Plan Approved Today Could Provide Bergen County Commuters with Direct “One Seat” Access to Manhattan Via Train
This is great news for Bergen County’s Economy and great news for the local real estate market. Governor Corzine expects this project to create 6,000 local jobs. Additionally, direct “one seat” train access to Manhattan will make Bergen County an even more attractive place to live. This move will enable Bergen County to better compete with Union and Morris Counties which already have the Midtown Direct Line which provides “one seat” access to New York City.
Click below to read the article from today’s Record
http://www.northjersey.com/news/transportation/Rail_tunnel_to_Manhattan_gets_final_OK.html
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With the regularity of trains breaking down in the current tunnels and delays suffered by commuters, there is clearly a need to relieve the bottleneck into Penn station. Also, with the long planning times and known political wrangling, one would not want to do anything to slow down, or potentially stop the progress on the Access to the Region’s Core tunnel project.
However, when one stands back and takes a look at the bigger picture the following emerges:
1 Penn Station is overcrowded
2 The streets around Penn station cannot handle the pedestrian traffic
3 Commuter passengers from New Jersey arriving at Penn station work in the Financial district, Midtown, or uptown. Only a percentage of passengers actually want to be in the vicinity of Penn station.
4 New Jersey Transit focuses its rides to Penn station using the one-seat rides concept, but commuters have to change seats to use the subway, or cabs, to get to their ultimate destinations.
5 There is currently a project underway to develop a second station under Grand Central. This will provide access from Queens.
6 The 7 Line extension currently under construction will go from Grand Central and pass underneath the Port Authority.
So:
1 Why not build the new tunnels to go to Grand Central, and provide a stop at the Port Authority.? The new 7 Line under construction can be used between PA and Grand Central.
2 Provide New York downtown PATH access to/from Secaucus Junction.
3 Turn Secaucus Junction into the main transportation hub in New Jersey from where commuters can choose which part of Manhattan (or Long Island) they want to go to. Ridgewood commuters will then have access to all of Manhattan from within NJ.
Benefits: This will:
1 Provide a “Most Convenient Seat” rather than a “One Seat” ride that takes commuters more closely to their end destination. Please consider the commuters overall ride, not just their NJ portion of the ride.
2 Reduce train and commuter congestion at Penn station
3 Reduce pedestrian congestion around Penn station
4 Provide high capacity alternatives for emergency situations
Eric – This makes a lot of sense to me. Is this something being considered?
Eric’s proposal makes a lot more sense than NJT’s, but it’s too late in the game to change anything. Direct access to GCT was one of the original proposals for the Access to the Regions Core project, but it was dropped for reasons that have yet to be made clear to the public. Myself, I’d love to see the 7 train extended to Secaucus, so Jersey folks would have direct access to the NYC subway system, and New Yorkers would have direct access to the Meadowlands sports complex and Xanadu, but the MTA has no interest in making that happen.
The tunnel project as presently planned is a boondoggle of epic proportions. Short-term, it will provide a lot of construction jobs and a boost to the economy, but future generations won’t thank us for it. Since the new tunnel doesn’t connect to old Penn Station, it offers little by way of redundancy when there’s a problem with the old tunnels. Doubling the number of trains into NYC will fill the new tunnels and their inadequate six-track terminal deep under 34th St to capacity, so there will be little if any relief from the congestion and delays that currently plague the system.
Further, the proposed one-seat ride relies on high-performance dual-mode locomotives that don’t exist anywhere in the world. If the technology was feasible, the Japanese and Germans would be using it already. Even if it does work, Ridgewood commuters should understand that not all trains will go to New York, and you can forget about most of the express service, as NJT will be pressured to make nearly every town a Midtown Direct stop. This is exactly what happened on the Morristown Line when they got their Midtown Direct service a few years back. Commutes slowed for Montclair-Boonton Line passengers when they got their Midtown Direct service, too. A one-seat ride is convenient, but when the trade-off is a slower and less reliable commute, is it really worth it?
Chris – The way you explain it, it seems like it is obvious that there is a better way to go. What is the motivation for NJT to move forward in a way that makes little sense? What am I misssing?
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