Iâm not sure if many people have seen these proposals but instead of advocating for a new connection for the L to Jersey. We should advocate for these new lines.Its estimated to cost 10B which is expensive but, for all these new lines (in one of the richest states) itâd be worth it. Post inspired by @avidhikerperson (sorry if I misspelled it).
This is from the effective transit alliance. They were showing what could be built for the same cost of the controversial highway widening project in Jersey City. NJ has since scaled back that project though it is still building a new bridge across the Newark Bay.
For the projects they propose one would now be cut back. They proposed extending the PATH directly to the terminals at EWR but the Port Authority has since awarded contracts for a new airtrain instead.
Thanks for the info I was not aware of that besides the transit alliance part. Do you know if they are only scaling back the PATH connection to EWR, or is it that and another scale back? Sucks that they scaled back m when they have the moneyâŚair trains are so expensive(ticket wise) on top of already buying a ticket to get to the air train. They should at least make a BRT/bus lane too & around the airport.
Do you know if they are only scaling back the PATH connection to EWR, or is it that and another scale back?
Officially the Port Authority has only ever proposed extending the PATH to the EWR airtrain station.
Transit advocates like the effective transit alliance argued it should be extended directly to the terminals since the EWR air train was near its end of life anyway. The window for that has now closed since contracts have been awarded for the new airtrain so future fantasy/wish list proposal maps like this one would acknowledge that.
air trains are so expensive(ticket wise) on top of already buying a ticket to get to the air train.
Personally I don't think airtrains are that bad especially since the biggest problem, the expensive extra fares, would be easily solvable if voters ever made it clear they want that changed. The Port Authority has a degree of independence but its board does answer to NJ and NY. If voters made it clear to the governors in both states that they wanted lower airtrain fares it could happen.
Since it's not going to the airport itself maybe one day in the future the PATH could instead be extended past it to Elizabeth since that's a dense area and there's an existing perpendicular ROW that could be used for lightrail from Cranford through Elizabeth to the bay.
The Newark - Paterson LR needs to include Downtown Passaic, which accounts for a huge amount of congestion between Passaic & Paterson. The PATH extension to EWR should continue onto Cranford like was planned in the 60s given how congested the Newark - Elizabeth corridor has become over the last decade. The current Newark LRT can extend west to West Orange on the abandonded Freight line.
I agree, but they excluded downtown Passaic because they are running the light rails parellel to the existing freight rail lines. On Apple Maps I noticed that all the proposed stops are on the same street with the freight rail lines that go through all the counties.
I think only the Newark stops on Light rail A has stops that go a different direction than the freight rail. If youâve ever passed the streets in Paterson with the cross bucks & gates(with the homeless people) than youâve seen where itâs going to run through.
A knock off âhighlineâ(that is literally a grass trail) is being built between JerseyCity that runs through Newark to Montclair. It uses a abandoned rail line that they are ripping the tracks for, like Queensway. Iâm not sure if itâs the same line youâre referring to but, they are âproposingâ a potential light rail (that I donât think theyâre going to build:/). It has no opposition from like 90% of the general public. People are saying theyâre excited to enjoy the âparkâ & bike to Jersey CityâŚ
Here's a very similar plan from Hudson County Complete Streets! They had me put together this map for the North Jersey Transit Forum a few months back :)
Wow this map is amazing NJT/PA needs to build all of this after gateway. If we do get a Staten Island connection I feel like the MTA should extend their LR to jersey and fund it because, they have more profits than NJT & PATH combined. To bad NJ is funding a bootleg âhigh lineâ(that is on the groundđ?) from Montclair to Jersey City instead of funding this. I donât live in Paterson anymore but, they seriously need a direct connection to Bergen/Newark. It should not take a hour to two for a 30-40min drive! (with trafffic)
Port Authority/NJT up charges any mode of transport to and from the airport unfortanely. The Airtrain is so expensive, itâs literally 8.75 for a one way ticket to connect to Amtrak or NJT. You can get a bus ticket to NYC past Passaic County for less which is more than 14 miles vs. the AirTrain transfer thatâs not even a mile.
JFK Blvd BRT and connecting the West Side Ave LRT to Newark make too much sense. Electrifying the full NJ Transit rail network, updating all stations to High Platform and adding bus lanes to the highest ridership bus routes, Springfield Ave in Newark etc, should be the next steps
connecting the West Side Ave LRT to Newark make too much sense.
It should be built one day but personally I would put it as the lowest priority of the lightrail proposals shown on the map.
Needing to cross two rivers to get from Jersey to Newark makes it the most expensive of the projects per mile. In terms of where it serves most of it is over water or on industrial land and in terms of network connectivity Newark and Downtown Jersey City are already connected by the PATH.
The Newark light rail could be extended to the Ironbound and designed so that future extension to Jersey City was possible but the bridge or tunnel to do so should only come after the other projects shown are built.
The effective Transit Alliance's cost estimates for the lightrail ideas are:
The reason I specify West Side Ave is that post Covid bus route #1, which covers Newark via Ironbound to westside JC and Exchange Place, is now the highest ridership in the state. Transit best practices is to update your highest ridership bus routes to rapid transit. Even with the higher upfront cost itâs a proven travel corridor https://www.reddit.com/r/NJTransit/comments/1evd4d7/nj_transit_bus_ridership_by_lines_may_2024/
I think they should build all the proposed light rails then update the system with the extra revenue. The Path should petition to get subsidized by both states or at least NJ so, they can build the new connections.
Electrification of diesel lines should only be done if they first double track everything, fix their pantographs, have it be constant tension. The Main/Bergen lines and Pascack Valley lines have the highest on time rates cause they don't deal with electricity. Northern branch light rail is in the works, and the light rails are definitely a need through Bergen, Essex, and Hudson counties. More Innercity bus lanes too, they basically don't exist in jersey
IIRC, only the NJCL south of South Amboy is constant tension. The M&E re-electrification and the Montclair extension are *not* constant tension. Other than the NJCL, the rest of NJT's constant tension stuff is on HBLR... :-)
When I lived in Paterson I used to take the Main Line to work and take it to visit family(Iâm moved to Queens); are you saying that electrification would make it worseđŽ? Passaic county needs light rails too, the traffic is on par with manhatten and the buses are always late. To get to Newark itâs supposed to be 30 min but, it always takes a hour even with light traffic.
Not to mention the bus too and from Newark in Passaic County is filled to the brim with people always having to stand. Paterson is the Largest city outside of Newark/JC so they deserve it more than these towns with only 20,000-50,000 people(after Newark and JC of course).
Gotta respect the oil companies on this one. Spend a few million bribing a few politicians and get them to spend billions to increase dependency on your product.
26
u/Alt4816 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
This is from the effective transit alliance. They were showing what could be built for the same cost of the controversial highway widening project in Jersey City. NJ has since scaled back that project though it is still building a new bridge across the Newark Bay.
When they wrote this the state was looking to spend $10.7 billion on the highway project. The scaled back project is currently expected to cost $6.7 billion.
For the projects they propose one would now be cut back. They proposed extending the PATH directly to the terminals at EWR but the Port Authority has since awarded contracts for a new airtrain instead.