Given: Bergen County suffered extensive cut backs to its once extensive rail transit systems.
Given: Traffic congestion will never be eliminated by building more roads.
Given: Bergen County is facing a transportation crisis.
Given: Northern New Jersey has poorly utilized rail rights-of-way.
Therefore: We should plan holistically to use these rights-of-way to provide maximum mobility.

NOTE: Letters refer to attached map.

COMMUTER RAIL LINES

Secaucus Transfer Limitations

The Secaucus Transfer will not have enough train capacity to carry peak hour passenger loads into New York City even with the additional trains enabled by improvements currently underway. During peak hours, it is likely that there will not be enough STANDING ROOM on the trains for passengers from the Main, Bergen and Pascack Lines, let alone those which will come from a future West Shore service. The Secaucus Transfer is not in a location which will ever allow a practical connection Midtown Direct Service on Bergen County trains.

Cross County Connector (CCC)

A Cross County Connector would enable Midtown Ferry Direct service from Western, Central and Eastern Bergen County using standard Commuter Diesel trains from Hoboken and the Weehawken Ferry. The CCC would use the West Shore's Weehawken Tunnel Route to Ridgefield Park From there, it would use the Susquehanna's tracks continuing on through Hackensack to Passaic Junction in Saddle Brook.

Bergen County Line (B) Connection

Bergen County Line trains would use the existing Passaic Junction switch in Saddle Brook to run through Hackensack to Weehawken, thus providing a Midtown Ferry Direct service.

Pascack Line (P) Connection

After restoring the connection, in Hackensack, trains from Westwood and Spring Valley could continue on the Susquehanna to Weehawken providing Midtown Ferry Direct service.

West Shore (W)

The Cross County Connector would make it possible for the West Shore be to also have a Midtown Ferry Direct Service at its historical destination in Weehawken.

Upper Susquehanna (NYS&W)

NJ Transit is currently working on restoring passenger service on the Susquehanna from Butler and Wyckoff to Hoboken. Instead of transferring onto the old Erie Main Line in Hawthorne, these trains could continue on the Susquehanna through Hackensack to Weehawken providing a Midtown Ferry Direct service from Western Bergen and Passaic.

LIGHT RAIL PROJECTS

Northern Valley Light Rail (NVLR) (N)

The Northern Valley Light Rail Line would run north from Weehawken into Edgewater and through the Susquehanna Tunnel into Fairview, then north through Englewood to Orangeburg N.Y. (Possibly also Nyack). The NVLR would join the Hudson-Bergen Line in Weehawken.

Street Running NVLR Spur from Leonia to the Hackensack Hospital (H/T)

This spur would swing west in Leonia using Fort Lee Road, go through Glenpointe onto Degraw Ave. in Teaneck and Bogota. An engineering study would determine whether a new bridge would be needed to cross the Hackensack River.

Sports Complex to Newark via Kingsland and Newark City Subway (SN)

From stops at the Arena, Stadium and Racetrack, head south over the Rt.3 Berry's Creek Bridge with transfer stations at the Bergen County and Main Lines and then onto the Kingsland Line. At North Arlington, run westward using the soon-to-be abandoned Boonton Line right-of-way to connect with the Newark City Subway (at Franklin Ave.) (F) ending in Penn Station, Newark. Alternatively, the light rail could use the Kingsland (K) line through Harrison directly to Newark, but this would need more extensive construction. Implementing this alternative would depend on engineering and economic considerations.

West Shore Light Rail from the Sports Complex to Teaneck (ST)

Use the unutilized part of the West Shore right-of-way from New Bridge Road at the Bergenfield border south through Ridgefield Park to connect with the Sports Complex to Newark light rail. From Lombardi to the Sports Complex, the light rail would run on the shoulder of the Turnpike and use its existing ramps. This line can later be extended north into Dumont, after grade crossings in Bergenfield are eliminated.

West Shore Crossings Elimination (W)

Problems on grade crossings from Bergenfield to the State Line must be addressed and corrected before extensive rail service north of Teaneck can begin. This project is overdue and necessary, even if adding passenger service was not a consideration.

OTHER PROJECTS

Buses

Rationalize and integrate bus and train schedules into a unified transit system to provide continuing transit with minimum waiting at transfer points.

New Rail Tunnel

The transportation problems of Bergen County, and of the entire Metropolitan Region, cannot be solved unless a new rail tunnel crossing the Hudson River is built. The Access to the Region's Core proposal is inadequate for Bergen County. Passengers on our lines will be required to go many miles out of their way to reach Secaucus Transfer and then FOREVER be forced into changing trains to get to New York. By first establishing Midtown Ferry Direct Service for the West Shore, Pascack, Bergen and Susquehanna lines, we will be in a position to have trains go directly into the portal of the New Tunnel without forcing the passengers to take a daily roundabout excursion through the swamps. Building a new trans-Hudson rail crossing will justify the electrification, in Bergen County, of the West Shore and other commuter lines. The focal point of any new rail service plan should be to focus on its potential benefits in relation to a new Hudson crossing.

FREIGHT CONSIDERATIONS

Using the Weehawken Tunnel for Passenger and Freight Trains

If NJ Transit were to use the Edgewater Tunnel for the Hudson Bergen Light Rail, it would free the Weehawken Tunnel for heavy rail commuter trains which could share tracks with freight trains. Since the peak usage by commuter trains consists of two three hour periods five days a week, the freight carriers can share tracks for the other eighteen hours and all day Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays. In fact, there could be considerable late night time segments set aside for exclusive use by freight.

The joint use of tracks by freight and rail is nothing new. All the rail lines in New Jersey at one time ran not only commuter trains mixed in with their freight operations but their tracks were shared with commuter trains and crack intercity passenger service. AND, they accomplished this, even in "Rail's Finest Hour" during World War II. At that time, they moved more rail freight and passengers than ever before, or since, using only paper, pencil and the telegraph's Morse Code for communications to coordinate the whole operation.

Today we have automated central traffic control systems with onboard computers receiving signals from global positioning satellites to get the exact location of every set of wheels running on each track. Running mixed train traffic today should be a snap, when compared with what was commonplace fifty five years ago.

Right of Way Considerations.

The ROW between the Weehawken Tunnel and Hoboken is wide enough for two light rail tracks plus one for heavy rail and there is still plenty of space between the modes to provide adequate safety factors.

Decisions regarding configuration of the placement of tracks in the Tunnel will need to be made.

During World War II the West Shore, combined with the NYO&W had a huge amount of mixed freight and passenger traffic going as far as Kingston, and beyond. With the automated traffic controls now available, there is no technical reason why mixed traffic can't be accommodated today at least as far as Haverstraw, if not Newburgh.

Negotiations.

It would be interesting to learn if the freight railroads would be willing to allow passenger trains to share their tracks in return for being able to share the Weehawken Tunnel.

The cost of the traffic control system will be high but not excessive. What proportion would the freight lines pay?

Who would operate the control system?

Having passenger and freight rail services running on separate tracks, except for safety reasons as required by the FRA, is not a holistic use of New Jersey's ROWassets.

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Prepared for the Transit Committee of Bergen County
Revised: January 1999
Albert F. Cafiero, 27 W. Clinton Avenue, Tenafly, NJ 07670
Phone & Fax: (201) 871-1218