Re: (erielack) Newark Airport rail service - Bergen Record

[mike1144_@_frontiernet.net]

Hi Gary,
I have been reading in the local paper (I live in Orange County New =
York) about the Secacus Transfer and how it will relate to the Port =
Jervis line.

Does anyone have the details about the station and where it will go in =
mid-town?  I've heard that it will not be open until end of next year =
and I've heard early next year - does anyone know which is right?

Thanks
Mike

  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Gary R. Kazin=20
  To: RAILROAD ; EL List=20
  Sent: Friday, May 04, 2001 8:52 AM
  Subject: (erielack) Newark Airport rail service - Bergen Record


  All aboard for the airport=20
  Monday, April 30, 2001

  By DANIEL SFORZA, Staff Writer

  Newark International Airport opened in 1928.

  You'll be able to take a train there in September.

  For the first time, one of the nation's busiest airports will be =
linked to
  state and national rail lines.  Service will be provided from =
Manhattan in
  September and from North Jersey in about a year.  Making such a
  transportation network possible is a one-mile airport monorail =
extension
  to a new rail station on Amtrak's and NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor.

  "If you were building a new airport, you would bring trains to it," =
said
  James Blackmore, director of the project for the Port Authority of New
  York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.  "The airport was =
only
  accessible by vehicles.  This takes public train transportation and
  connects it to the airport."

  Only sporadic service from North Jersey through Hoboken will be =
provided
  by NJ Transit to the monorai link this year.  That will change once =
the
  Secaucus Transfer Station opens next spring.  North Jersey travelers =
will
  then avoid the Hoboken station altogether, making a quick transfer in
  Secaucus for a 10- to 15-minute ride to the airport.

  Passengers on NJ Transit's Main, Bergen, Morris, Essex, Gladstone,
  Montclair, Port Jervis, and Pascack Valley lines will be able to ride =
to
  Secaucus and hop a train to the monorail.

  With this $415 million project, funded largely by a $3 federal airline
  passenger surcharge, Newark will join the ranks of Atlanta, =
Washington,
  D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston.  All have rail =
transportation
  to their airports.

  Officials are counting on many airline passengers to leave their cars =
at
  home. They forecast 6,300 train trips a day, or 2.1 million a year, to =
the
  airport by 2003.  By 2010, they hope that will climb to 9,100 trips a =
day
  and 3.1 million a year.

  But will it be worth it?

  A typical car trip from North Jersey to the airport takes anywhere =
-From 20
  to 50 minutes, depending on the starting point.  New Jersey Turnpike =
tolls
  to Newark are $1.45 from Exit 18 and parking at the airport is $8 a =
day in
  long-term lots and $24 a day in daily lots, which are within walking
  distance of the terminals.

  A train trip from North Jersey will take between 50 and 65 minutes,
  including transfers in Secaucus, to get to the new airport monorail
  station. Then it's another transfer and a seven-minute ride to =
Terminal C.


  Doug Bowen, president of the New Jersey Rail Passengers Association, a
  rail advocacy group, said the double transfer will discourage some =
people
  from trying the service. And, noting construction of two airport =
parking
  decks with 6,600 spaces, Bowen says he believes the train service is =
not
  intended to relieve congestion.  "The Port Authority is still so =
heavily
  weighted toward highways and parking, it's in their best interest to =
keep
  Newark Airport congested," he said, adding that more cars means more
  money. "They are not going to undercut their revenue stream. You don't
  relieve congestion by building huge parking decks on airport =
property."

  Port Authority spokesman Pasquale DiFulco dismissed Bowen's concerns,
  saying not everyone will use the train and the airport must be ready =
to
  handle more cars.  "It's incumbent on the Port Authority to not only
  anticipate future growth, but to improve access" in all areas, DiFulco
  said.

  Making the transfers more difficult will be moving luggage from train =
to
  train. NJ Transit rail cars aren't equipped to handle the vacationing
  family and all its bags.  "We are typically not going to see the =
family of
  four going to Disney World for a week," said NJ Transit Executive =
Director
  Jeff Warsh.  "We are going to see the business travelers who will not =
have
  a problem accommodating luggage in overhead racks."  Warsh said if it
  becomes necessary to retrofit trains with luggage racks, the agency =
will
  do so.   "We do have the ability to retrofit trains quickly," he said.

  The new service will cost NJ Transit $20 million to $30 million a year =
to
  run, Warsh said.  A special fare will be charged for the airport run.  =
But
  that has not been determined, he said, making it difficult to predict
  revenue.  "It's going to be an extraordinary improvement in terms of
  people's mobility options from points in New Jersey to Newark =
Airport,"
  Warsh said.

  Travelers already seem to agree.

  "I think I would use it," said Kathleen Morley, a train commuter from
  Ho-Ho-Kus.  "If it means not paying for parking, people are certainly
  going to do it.  The parking fees at airports are exorbitant."

  David Berger, a daily NJ Transit commuter who lives in Glen Rock, =
thinks
  the service will work if it is efficient.  "If it ran frequently and I
  could depend on getting there at a certain time, I would probably use =
it,"
  said Berger, who routinely takes a taxi to and from the airport at a =
cost
  of $85.  "I ride mass transit every day.  I take it where I think it's
  appropriate.  If the Main Line and all the other lines get there, it =
would
  be a plus."

  Others worry about their baggage making it to the plane.

  "I think the big test will be if it runs efficiently," said Tom Smith =
of
  Rutherford, who commutes by train to Manhattan. "If you are schlepping =
a
  lot of luggage and they actually get it right, meaning you get to the
  monorail and the luggage makes it to the plane when you get to the =
plane,
  then I definitely think it will have an impact on how people travel."

  Airport-bound passengers will exit onto one of two, 1,050-foot-long
  platforms and enter a climate-controlled station.  Escalators, =
elevators,
  and stairs will take them up to an enclosed concourse, where they can
  check their luggage, purchase tickets, and catch the monorail for the
  seven to 11-minute ride to one of the airport's three terminals.

  The train station is largely enclosed by glass, giving travelers a =
glimpse
  of planes taking off and landing.  Below, Amtrak and NJ Transit trains
  will race through.  Electronic message boards will display flight =
arrival
  and departure times.  Monorail trains are expected to pass through the =
new
  station every two minutes, and NJ Transit expects to run four trains =
from
  the Secaucus Transfer Station to the airport every hour.  Baggage will =
be
  checked at the station and travel by conveyor belt to transport =
trucks,
  which will drive the luggage to planes, Blackmore said.

  Newark isn't the only airport getting new rail service.

  The Port Authority is working to link Kennedy International Airport =
with a
  train.  AirTrain, scheduled to begin in about two years, will let
  passengers transfer at the Long Island Rail Road's Jamaica station and =
the
  Howard Beach subway station and ride the rails to Kennedy, bringing =
the
  airport within 40 minutes of New York City's Penn Station.

  ____

  My comments:

  Although the story (and most planners) prominently mentions business
  travellers, I doubt that they will be seen in the rail station.  The =
vast
  majority of the users will be airport workers, who will have a special
  fare arrangement.  There are thousands of them, and they go every day. =

  Next on the list will be budget-minded people, including car-less
  Manhattan residents, European tourists (who are already used to taking
  transit to airports), and college students.  Also among the users will =
be
  transit proponents (hopefully) like myself.

  Business travelers, who often have NO luggage - they make a lot of =
one-day
  trips, leaving Newark by 7:30am and returning late at night - will =
stick
  to the limos they currently ride...  When I travel for work, sometimes =
I
  do that; I do ride NJT to Newark and take the current Airlink bus as =
well.
   It takes SUBSTANTIALLY longer to do that, and it will still take =
longer
  to ride the train from here to Secaucus than the limo ride to the =
airport
  takes. =20

  For everyone else, the upper concourse is the key to this station.  =
Once
  you leave the train, you go up and check in - and shed your luggage.  =
The
  upper concourse is equivalent to Newark airport's departures level!  =
Ride
  the monorail, go through security, and out to the gate, bypassing the
  often-jammed front end of the airport.

  =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
  Gary R. Kazin
  DL&W Milepost R35.7
  Rockaway, New Jersey

  New Jersey Transit - THE WAY TO GO!!!

  (I have no affiliation with New Jersey Transit.)

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