126-Hoboken. Some routes feed Newark or Jersey City such as the 64-Lakewood, 65-Somerville, 68-New Brunswick, and 75-Butler.
Longer Distance Suburban – routes covering longer distances operating Express for several miles along the route. Some of these routes use over-the-road coaches with restrooms due to trip times. Most restroom equipped-coaches are used on the 319 line and long-distance routes based out of Atlantic City.

NJ Transit owns 3,008 buses and 240 bus routes, a number that includes buses owned by New Jersey Transit, but are in other operators' colors. Bus fares are based on distance.

NJ Transit routes are numbered as follows:

1-99: Intrastate routes originating from Essex and Hudson counties.
100-199: Routes originating from New York City
200-304: No routes
305: Liberty State Park shuttle
307, 308: Six Flags Great Adventure seasonal routes from North Jersey and New York City
310-318: Long distance routes originating from Philadelphia (routes at least 30 miles long)
319: New York-Atlantic City express
320-321: Park-and-ride routes originating from New York City
400-449: Short distance suburban routes serving southern New Jersey that cross the Delaware River.
450-499: Local intrastate service in Camden, Gloucester, and Salem counties.
500-549: Local routes serving the Atlantic City area.
550-559: Long-distance routes originating from Atlantic City. This includes the 551 Atlantic City-Philadelphia express.
600-699: Local routes serving Mercer County and Trenton.
700-749: Local routes serving Passaic County.
750-799: Local routes serving Bergen County.
800-849: Local routes serving Middlesex and Monmouth counties.
850 and higher: WHEELS routes and bus-to-rail shuttles serving primarily rural northwestern New Jersey and suburban office parks.
MCM routes: Local routes serving Morris County.

Warren, Hunterdon, and Sussex Counties are not served by New Jersey Transit bus service, and Sussex and Hunterdon Counties are only served by private carriers operating NJT-owned buses.

Light Rail

NJ Transit operates 3 light rail lines:

Hudson-Bergen Light Rail - a 21-stop, 20.6 mile multi-branch light rail line that runs along the "Gold Coast" from Bayonne to North Bergen with a major stop at Hoboken Terminal, all in Hudson County.
Newark Light Rail (formerly Newark City Subway) - a 12-stop, 4.3-mile light rail system that runs from Newark Penn Station to north Newark and on to Bloomfield. An extension to Newark-Broad Street will open on July 17, 2006, adding four stops to the line.
River LINE - a 20-stop, 34-mile light rail line that runs from Trenton to Camden along the Delaware River, mostly along the Bordentown Secondary line formerly owned by Conrail.

Light rail fares, unlike bus fares, are not based on distance. Instead, the Newark Light Rail and River LINE fare is a flat $1.25, and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail fare is a flat $1.75 (transfers to bus lines are extra).

Rail

NJ Transit has 11 commuter rail lines:

Future

THE Tunnel

NJ Transit is preparing to construct a new two-track Hudson River tunnel adjacent to the two existing single-track tunnels (built in the early 20th century) by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The tunnels are on the Northeast Corridor. NJ Transit is billing this project as THE Tunnel or Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel, which using Dual-Mode Locomotives will allow for the first time a one-seat ride between the Port Jervis, Main, Bergen County, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley lines and Penn Station New York.

Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link

Construction has been completed on a section of the Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link, a project in three stages that will eventually link the downtowns of Newark and Elizabeth via the Newark City Subway and a new proposed Union County Light Rail. The first stage of construction will link Newark Broad Street and Newark Penn Station with a light rail line officially called the Newark City Subway Extension and is set to open on July 17th, 2006.

Lackawanna Cutoff

In May of 2001, New Jersey Transit purchased the property of the Lackawanna Cutoff. This line, constructed by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad between 1908 and 1911 provided a direct, level-graded route between the Delaware River (Slateford, Pennsylvania), two miles (3.25 km) below the Delaware Water Gap, to the crest of the watershed at Lake Hopatcong (Port Morris, New Jersey). The DL&W was very fond of concrete construction, and as a result, most of the structures, including stations, bridges, and vast viaducts are still in operational or near-operational condition, even though the line was abandoned by Conrail in 1979. A 2004 study conducted by New Jersey Transit estimates that bringing the line back into operation would cost approximately $350 million. The proposed rehabilitation project, which still lacks funding, if completed, would provide direct, high-speed commuter rail service between Scranton, Pennsylvania and New York Penn Station. Service to Midtown Manhattan would be made available to the growing exurban communities in Monroe County in the Poconos, and in upper Waren County and lower Sussex CountyLackawanna Cutoff, accessed June 15, 2006.

NYC-Atlantic City service

On June 20, 2006, the board of New Jersey Transit approved a three-year trial of express train service between New York Penn Station and Atlantic City Rail Terminal. The estimated travel time will be 2½ hours with a few stops along the way and is part of the Casinos' multi-million dollar investments in Atlantic City. Most of the funding for the new transit line will be provided by Harrah's Entertainment (owners of both Harrah's Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City) and the Borgata. The line is expected to be in service by the end of 2007, but details on the line's operation are scantNJ TRANSIT BOARD APPROVES NEW YORK – ATLANTIC CITY EXPRESS RAIL SERVICE press release, accessed June 20, 2006.

References

External links