NEW RAIL SCHEDULES PROVIDE MORE SEATS TO MEET RIDERSHIP DEMAND

4,000 more seats added to peak-period service; ¿Holiday Express¿ service returns

October 24, 2006
NJT-06-134
Contact: Dan Stessel 973 491-7078

NEWARK, NJ ¿ Customers across the NJ TRANSIT rail system will benefit from an additional 4,000 seats in the peak period as a result of new rail timetables that take effect October 29.

NJ TRANSIT will add two new early morning express trains on the Northeast Corridor, as well as a new morning express train and a new morning local train on the North Jersey Coast Line. On the Morris & Essex Lines, an evening peak-period train will be restored, and on the Main/Bergen Line a new early morning peak train will fill a gap in service of more than 70 minutes.

In addition, NJ TRANSIT will offer 16 "Holiday Express" trains on the Northeast Corridor and Morris & Essex Lines through January for the benefit of customers taking advantage of shopping and entertainment in New Jersey and New York City this holiday season.

More express service for Northeast Corridor "outer-zone" customers

Adapting to changing ridership patterns, NJ TRANSIT will provide better, earlier service for the Northeast Corridor¿s "outer-zone," with two new early morning express trains for customers boarding at Trenton, Hamilton and Princeton Junction stations. The new trains will also benefit middle-zone customers by making more seats available on existing trains for customers boarding at Jersey Avenue, New Brunswick, Edison, Metuchen and Metropark stations.

The new trains will depart Trenton at 5:10 a.m. and 5:38 a.m., stop at Hamilton and Princeton Junction, then operate express to Newark, arriving in New York at 6:16 a.m. and 6:44 a.m., respectively.

In addition, NJ TRANSIT will add a new morning reverse-peak train from New York to Trenton. The new train will depart New York at 9:01 a.m. and stop at Newark Penn Station, then operate express to Princeton Junction, Hamilton and Trenton, where it will arrive at 10:09 a.m.

New trains, added stops on North Jersey Coast Line

North Jersey Coast Line (NJCL) customers will benefit from a new morning express train to New York in the peak period, as well as a new local train from South Amboy. The express train will depart Long Branch at 6:30 a.m. and make stops from Little Silver to Aberdeen-Matawan, followed by Woodbridge, then operate express to Newark, arriving in New York at 7:51 a.m. Customers making local stops can use Train 3452, which will depart Aberdeen-Matawan at 7:02 a.m., make all stops and arrive in New York at 8:22 a.m.

The new South Amboy local will serve the NJCL¿s "inner zone"¿South Amboy, Perth Amboy, Woodbridge and Avenel¿as well as the Northeast Corridor¿s inner-zone stations¿Rahway, Linden, Elizabeth and North Elizabeth. The train will depart South Amboy at 7:34 a.m. and arrive in New York at 8:45 a.m.

NJ TRANSIT will also extend a train to Hoboken that previously terminated in Newark, providing an earlier Hoboken arrival (6:22 a.m.) without the need to transfer. In addition, added stops on a morning peak train will provide Little Silver and Red Bank station customers with more travel options.

Weekend "Holiday Express" trains added on Northeast Corridor

Northeast Corridor rail customers will receive enhanced weekend service this holiday season, as eight "Holiday Express" trains to and from New York on Saturdays and Sundays return through January 13. The trains shave about 10 minutes off the local travel time and provide additional seating capacity during the busy holiday season.

  • In the morning, Holiday Express trains will depart Trenton at 8:21 a.m., 9:21 a.m., 10:21 a.m. and 11:21 a.m. The trains will make all stops from Trenton to Metropark (except Jersey Avenue), then run express from Metroparkto Newark Airport, making stops at Newark Penn Station and Secaucus Junction before arriving in New York.
  • For return trips, Holiday Express trains will depart New York at 4:09 p.m., 5:09 p.m., 6:09 p.m. and 7:09 p.m., stopping at Secaucus Junction, Newark Penn Station and Newark Airport before expressing to Metropark, followed by all westbound stops to Trenton (except Jersey Avenue).

Weekend "Holiday Express" trains added on Morris & Essex Lines

NJ TRANSIT will also offer weekend Holiday Express trains through January 13 on the Morris & Essex Lines that shave about 20 minutes off the typical weekend Dover-New York trip.

  • New York-bound Holiday Express trains will depart Dover at 8:34 a.m., 9:34 a.m., 10:34 a.m. and 11:34 a.m. Each train will make local stops from Dover to Summit, then operate express to Newark Broad Street and New York.
  • In the evening, Holiday Express trains will depart New York at 4:03 p.m., 5:03 p.m., 6:03 p.m. and 7:03 p.m., stopping at Newark Broad Street and operating express to Summit before making all stops to Dover.

Other service improvement highlights across the system

  • Morris & Essex Lines: NJ TRANSIT will restore an evening peak-period train (#339), which will depart Hoboken at 6:08 p.m. and make all stops to Summit, arriving there at 6:55 p.m. This local train will enable Train 653 to resume express service from Newark Broad Street Station to Summit, saving 12 minutes for customers traveling to stations from Summit to Dover.
  • Main/Bergen County Line: An added train will fill a gap in service during the morning peak period. New Train 1102 will depart Suffern at 5:24 a.m. and make all stops along the Main Line, reducing the interval between trains from 77 minutes to approximately 30 to 45 minutes between 5:20 a.m. and 6:40 a.m.
  • Montclair-Boonton: Two MidTOWN DIRECT trains will be adjusted to meet 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. class start times at Montclair State University. Train 6219 will depart New York 22 minutes later, arriving at Montclair State University Station at 9:35 a.m. Train 6231 will depart New York 9 minutes earlier, arriving at Montclair State University Station at 11:22 a.m.

IMPORTANT CUSTOMER NOTE

To accommodate NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak schedule changes, weekday and weekend train schedules have been adjusted. Customers should carefully check new timetables, which are available online or through any web-enabled mobile device at

www.njtransit.com. Customers with questions may call NJ TRANSIT at 1-800-772-2222.

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing nearly 857,000 weekday trips on 240 bus routes, three light rail lines and 11 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 162 rail stations, 60 light rail stations and more than 18,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.