Before the Raritan Valley Line extends itself to PA, it should fill in the gaps in its service to NJ residents. My hometown, Middlesex, falls between two RVL stations — Dunellen and Somerville — and the RVL runs through it. But there’s no station. The walk to stations in adjoining towns is at least 90 minutes if you’re a speed walker. Residents going to NYC are stuck with local bus service that can take more than two hours depending on route and time. While adding more stations would undoubtedly slow down the ride for users of existing stations, that issue could be addressed with alternating skip-stop service. NJT should get its act together and do a better job of serving NJ residents before it turns its attention to PA.

Improvements on this line should first include platform-level boarding and overhead catenary wire (electric power).

Currently, trips on this line are vastly slower than other NJT lines because: 1) Diesel service cannot travel past Newark (and into New York City); riders incur delays at Newark as they change trains via a lengthy set of crowded stairwells, and 2) Low-level boarding is much slower than platform-level boarding, causing delays at each station along the line.

Currently, only a very small percentage of trains run past the Raritan station, likely due to the fact that Raritan is about a 1.5 hour train ride from NYC (vs a 1 hour drive / not at rush hour).

Speeding up the existing segment with electric power and station platforms would make trips to High Bridge (and beyond) less cumbersome and more apt for frequent use.

I think you’re all insane. How is facilitating an extreme commute from PA to NYC smart growth? Are they building center-oriented communities around Allentown? You’re asking for more car dependent bedroom community subdivisions up the road from big park and rides. Appalling. Scenic Hudson successfully fought the extension of Metro-North into Columbia County for these reasons. This is sprawl rail.

Large scale transportation decisions made by government are often dominated by political concerns that have a vague relationship to actual benefits and costs. Unlike government, advocates are free to propose projects that make sense. Unfortunately, many green transportation types squander that intellectual freedom on delusional obsession with spending giant gobs of money on heavy rail, regional rail and High Speed Rail. Not only are these expenditures often questionable when considered in isolation, they take place at a time when already crowded urban transportation systems are near financial collapse and hard pressed to maintain their existing capital plants. We shouldn’t be expanding regional rail when local transit is collapsing. The first step towards reducing car dependence in Allentown and the Lehigh Valley, isn’t regional rail. It’s building on existing density by improving local bus service, bicycling and walking. If that’s not enough of a challenge, local advocates can reform the zoning code to increase density and eliminate sprawl inducing parking requirements.

I’d like to see a connection from the Raritan Valley Line to the West Trenton Line someday. I think that line would probably be better for Acela service than the NEC because there’s more space available to straighten the tracks out and have them run at their top speed. The main issue is electrification of a short section between Cranford and Newark because freight companies use that section to haul quadruple stacks there. And of course there are the grade crossings, but it would be worth it to have the Acelas get their own section of track between NY and Philly. If they had this, and it was straight enough, they could actually run at 190 MPH or something on the section where they have their own ROW.

I would just like more service out past the town of Raritan on the existing line!!

I used to commute 2 to 3 times a week using the Raritan Valley Line from Bound Brook to Annandale (bike 10 mile to Bound Brook then 4 miles from Annnandale). There was only one train west bound in the morning and one east bound in the evening. I could barely work a 7 hour day since the returning train in the afternoon left Annandale at 4:18.

They have added two more train since then in each direction but AGAIN the earliest train arrives in Annandale at 8:24am and the latest going east leaves at 4:42! How the hell can you work an 8 hour day and take this train!!!! I understand its a reverse commute but still!

Also service does not go beyond Raritan on weekends. I have written several reports that talk about the missed opportunities to attract recreational cyclists from New York City to use this rail line to access Somerset and Hunterdon Counties’ world class cycling destinations (the riding is REALLY nice out their).

And coming later this month is the Quick Check Festival of Ballooning which is the biggest east of the Mississippi. It attracts tens of thousands of people. The Raritan Valley line has two stations within 2 miles of the the event. Will they be running special service for this even. As far as I can tell the answer is NO.