JERSEY CITY | PATH Train Ridership Growing Rapidly

[C.]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

I don't think this means there will be a second South Newark station. I interpreted this to mean that the Airport station already planned will be near Haynes and Frelinghuysen, and that the Transit Village is planned in that same vicinity.

The intersection of Frelinghuysen and Haynes is only 800 feet away from where the current Newark Airport NJTransit station is located. So it wouldn't make sense to build two stations 800 feet apart.

Yeah.... I think you're right. I hope they finish some preliminary plans soon. It's still possible it may benefit the South Newark neighborhoods, but it's all going to depend on the exact location and layout of the station.

[C.]

The 6,000 daily ridership projection is way off, IMO. It's currently a $120+ cab ride from Newark to Manhattan. There are also many thousands of airport and airline workers that are based in NYC\North Jersey. A one (or two) seat ride to Manhattan will be very attractive. Almost 100,000 people pass through Newark everyday.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

I don't think this means there will be a second South Newark station. I interpreted this to mean that the Airport station already planned will be near Haynes and Frelinghuysen, and that the Transit Village is planned in that same vicinity.

The intersection of Frelinghuysen and Haynes is only 800 feet away from where the current Newark Airport NJTransit station is located. So it wouldn't make sense to build two stations 800 feet apart.

South Street would be an ideal location for a station its located at the Southern end of Downtown , South Ironbound & Lincoln Park neighborhoods...

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by ChargerCarl

Isn't that like a $2 billion for an estimated 6000 riders a day? How is that good news?

no, actually the cost is half of that and the 6000 daily riders est is way, way off.

and its really good news because i live a couple blocks from path stations.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by CIA

Yeah.... I think you're right. I hope they finish some preliminary plans soon. It's still possible it may benefit the South Newark neighborhoods, but it's all going to depend on the exact location and layout of the station.

I'm not clear whether this means one station or two additional PATH stations.

The thing is that the PATH will connect to the Newark Airtrain, which will be torn down and rebuilt from scratch. It will be more like the JFK system than the current typical airport system.

The new Newark Airtrain will have a totally different alignment than the current system (including a completely new Terminal A), and I'm not clear where the PATH will meet the Airtrain. I'm fairly certain it isn't at the present NJ Transit station, though.

[Hamilton]

Originally Posted by Crawford

The thing is that the PATH will connect to the Newark Airtrain, which will be torn down and rebuilt from scratch. It will be more like the JFK system than the current typical airport system.

The new Newark Airtrain will have a totally different alignment than the current system

Do you have any sources to substantiate this? I haven't seen any details reported

Originally Posted by Crawford

I'm not clear where the PATH will meet the Airtrain. I'm fairly certain it isn't at the present NJ Transit station, though.

I'm pretty sure this is wrong. In the 2014-2023 capital plan, it says that the goal of this project is to "Extend PATH to Newark Liberty International Airport’s Rail Link Station," i.e., the current NJT station. It also says "Construct new platforms and associated station passenger infrastructure at the Rail Link Station with connections to the existing Rail Link Station," confirming that they don't mean a future Rail Link Station location, but the current one.

See page 19: https://www.panynj.gov/corporate-inf...pital-plan.pdf

[mrsmartman]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

In the 2014-2023 capital plan, it says that the goal of this project is to "Extend PATH to Newark Liberty International Airport’s Rail Link Station," i.e., the current NJT station. It also says "Construct new platforms and associated station passenger infrastructure at the Rail Link Station with connections to the existing Rail Link Station," confirming that they don't mean a future Rail Link Station location, but the current one.

I agree with the proposal. Parallel trackage is always a strength of New York and its metropolitan area.

[Hamilton]

The draft of the 2017-2026 PA Capital Plan is now online:

http://corpinfo.panynj.gov/pages/cap...497.1470417719

A few tidbits:

• The Newark Airtrain will be rehabilitated, with the goal of extending its useful life until 2030 (Page 38)
• The plan confirms that the Airport PATH station will be co-located with the existing AirTrain/NJT station
• There will be no additional stations funded under this plan (see also this article: http://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/...path_plan.html )
• The PA expects to start construction on this extension in 2020 and finish construction in 2026. This is 2 years later than origianlly expected in the 2014-2023 Capital Plan.

An excerpt from the article above:

Newark officials, including community leaders, were briefed in the summer that the station would not be included in the initial rail line extension because it would be too expensive to build and would require buying property and relocating McCarter Highway/ Route 21, said Clarelle DeGraffe, PATH deputy director.

Route 21 ends just south of South Street/Lincoln Park, so it seems that the original plan had been to include a stop around there (which would make a lot of sense):

Ruiz expressed frustration and disappointment that the station was not part of the plan.

"It would be a benefit for New Jersey residents if there were a South Ward stop," she said. "I'm frustrated that there was a more comprehensive plan in place and it fell off the radar."

However, a South Ward station could be built at a later time, especially as PATH ridership increases, DeGraffe said.

However, Newark officials have tried to put a bright face on the outcome, since the new PATH station will be just a few blocks away from Dayton/Seth Boyden:

Newark officials had lobbied for the airport extension, when the project was in danger of being cut, based on its economic development potential for the Dayton/Seth Boyden community in the South Ward.

[Hamilton]

Another tidbit from the capital plan is that rush-hour service increases might start as early as 2018 and be fully in place by 2020. This is when the Port Authority expects delivery of 50 additional railcars that will allow the service increase (now that the signal system has been upgraded).

Overall, the service increases will allow an 18% increase in capacity and frequency.

[C.]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

Another tidbit from the capital plan is that rush-hour service increases might start as early as 2018 and be fully in place by 2020. This is when the Port Authority expects delivery of 50 additional railcars that will allow the service increase (now that the signal system has been upgraded).

Overall, the service increases will allow an 18% increase in capacity and frequency.

Great! Anecdotally, I've noticed trains are more packed than ever during rush hour service as passengers at Grove and Exchange Place are unable to squeeze on the crowded trains. Also, January has historically been the weakest month for ridership, but maybe the mild temperatures had something to do with that. We'll know soon after the end of the month the ridership totals to see if that's the case.

I can only imagine how busy things will be once the Grove, Journal Square (and Harrison) developments opens.

[Hamilton]

Sorry for the triple post, but I noticed another, minor thing. I'm not sure what it means, but pointing it out in case anyone has a better idea:

The 2014 capital plan included a $192 million project to modernize the Grove St station by adding more exit/entry stairs and escalators, expanding the mezzanine and adding new stairs to the platform level from the mezzanine, and extending the platform for 10-car operations along the NWK-WTC line. Major work was set to start in 2018. This project (CR02-407 CAPACITY ENHANCEMENTS AND STATION MODIFICATIONS OF GROVE ST STATION ) seems to have disappeared from the 2017 capital plan. Instead, a new project called (CR02-631 RESTORATION OF HOBOKEN, NEWPORT, EXCHANGE PLACE AND GROVE STREET STATIONS) has been added. It only budgets $148 million for all these stations. I'm not sure if it'll include the same capacity and entrance enhancements of the 2014 plan. Does anyone know?

Hopefully most of the upgrades to Grove St are still on the table. As CIA points out, it's packed to the gills. The upgrades would also increase capacity by 25% and relieve congestion on the entire NWK-WTC by allowing 10-car trains.

[C.]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

Sorry for the triple post, but I noticed another, minor thing. I'm not sure what it means, but pointing it out in case anyone has a better idea:

The 2014 capital plan included a $192 million project to modernize the Grove St station by adding more exit/entry stairs and escalators, expanding the mezzanine and adding new stairs to the platform level from the mezzanine, and extending the platform for 10-car operations along the NWK-WTC line. Major work was set to start in 2018. This project (CR02-407 CAPACITY ENHANCEMENTS AND STATION MODIFICATIONS OF GROVE ST STATION ) seems to have disappeared from the 2017 capital plan. Instead, a new project called (CR02-631 RESTORATION OF HOBOKEN, NEWPORT, EXCHANGE PLACE AND GROVE STREET STATIONS) has been added. It only budgets $148 million for all these stations. I'm not sure if it'll include the same capacity and entrance enhancements of the 2014 plan. Does anyone know?

Hopefully most of the upgrades to Grove St are still on the table. As CIA points out, it's packed to the gills. The upgrades would also increase capacity by 25% and relieve congestion on the entire NWK-WTC by allowing 10-car trains.

It's possible that funds for modernizing Grove Street has already been drawn down from 2014-2017 and $148 million is all that's needed to finish the job. There is an elevator installation and other improvements that are already well underway.

[C.]

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/20...ath_plans.html

Port Authority backtracks, says South Ward station still in PATH plans

Port Authority officials retracted statements made by representatives who told state lawmakers Tuesday that a South Ward station was cut from a proposed extension the PATH system to Newark Airport.

The about-face came after Mayor Ras J. Baraka and South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James criticized the agency on Wednesday. Baraka called on the authority's board to not vote on a proposed $32 billion capital plan which would fund the PATH extension unless it contains the South Ward station.

Port Authority officials said the South Ward station, to be built across the tracks from the NJ Transit airport station near Weequahic Park, remains a key part of the proposed PATH extension to the airport.

"The proposed $1.7 billion extension of the PATH rail line to Newark Liberty International Airport includes a new station in Newark's South Ward in the Dayton (Street) neighborhood, (and) this remains a key original element of the project," officials said in a statement Wednesday.

The station remains in the $32 billion revised capital plan which funds the PATH extension, officials said. Newark officials were counting on the station to help spur the economic revitalization plans for the South Ward.

"This new station would provide easy access for Dayton residents and regional commuters to PATH, local buses, NJ Transit, as well as Newark Liberty International via AirTrain Newark, while spurring economic development in the city's South Ward," officials said.

A Port Authority official, speaking on background, said that representatives testifying to the Joint Legislative Oversight committee got confused between the references to South Ward and South Street, a station that was suggested and dropped on the city's East Side.

South Street is a main artery through Newark's Ironbound section.

The South Street station was suggested as a replacement of a long-demolished Pennsylvania Railroad station on the Northeast Corridor on McCarter Highway.

Officially, project documents call the South Ward station the Dayton Street Neighborhood Station, the official said. Dayton Street forms the easternmost boundary of Weequahic Park.

The potential South Ward station could be located in the vicinity of Frelinghuysen Avenue, near Haynes Avenue, where the city is seeking to redevelop the area around a vacated housing project.

The testimony on Tuesday left some lawmakers questioning whether they supported the PATH extension without the South Ward station.

At the hearing on Tuesday, Port Authority representatives said building the station wasn't feasible because it would require moving lanes of McCarter Highway to make room for it along the Northeast Corridor line, which the PATH extension would parallel.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

[Crawford]

Good news. The South Ward needs a PATH station.

That neighborhood has so much potential, and is generally improving. Any neighborhood that close to Manhattan will revitalize as long as you provide rail transit.

[Hamilton]

There seems to be a lot of confusion going around. Nobody backtracked on anything. The second station, at South Street, has been cut, as previously mentioned. "South Ward" isn't a separate station from "Newark Airport;" they're just two sides of the same coin.

There's still only one station (at the site of the NJT/Newark AirLink station); they just clarified that the neighborhood will have access to the station via an entrance on Frelinghuysen/Haynes, which isn't the case with the current NJT/Newark AirLink station--the only way out of the current station is by taking NJT.

Anyone who's confused, I suggest you take a look at the 2017 draft capital plan that's on the PA website. The capital plan is the final authority, as it is a legally binding document (once it gets finalized), and has all the dollars and cents and the scope for each project all laid out.

Port Authority officials said the South Ward station, to be built across the tracks from the NJ Transit airport station near Weequahic Park, remains a key part of the proposed PATH extension to the airport.
...

"This new station would provide easy access for Dayton residents and regional commuters to PATH, local buses, NJ Transit, as well as Newark Liberty International via AirTrain Newark, while spurring economic development in the city's South Ward," officials said.
...
representatives testifying to the Joint Legislative Oversight committee got confused between the references to South Ward and South Street, a station that was suggested and dropped on the city's East Side.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Hamilton

There seems to be a lot of confusion going around. Nobody backtracked on anything. The second station, at South Street, has been cut, as previously mentioned. "South Ward" isn't a separate station from "Newark Airport;" they're just two sides of the same coin.

I don't know if you're wrong or right, but the latest news from the PA completely contradicts what you are writing. Obviously a South Ward station has nothing to do with a Newark Airport station. The current NJ Transit station does have South Ward access, and there's no indication that the PA is confused about its own station.

Unless the PA had previously planned an extension with 0 stations (which would be kind of ridiculous, no?) then the addition of a South Ward station is obviously in addition to a Newark Airport station.

And it doesn't even make sense to have a single station at the current NJ Transit stop, because the Airtrain is being rebuilt. It won't have the same alignment/configuration. There's no confirmed alignment/configuration for the new Airtrain route, so how can the PATH station be sited yet? If you go to the PA docs for the terminal rebuilds, they're clear that the Airtrain will be removed and relocated to an undetermined location.

[Hamilton]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I don't know if you're wrong or right, but the latest news from the PA completely contradicts what you are writing.

What was reported wasn't "news from the PA" it's a rumor from an anonymous Port Authority source speaking "on background," sowing confusion by trying to clear up confusion. All in all, it's sloppy reporting of second-hand hearsay. It's much wiser to go with the official PA Capital Plan than to trust an unnamed source. Anyway, I disagree that the article "completely contradicts what [I] just wrote"... in fact, the article itself mentions that "Newark leaders were informed last year that the second stop was no longer under consideration" ... i.e., there's only one stop.

Obviously a South Ward station has nothing to do with a Newark Airport station.

Newark Airport is in the South Ward...

And it doesn't even make sense to have a single station at the current NJ Transit stop, because the Airtrain is being rebuilt. It won't have the same alignment/configuration. There's no confirmed alignment/configuration for the new Airtrain route, so how can the PATH station be sited yet? If you go to the PA docs for the terminal rebuilds, they're clear that the Airtrain will be removed and relocated to an undetermined location.

It's one thing to move the alignment of the Airtrain at the terminals, since they're getting rebuilt, but it doesn't make much sense to move the western terminus of the AirTrain (where it would hook up to the PATH), because they'd have to build a totally new NJTransit station to hook up to it, when the current one is perfectly serviceable. That seems like an unnecessary expense.

I'm not going to try to make sense of the rest of what you're saying. I'll just present this illustration direct from the Port Authority, which shows that the stop "near Frelinghuysen and Haynes" that Mayor Baraka mentioned is the same as the new PATH Airport station, which is the same as the current NJT Airlink station. (Taken from this Jersey Digs article: https://jerseydigs.com/path-train-ne...xpansion-plan/ )

[C.]

2017 Ridership Numbers

Month | Avg. Weekday Ridership | % Chg from Prior Year | % Chg from 2015

Jan 266,846 (+6.53% from same period in 2016) (+17.26% from 2015)


The temperate weather no doubt played a role. The numbers should be getting even higher now with Journal Squared 1, 50 Columbus, and Urby Harborside coming online, not to mention the numerous mid rises from the waterfront all the way to Harrison.

Speaking of Harrison, below is the total ridership for Harrison Station in January for the past five years. That's a big 24 percent jump in 2017 compared to 2016.

2017 198,626
2016 160,111
2015 153,038
2014 158,938
2013 151,438

[C.]

2017 Ridership Numbers

Month | Avg. Weekday Ridership | % Chg from Prior Year | % Chg from 2015

Jan 266,846 (+6.53%) (+17.26% from 2015)
Feb 266,278 (+3.77%) (+8.59% from 2015)

Total ridership so far this year is 12,264,054, an increase of 4.33% from the same period last year. Not bad.

[mrsmartman]

Why is the operating speed of the downtown tube (40 mph) higher than the uptown tube (20 mph)?