Why does Amtrak not serve Secaucus Junction?
It certainly skims by really closely to it.
Ya know, I was always wondering this too. Especially in such a busy area, you think that they would stop there, considering that they run straight through it.
I believe that station is owned by New Jersey Transit which uses it as an interchage point for its various lines and Metro North West Shore service.
Tony
Up on “The D & H Bridge Line”
SJ’s purpose is to transfer passengers on NJT’s lines and not as a station with good outside access…although there is a small parking lot and bus lanes. It is owned and operated by NJT. Amtrak would not gain anything by stopping, like the PRR before it, dealing only with New York City and Newark.
What you guys are saying is true, but if you put it that way, then why does Amtrak stop at Metropark?
Just some food for thought.
Metropark is more cosmopolitan, with more public access and accomodations, larger population base (the Meadows is poplulated by black snakes, woodchucks, ducks, geese, etc.) and no other rail junction or services than already available elsewhere. I don’t think Metropark has really lived up to its expectations (my opinion, no basis in fact or statistics) but in riding through I see the lot pretty well filled. But can’t descern if those in the lot are NJT commuters or Amtrak long distance passengers.
I don’t accept the “It’s NJT, why should they serve Amtrak” argument that gets thrown around on this and other forums. NJ and NY have accepted that they ought act regionally and I was confused by Secaucus’ lack of Amtrak–I have since found out the logistical reasons why AMTK does not stop there even though it goes right through the building(!!).
For my own selfish interests, I am planning a trip to upstate NY. Secaucus is an ideal connection to all of NJT’s commuter lines especially for points north and west, like the Bergen County/Metro-North Port Jervis line. For the NJT lines that terminate at Hoboken, you simply cannot reach them without a loopy 3-seat trip, whether transferring at Newark Penn Station or NY Penn Station. Not only that, it seems that most of NJT’s lines are Hoboken which means terribly inconvenient for Amtrak riders.
I don’t follow or agree with your post. NJT built Sec. Jct so that it could provide access to NYP for passengers from the former Erie lines to Suffern, Port Jervis, and Spring Valley. It is not part of Amtrak nor is it designed for any Amtrak application. Since all marketing and fares are based on NYP or Hoboken, and since Amtrak serves NYP, nobody would gain anything by stopping Amtrak at Sec. Jct.
As for your trip to Upstate NY. Either Hoboken to Sec. Jct (no change) to Port Jervis, Suffern, or Pascak Valley line trains. Or from NYP, a change of trains at Sec. Jct. for the same trains. From NYP, your connection to Amtrak, you can also get direct trains to Long Branch (change there for Bay Head), to Trenton, to Raritan and HIgh Bridge (change at Newark Penn), to Montclair (change there to Dover and Hackettstown), to Summit, to Gladstone, to Dover (change for points west to Hackettstown). From Hoboken you can go to Spring Valley, Waldwick, Suffern and Port Jervis with no chan
Thanks Henry. I wish I could understand the timetables to know which trains go through Secaucus without requiring me to transfer.
Amtrak trains COULD stop at Secaucus Jct, but I think the issue is line capacity. There just isn’t capacity to stop any more trains there during peak hours.
What benefit would an off-peak only Amtrak service be? It would probably be more confusing than helpful.
Secaucus Jct. tries to do for the “Erie side” trains what the “Kearny Connection” did for the “Lackawanna side” - make the trip to mid-town Manhattan fast and easy.
If the timetables are too tough (a hard thing for a railfan to admit [:)]) try, NJT’s itnerary planner
http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TripPlannerItineraryTo
Secaucus Jct. has no physical track connections. It is merely a station stop for NJT trains from NYP to the Coast Line, Trenton, Montclair, Summit, Gladstone, and Dover on the upper level and station stop for NJT trains from Hoboken to Spring Valley, Waldwick, Suffern and Port Jervis on the lower level and passenger must detrain and run up or downstairs (elevators, escelators) to catch a connecting train. There are parking spaces and bus accomodations so that people may board trains who have not come by train, but that part is minimal. Kearney Jct. on the other hand, is a track connection between the Morris and Essex lines and the Corridor with no station.
Well to be honest the timetables at MNRR and NJT are straightforward enough for me. The problem is that they are very difficult to print–too small to read or cut off at the margins–and I don’t know where to get the paper versions locally.
See the private messages I sent to you.
Oh, thanks for those.
We are travelling Amtrak to Newark Penn Station. Then we ride NJT via Secaucus Junction where we will be transferring to the Main/Bergen County/Port Jervis line to get to upstate NY.
OK…you could have rode to NYP and back out to SJ, but probably the Amtrak cost would have been much more…SJ to PJ is not a bad price…especially if you are 62 or over. It just occured to me: be sure to buy your NJT tickets at Newark and ask for tickets to Port Jervis not mentioning Sec. Jct. you will only be charged for Sec. Jct. (or NYP) to Port Jervis and not Newark to Sec. Jct. And remember on the return trip (ticket machine at PJ) to buy ticket to Newark Penn and get the same savings.
We’ll be trying Newark Penn Station since we haven’t used that station yet. The price is exactly the same for both and the train to Secaucus is, I think, 4 minutes or something. Our trips into New York Penn always seem to involve a delay to get into the tunnel–one time we held for 10 minutes.
Thanks for the tip about booking through to our stop on the PJ line!!
One word answer: Revenue! NJ Transit (not AMTRAK) built Secaucus for its own (read internal) purposes – the Junction serves as NJ Transit’s one transfer statewide rail hub. NJ Transit (not Amtrak) was able to begin construction only after overcoming the most intense lobbying from the tobacco, news and candy lobby, which saw its monopoly at Hoboken and other stations threatened, and which managed to delay project construction by at least ten years, more like fifteen. NJ Transit (not Amtrak) secured the financing to get the project started and completed. Finally, by changing trains at the Junction, a rider can take another NJ Transit train anywhere in New Jersey open to commuter rail service, and, most important, NJ TRANSIT POCKETS 100 PERCENT OF THE REVENUE. Why should New Jersey have to let Amtrak into its own sandbox? Why should New Jersey share its revenue with, or endure revenue dilution from, Amtrak --which has done nothing to construct, fund or otherwise assist in this project?
New Jersey is vary cagey about this sort of thing. To cite a non-rail example, drivers may be aware that I-95 --arguably the main highway for the US East Coast – is not a through road in New Jersey. The highway enters the state near Tranton, near the spot where George Washington crossed the Delaware, and shortly afterwards, comes to a dead end – well, not quite: a motorist pulls off onto mostly two-lane roads with lots of stop lights. The I-95 designation returns when one come to the approaches of the George Washington Bridge, crossing from the Jersey side acr
Tell us more about this lobbying. Who did it? Were they large campaign contributors? How much? Who were their lapdogs, and how did they eventually get beat? Does the trust not have a monopoly at Secaucus?
Billio: Been a while since I’ve lived there but really appreciate you refreshing memorys of that state (?). Your analysis of NJ helps us to understand the mess of the ARC (THE Tunnel).
I don’t know what Billo means…NJT and Amtrak are two seperate entities with two seperate services. They do share the same facilities and tracks with NJT leasing from Amtrak (or whatever the arrangment). Sec Jct. was planned as, and is, a function of NJT rail operations with Amtrak never a part of the operation. Nothing to be suspicious about or troubled over. I don’t understand his acerbic comments and charges. Sec. Jct. is what it is and what it is supposed to be!