Governor Touts Economic Benefits of Restored Raritan Line Service
“Today’s news is a positive step in the right direction for all of the communities that sit on the Raritan Valley Line,” said State Senator Nicholas Scutari. “One seat ride is critical for the continued economic growth of our region."
WESTFIELD, NJ—Federal and state officials were on hand on Monday to celebrate the upcoming restoration of off-peak and one seat rides on NJ TRANSIT’s Raritan Valley Line to Penn Station in Manhattan.
The service was temporarily suspended in September 2018 as NJ TRANSIT continued its installation of Positive Train Control equipment on its rail fleet and will be restored effective on November 4th, and three of the four evening round trips will be restored.
“After the Christie Administration left Positive Train Control implementation to languish on the back-burner leading to service cuts on the Raritan Valley Line, our administration has worked diligently to ensure that our commuters get the service and safety they deserve,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “With NJ TRANSIT’s completion of an important phase of that project, RVL riders, who rely on NJ TRANSIT every day to get to and from work, have waited long enough for this service restoration.”
“Today’s news is a positive step in the right direction for all of the communities that sit on the Raritan Valley Line,” said State Senator Nicholas Scutari. “One seat ride is critical for the continued economic growth of our region. I want to applaud all who have given their time to make the Raritan Valley Line a more commuter friendly method of transit. I am thrilled that we have achieved this vital first step.”
The final evening round trip, which departed Raritan at 9:53 p.m. and departed New York at 12:08 a.m., will not be restored due to the need to inspect and prepare dual-powered trains for the next morning’s service. However, the current 9:53 p.m. departure from Raritan will operate 16 minutes later, reducing the connecting time at Newark for New York-bound customers from 24 minutes to eight minutes. Returning from New York, customers will continue to use Train 3201 (departing at 12:05 a.m.) to connect with Train 5401 at Newark, with a seven-minute connection time.
“It’s wrong that Raritan Valley line passengers had no one seat ride service to New York, despite the line having more daily riders than other New Jersey Transit lines whose trains go straight through to the city,” said U.S. Congressman Tom Malinowski. “The restoration of off-peak one seat ride service is a good step forward, and I’m grateful to Governor Murphy for working with my office, as well as with the Raritan Valley Line Mayor’s Alliance and the Raritan Valley Rail Coalition, to make it happen. We will keep pushing for rush hour service as well.”