Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford
No, it's one station. There is only a proposal for one new station in NJ.
That NJ Transit line is at full capacity, so the line would absolutely make sense. In fact the second NJ Transit line/tunnel into Manhattan is going to be built almost exactly parallel with the first.
And subway ridership doesn't really align with commuter rail ridership anyways. They're different markets. It's the norm in the region to have subway lines and commuter lines along similar rights of way (in fact the newest rail tunnel across the East River is really a dual level subway/commuter rail tunnel with separate tubes for subway and LIRR).
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Its not really the norm, most suburban lines run parallel to the subway network but with 5-15 blocks of separation...even the various proposals in the outer boroughs and NJ keep them separate... 2 different markets like you said , the ESA is a rare project where they share ROW...
As talked to death in the various Infrastructure communities in this region...the 7 is unlikely to happen... The MTA & NJT have a backlog of critical transit projects that need to built...aside from the Gateway...most projects are in and around Newark or Central/South Jersey... The only people pushing the 7 are people that have fetishized Urban Redevelopment... Like NYGuy said the city needs to have its own Bus Terminal... Every city should have a few major Rail & Bus Terminals...shifting around location and adding to commutes might cause ridership to decline... People hate standing and transferring in this region... So by forcing a Transfer you'll only anger them more and they'll stop using the service. People tend to move along lines with a one seat ride to their job...or a stress free commute...
Back to the whole redevelopment thing , Secaucus is a swamp & heavily Industrial so there is not much you can do there... If you add a stop in Union city then you'll drive up costs...and Union City has Height limits due to local zoning that people will fight till there blue in the face to preserve.... Weehawken and too a lesser extent Hoboken is the same way... So a Manhattan style high rise boom will not come to the Gold Coast and the Infrastructure is not developed enough to handle it...
It seems like everyone is coming up with wacky ideas for a simple solution or simple set of Solutions... By building the following projects in NJ you can lessen the strain on the Bus system into NYC
- MOM Rail Network - Freehold Branch , Lakewood/Toms River line
- West Shore Line (Hoboken - Newburgh)
- Gateway Rail Project
- Hoboken Terminal overhaul and upgrade
- Northern Branch LRT (North Bergen to Englewood)
- Bergen-Passaic LRT (North Bergen to Paterson)
- Sparta Line (Hoboken to Butler or Sparta)
- More Frequent service on the Rail Network
I rather see the MTA focus on Subway expansions like the SAS or in the outer boroughs...a line into NJ will shift focus and money away from that... Same goes for NJT...with all its backlogged projects... After NY , Newark is the busiest transit hub in the state and one of the busiest in the region...it has been neglected for so long and now with its billions in redevelopment...the time has come to focus on it... I can tell you if the 7 to NJ keeps getting pushed that any funding that is needed for Newark projects will be diverted to it... NJ is not a big state in terms of funding and we don't do multiple large scale projects at the same time.