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Christie Administration Announces Restoration of Limited Rail Service to Newark on Friday


Christie Administration Announces Restoration of Limited Rail Service to Newark on Friday Northeast Corridor Service to Operation on a Special Schedule Between Trenton and Newark Penn Station North Jersey Coast Line Service to Operate Between Woodbridge and Newark Penn Station Raritan Valley Line Service to Operate Between Raritan and Newark

Trenton, NJ –(ENEWSPF)–November 1, 2012. The Christie Administration announced the restoration of limited rail service on three of NJ TRANSIT’s rail lines starting Friday, November 2, as part of the Administration’s ongoing efforts to restore NJ TRANSIT service as soon as it becomes possible. This service restoration includes service along three lines:  Northeast Corridor service between Trenton Transit Center and Newark Penn Station, North Jersey Coast Line service between Woodbridge and Newark Penn Station, and Raritan Valley Line service between Raritan and Newark Penn Station.  A special schedule will be posted on njtransit.com by 7:00 p.m. this evening. 

“As the backbone of the NJ TRANSIT rail system, the restoration of Northeast Corridor service is a significant step in providing a level of service to NJ TRANSIT’s customers,” said Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman James Simpson.  “Our work is far from done, as we still face a number of operational challenges, but we will continue working tirelessly to further restore service where we can safely do so.”

Service to Penn Station New York will resume following Amtrak’s restoration of the Hudson River Tunnels and it’s signal system is complete.

On Thursday, November 1, NJ TRANSIT restored the majority of bus service throughout the state, operating full service on 68 bus routes in northern New Jersey and 18 bus routes in southern New Jersey, and restoring partial service on 58 bus routes in northern New Jersey and 17 routes in southern New Jersey.  Also on Thursday, River Line service was restored between the Trenton Transit Center and the Entertainment Center in Camden, operating on a Sunday schedule.  Limited Access Link paratransit service resumed operation as well. 

NJ TRANSIT is advising customers of the following: 

Rail Service:

  • Northeast Corridor:  On Friday, November 2, service will resume between Trenton Transit Center and Newark Penn Station, operating on a special schedule.
  • North Jersey Coast Line:  On Friday, November 2, service will resume between Woodbridge and Newark Penn Station, operating on a special schedule.  Rail service between Bay Head and Woodbridge remains suspended. An assessment of rail infrastructure has revealed significant damage across the system, including:
    • Morgan Drawbridge in South Amboy sustained damage from boats and a trailer that collided into the bridge. 
    • There are wires and trees down, as well as rail washouts (no ballast under the tracks), between South Amboy and Bay Head.
  • Raritan Valley Line:  On Friday, November 2, service will resume between Raritan and Newark Penn Station only, operating on a special schedule.  Rail service between High Bridge and Raritan remains suspended.
  • Morris & Essex, Montclair-Boonton, Main/Bergen and Atlantic City Rail lines:  Service remains suspended.   An assessment of rail infrastructure has revealed significant damage across the system, including:
    • There is major damage due to downed trees between Summit and Millburn, as well as in Denville and Morristown.  There is also overhead wire damage, including signal wires, with support poles down in Lyons and Bernardsville.  In addition, rail washouts (no ballast under the tracks) occurred at Kearny Junction, where Midtown Direct service connects to the Northeast Corridor. Rail washouts also occurred at several tracks in Hoboken Terminal and at Netcong Station.
    • Elsewhere on the rail system, local power outages have prevented NJ TRANSIT rail operations from being able to further test crossing gates and operating signals.  In addition, hundreds of downed trees have fallen across the rail system, which have caused damage to overhead wires and signal wires.  Several rail stations have sustained flood damage, including Hoboken Terminal.

Bus Service:

  • Bus service is operating on 68 bus routes in northern New Jersey and 18 bus routes in southern New Jersey, providing service over the entire routes with no detours or truncations.   For a complete list, visit njtransit.com.
  • Partial service is operating on 58 bus routes in northern New Jersey and 17 routes in southern New Jersey, with detours or truncations due to ongoing impacts from Hurricane Sandy.  For details, visit njtransit.com
  • Bus service on routes not listed remains suspended until further notice.  Power outages in local communities have resulted in the loss of traffic control devices critical to safe operation in some areas.  Downed tree limbs and power lines continue to make many roads impassable.  Personnel are in the field reviewing and assessing these conditions in order to ensure that service is restored as soon as it becomes safe to do so. 

Light Rail Service:

  • River Line is operating on a Sunday schedule between Trenton Transit Center and the Entertainment Center in Camden. 
  • Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and Newark Light Rail service will remain suspended until further notice.  There is currently no estimated time for resumption of service.   An assessment of rail infrastructure has revealed significant damage across the system, including:
    • Newark Light Rail sustained flooding in Newark Penn Station, as well as major debris damage between Newark Penn and Branch Brook Park stations.
    • Hudson-Bergen Light Rail experienced track washouts at Port Imperial and West Side Avenue stations, as well as trees in the overhead wire in Weehawken and flooding in Hoboken.

Access Link:

  • Access Link service is operating in the following regions:
    • Region 2, which includes Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.
    • Region 3, which includes Atlantic, Cape May and Southern Ocean County.

Monthly Pass Extension:

NJ TRANSIT has extending the validity period for October monthly passes until Wednesday, November 7 for customer convenience.

Service Updates:

For the latest travel information, customers should listen to broadcast traffic reports, visit or access NJ TRANSIT’s Twitter feed at @NJ_TRANSIT. Additionally, NJ TRANSIT will provide the most current service information via the My Transit alert system (www.njtransit.com/mytransit), which delivers travel advisories for your specific trip to your cell phone, PDA or pager. Service information is also available by calling (973) 275-5555.

Source: http://www.state.nj.us


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