ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Months later than originally promised, but almost two weeks ahead of a more recent estimate, NJ Transit resumed rail service on its Atlantic City line on Sunday. But the service returned with a new schedule drawing some criticism.
The route was shut down last Sept. 5 to allow for installation of positive train control equipment, with NJ Transit executive director Kevin Corbett saying at the time it would return by Jan. 1, 2019. Instead, the line was shut down for more than eight months. Earlier this year, the agency said service would be restored Memorial Day weekend, but that was subsequently advanced to Sunday.
The Princeton Dinky, a shuttle between the Northeast Corridor and the Princeton University campus, also returned on Sunday.
Corbett was on hand for the return of the Atlantic City service, Philly.com reports, as was assistant executive director Anthony Greco, who said the service’s revised schedule a new morning arrival in Philadelphia that was “customers’ most common request.” And the return was welcomed by riders who had feared that the shutdown of the route — the least-used in the NJ Transit system — would eventually be made permanent.
But NJ.com reports that while the revised schedule increases morning round trips from three to five, those additions came at the expense of two post-midnight trains from Atlantic City to Philadelphia used by casino workers. NJ transit said those trains had low ridership — less than 40 passengers per day — and parallel bus service is available.
Transit advocates also noted that the new schedule also hits casino workers on 9-to-5 schedules, as a train that previously departed at 5:45 p.m. now leaves at 4:55 p.m., before those workers’ shifts end. They now must wait for a 6:45 p.m. train.
I give NJT credit for actually having the courage to change things to reflect economic reality. I would be interested in further information from the NJT for the new 4:45 departure time. I suspect they have some reason or reasons for it which wasn’t discussed in the article.
It would be a long ferry ride from Atlantic City to Philadelphia; south to the mouth of Delaware Bay, north up the Bay to the Delaware River and on to Philadelphia. As for the existing tunnels from New Jersey to New York City under the Hudson River; they need replacing now, there is no more “later”.
Two trains carrying less than 40 passengers? No wonder they don’t have any money. And they want the rest of us to pay for their tunnels. I say let them take the ferry.
Hurrah!