Arriving in TRENTON


Do not know the Manufacturer, neither did the NJT conductor on my train?

I believe they are being manufactured by Bombardier.

indeed they are by Bombardier. I've ridden them and man they are nice, compared to the old Arrow III cars. wife's 5:55am trainset to NYC was switched from these to Arrows, due to the NEC tie replacement work, and boy is she P.O'd!

Bombardier is the sole manufacturer of new passenger cars in the US these days, aren't they?

They pretty much cornered the market when they had to finish the Superliner II cars that Pullman Standard started back in the early 80's if I recall.

Nice looking cars for a bi-level!

yeah, they are nice. they had to be designed for the North River tunnels, which are 100 years old this year, so they are shorter than most BiLevels you'd find.

2 of these cars I spotted at a MARC equipment storage yard Adjacent to the South End of the Inner Harbor Tunnel on I-95. A colleague who works for a Maryland Transportation Design Firm informed me these cars are be evaluated by MARC for use in a Low-clearance Ex-PRR tunnel but he did not specify which route.

It seems that MARC traditionally piggybacks onto other Railroad's orders of equipment (IE: AEM-7, HHP-8 Locomotives)

It hope these cars work out: at 140 people per car times 12 cars thats 1680 people (not counting standees) and I will presume that takes 1400-1650 cars off our choked highway system.

quote:

Bombardier is the sole manufacturer of new passenger cars in the US these days, aren't they?

They pretty much cornered the market when they had to finish the Superliner II cars that Pullman Standard started back in the early 80's if I recall.

That's becasue they bought the plans from Pullman for all the Pullman PAx cars.

DEFINETLY Bombardier 100.99 %

The cars are an excellent ride into Penn Station. They are now used on the Morris and Essex Line on selected trains, always powered by the new AlP-46's. They lowered the cars to get them through the tunnels so you enter at platform level on either end and then either go to the upper level (above the station level) or lower level (below the station level). Seating is two and two rather than the three and two on the order Comet Cars. The bilevels hold 20% more passengers than the older cars. However that is even more pronounced since most of the older cars never have 100% seating in the center seat on the three seat side, unless the train is absolutely full. Jerry

And some of the single level Pullman/bombardier commuter cars have gone to the Utah commuter start up program too!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: prrhorseshoecurve,

Saw my first 'live' set crossing the NJ Turnpike a few weeks back! It is good to see NJT continue to improve its network.

quote:

It is good to see NJT continue to improve its network.

Jonathan Peiffer

Abeit ever so slowly. BUT it could be worse as in no expanion plans for commuters a la Metro North or SEPTA...the Worst out of the WHOLE region!

uh curve...
as for expansion, it was not that long ago NJT electrified the Coast Line down to Bay Head, greatly improving service. the addition of over 200 BiLevel cars (when the order is complete) is a huge improvement to crowded trains. and they've been fighting for the MOM (Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex) passenger expansion for years but our pinhead governor wouldn't know a good idea if it bit him.

plus... their still pushing for the Lackawanna cutoff route!

yup, sitting on their hands I'd say.

The Portal Draw Bridge spans the Hackensack River about six miles west of New York City's Penn Station on the Northeast Corridor. It is as critical as the North River Tunnels into Penn Station. The bridge was involved in a fire several years ago, which fortunately took it out of service for only a short period of time. If it were to fail then there is no way to provide train service from the South into NYC. Repair or replacement is being put off because of budget concerns. Not addressing this issue in a timely manner is a very short sighted approach to a potentially disastrous situation. Jerry

Jerry,
Amtrak is in the middle of the environmental impact statement process with the NJDEP. The portal draw replacement project is moving forward, albeit very slowly. They are fully aware of the tenuous nature of the draw and its impact on the THE tunnel project and increasing traffic levels.

They may be aware of the situation however, you won't see anything happen in the next 10 years. I am confident the Portal Bridge and the tunnels will not be replaced in the next decade. Hopefully there will not be a Bridge Failure before a replacement is in place. Jerry

Believe me when I say that you are all spoiled by transit in NJ. Having left NJ right about the time the power came to Long Branch, I still have a deep respect for the amount of effort that was put into a broken system of defunct railroads to pull together the modern NJT. I am fan of the NY&LB in way that likely no one my age is, but lets face it, the system was broken by the Adelene Plan and only started recovering after NJ made a committment to make things better. (this is from someone who is not yet 40!)

Contrast that to the prototypical western city of Phoenix where 6 lanes freeways with 65mph speed limits rule the metro center and we are only getting our first light rail at the end of the year. The bus system is questionable at best and when I could ride my bike 23 miles to work faster than I could take the bus system there, I knew this was not the world I grew up in. My ultimate solution was to move 5 miles from my office giving me a 10 minute commute, but that came at a higher mortgage on an older house. If I had an option for transit, I would prefer it!

Now back on topic, it is interesting that NJT is getting to BiLevel cars in 2008 when the LIRR had them in the 40's!

it is interesting that NJT is getting to BiLevel cars in 2008 when the LIRR had them in the 40's!

the old and new bones of the Pennsylvania RR.

The new Bi-Levels....The way to go! (Ops, did I not steal something from NJT?)

quote:

Originally posted by DominicMazoch:
The new Bi-Levels....The way to go! (Ops, did I not steal something from NJT?)

You know the routine. Pay your royalty fee and move to the back of the line ....

I hate to pour cold water on those who believe NJT will be greatly expanding and improving its network over the next few years, or anytime in the near future. The sad reality is that NJT cannot even affort to keep its current services running. It seems that this is a result of soaring fuel prices and the state not delivering as much money as promised. I believe the proposed amount of NJT operating subsidies was expected to be about 400 million, but was cut back to 360. With the hugue debt load of the state of NJ, it is unlikely next year will provide any more money.

The cuts in our current rail services began in May of this year. Through service between Hoboken and Gladstone on the weekends was eliminated and replaced with shuttles run every other hour between Hoboken and Newark and hourly shuttles between Gladstone and Summit. This replaced a slow, but one seat ride with two train changes and only every other hour service to Hoboken. However, the big news was the elimination of most of the weekday Dover to Hoboken service with cuts that went as deep as eliminating rush hour express trains. Many of the vanishing trains had run since EL days, and were heavily relied upon by school children and poorer workers that traveled between suburban towns.

In August weekday offpeak Bayhead to Hoboken trains will be eliminated, reducing the attractiveness of traveling to the Jersey Shore by train. I should note here that the weekend shore extras were already eliminated last year. Also, Sunday moring service on the Raritan Valley line will be cut in half with trains operating only every two hours. For you CNJ fans, NJ Transit's offical press realease on the Raritan line says that bus service can be used as a substitute.

I wish I could end my post here, but I already am hearing that the old Erie lines will be up for service reductions next. Also, on the management and administrative side, about 20 percent of the jobs at Penn Plaza will be cut or eliminated through buyouts. Watching this happen, it is very hard for me to have any optimism about service increases. It is true that more ALP46 locos and bilevels are on on order. But when they arive they will see service on a greatly downsised railroad. Of course, they will only arive if the state comes up with the money to pay for them. The same is true for the new tunnel to NYC and Portal Bridge: New Jersey has only put forth money to begin these projects, and there is no proposal as to how the bulk of the money for the actual construction will be raised.

everything Glenn is saying about service cuts is true. I get amazed at that because of the revenue from ridership levels, which are huge on the NEC and perhaps other lines, is just not enough to support the NJT budget

The fact that the state of NJ is going to h#ll financially, with no sane end in sight, just adds huge insult to injury.

Now go figure, the most densely populated state in the Union, with the highest percentage of outdated, overused rail infrastructure... and no help from Trenton.

Glenn in his very accurate assessment only spoke about NJ Transit cuts. The Portal Bridge and the Tunnels are projects that only the Federal Government with help from the states could pay for. We most likely will never see it happen, despite the rhetoric that continues. The mass transportation issues that the United States is facing began in the Eisenhower Administration after World War II and the Korean Conflict.

At that time Washington elected to build the Interstate Road System and abandon the Railroads. So the Automobile manufacturers and Petroleum interests have benefited for the past 60 years while the railroads went into the decline we see today. What if Coal was a clean burning alternative to petroleum (it’s not because no research money was spent to clean it up), how would we transport it to urban areas without spending massive amounts of money to rehabilitate the railroads? These are very interesting points to consider. Jerry

quote:

Originally posted by PRR Man:
uh curve...
as for expansion, it was not that long ago NJT electrified the Coast Line down to Bay Head, greatly improving ...

Bayhead Terminal is not serviced by electrics.

Heading over the Manasquan Inlet to/from Bayhead.




Paul

I miss the weekend diesel extras on the NJCL. As frequent patrons between Red Bank and PPB going to Jenkinson's, the one seat ride was quite convenient when compared to the change at Long Branch. Nonetheless, the NJCL remains our preferred mode of transport as weekend vehicular traffic on the GSP, Route 35 and within PPB is beyond insane at this time of year.

Bob

Oh, if it were only possible for me to grab a train for my commute (Jackson, N.J. to
Rahway, N.J. Right now, it's 75 mi. roundtrip, 25 mpg, $4 a gallon, $12 per workday.
Alas, the only train I could get that stops at Rahway boards at Point Pleasant at some
awful hour when even the birds aren't up yet. Point Pleasant station is 20 min. away
on a good-weather day. There is a proposed M.O.M. line (Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex)
that would tie into the Northeast Corridor. But, by the time they get that s.o.b.
built, I'll be retired. I think, though, that given our country's recurring crises
with foreign petroleum, a return to more expanded rail service will become necessary,
not only with commuter passenger, but freight also. There's just way more efficient
movement of people/goods when it comes to rail-versus-car/truck.

HOPPY