In a meeting he held with Montclair’s Public Transportation Committee on Wednesday, May 25, Warrington said ongoing platform and track work at Newark’s Broad Street station must be completed before weekend service can be launched, according to a release issued by committee Chairman Donald Zief.
That quote comes from George Warrington, the same guy who insisted he had Amtrak on the glidepath to self-sufficiency.
It makes no sense at all. Why does trackwork at Newark Broad Street station need to be completed before Montclair-Boonton weekend service can start, when ( a ) there is a lot more weekday service that the station is already handling, and ( b ) the station is already used on weekends by Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch trains. Granted, improvements are sorely needed at Broad Street Newark, but there is no reason to put off weekend service on the Montclair Branch until it is complete.
NJ TRANSIT has not been too lucky with predicting opening dates, so it is a shock that they would put their money on the line and announce an autumn 2008 opening date for Montclair-Boonton Line weekend service.
I also fail to understand how the issue of train horns has anything to do with weekend service. Aren't train horns used on weekdays? Do weekend trains do more damage than weekday trains to cars that don't stop at grade crossings?
Montclair is full of NIMBY's and an interesting breed of them who want their service to Manhattan on the weekdays, but they don't want trains running on weekends full of leisure travelers. That is just plain selfish.
now if only we could get the remaining lines into daily service that currently aren't...
The only line left after Montclair-Boonton gets weekend service would be the Pascack Valley Line. We know that controversy has reigned there for a while about the location and number of passing sidings to be installed to allow for bidirectional service on this line. This line will first see reverse peak service on weekdays, and then weekend service can be implimented as well.
I also think it would be more effective if Pascack Valley service is continued west beyond Spring Valley to Suffern so it can share the NJT yard there that is used by the Main and Bergen County Lines.
