History: Monmouth County and the Hudson Tubes (1903)

The 24 Dec 1903 edition of The Matawan Journal carried the following piece, attributed to The Freehold Transcript, predicting how ongoing construction of Hudson River tunnels would ease travel between Jersey City and New York City. These light rail tunnels, known as the Uptown Hudson Tubes, would benefit Monmouth County in many ways.

The first pair of tunnels were completed in 1906 and are part of today's PATH train system.


Bright Prospects Ahead

"The marvelous engineering enterprise now in progress in and about New York City may excite nothing more than a  passing interest in Monmouth County, but the Red Bank Register is quite right when, in looking ahead a bit it argued that one of them at least -- the tunnels connecting Jersey City and New York -- will prove a direct benefit to this county.  When it is realized that within the next three years any one may go from any one of the larger towns in the county to the heart of the city of New York practically without change of cars in perhaps less than an hour, it requires no imagination to understand just how much of an asset it will be in attracting outsiders to permanently locate here. Although it may be a harping upon the same old string, it is none the less true that there is no county in the State so fortunately situated so far as the future is concerned as Monmouth."

Holiday Eve and NJ Transit

Ah! The Jersey Coast commuter has to be a hearty soul. Holiday eve and our train left NYP 20 min late then developed mechanical difficulties at Secaucus and was eventually terminated at Newark. So we needed another train but NYP suddenly developed indefinite signal problems. At this point NJT is seeking a spare train in the yard to take us to the shore. If that happens, we'll be the only westbound train on the tracks. How cool is that? I'm trying to remain positive. The train approacheth. Supposedly. ... I feel like I'm in Trains, Planes and Automobiles 2.

UPDATE: My commute home on the night before Thanksgiving ended up taking slightly over 3 hours when it should have been about half that. To be fair, this commute was a few weeks after Hurricane Sandy and the system has had many problems. Then again, investment in public transportation is embarrassing low, so these problems aren't simply a result of a bad storm.

NJT Coastline Train Slow But Sure on 1st Day Back

I caught the 647 at Ab-Mat, which arrived at 7:30. Slow ride to South Amboy; got there over half an hour later. Ride over Raritan trestle to Perth Amboy a bit slow. Lots of leaves and branches on tracks until we joined the NE Corridor. So far an uneventful quick ride along the corridor.

Gridlock At WTC PATH Station

True Stories From a Mosh Pit (Campus Socialite)

When the Port Authority closed its 33rd Street PATH station on Friday morning due to police action , a dangerous situation of a different sort unexpectedly arose at the World Trade Center PATH station. Dense crowds formed inside the station trying to get out to the street and nearby subways and buses, and those who took subways and buses to the WTC PATH station found a huge crowd outside trying to get in.

Passengers had headed to the WTC station in unusually large numbers -- those on their normal commute through WTC plus those who would normally have used the 33rd Street station. This excessive volume had caused a rare case of what we might call PATH gridlock. Unfortunately, the Port Authority was oblivious and left passengers to fend for themselves during this gridlock situation. Beyond the discomfort and delay, the crowding conditions became extreme and rife with potential danger.

The only sensible action taken by the Port Authority during the incident was to shut off the power to the dozen massive WTC escalators, presumably to keep passengers from reaching overcrowded landings and become injured and/or crush those already packed on the landings. People resorted to using the escalators like regular steps.

Since all but one of the escalators at WTC station were claimed by exiting passengers, only a single escalator was available for those seeking to go downstairs and catch a departing PATH train. A narrow pulse of passengers was slowly but steadily pressing through the crowd to that escalator. The rest of those hoping to enter the station massed across the station's frontage seeking a way in. The occasional stray pressed through the crowd the wrong way, not knowing the "arrangement," only to find that one "can't get there from here." The scene looked like one of those films of a cell under a microscope.

Passengers were packed like sardines on the upper platform, just outside the WTC station's newsstand. Indeed, the landing was a veritable mosh pit with currents of traffic moving this way and that. The crowd couldn't get out of the station normally because the people mobbed outside were blocking all but one of the potential exits. The crowds both inside and out were involved in the ultimate alternate merge as they pressed their respective masses of humanity into 2-abreast streams of people that could fit through the available ways out of and into the station. And you know how well New Yorkers handle alternate merges -- if not, just try it at the Holland Tunnel merges.

Those of us who had yet to reach the mosh pit landing were temporarily stranded on the steep escalators. It was take a step and wait. Wait some more. Take a step and wait. Repeat. In the meantime, we craned our necks trying in vain to see what was happening at street level. It was odd to stand motionless on the escalators. Conversations ensued as people pondered among themselves what was happening. All wanted to be on their way. Most were reasonably patient. All complained about the lack of public announcements.

I could have gone through life without this experience, but on the bright side it was reassuring to see that commuters cope well with bad traffic management. Luckily the mob remained calm, as a panic by even a few could have caused pandemonium and countless injuries, even deaths.

I have to say the Port Authority let PATH passengers down on Friday morning. Luckily things worked out okay, but it wasn't an obvious outcome. I hope officials study this occurrence and develop contingency plans for when this scenario plays out again. After all, it could have been a disaster.

Delays At Newark Penn Station

Signals out at Penn Sta Newark with no end in sight. Huge crowd.

UPDATE 10:07 PM: Commutes were delayed one to two hours or more tonight. I've not been herded and corralled like I was tonight since Disney World. Today's odyssey at Newark only added an hour to my trip home.  I fear others weren't so fortunate. I just got a note (9:49 pm) saying NJ Transit trains are finally back to almost normal. NJT has offered no updates in three hours, leaving me to wonder what it's been like at Newark all evening.

All in all, communications with NJ Transit passengers at Newark Station reached an all time low today. The public address system was so difficult to hear that NJT sent several women through the station shouting that bus service was available to Elizabeth and Rahway. The messages I could hear were of little if any use. Do the math: massive crowds of commuters cooling their heels with nowhere to go PLUS no commuter information EQUALS a recipe for disaster.

NJT has been promising improved communications as a priority after two surveys indicated great customer dissatisfaction, but the situation is truly worse than ever. Please, no more surveys if you're not going to even try to fix things.

When Will The Pig Lie Down With The Horse?

When confronted by critics saying that his recent increase in bridge and tunnel tolls and PATH fares is a tax increase, Governor Christie argued that people have it all wrong, it is simply an increase in user fees. Pointing out how stupid people can be sometimes, he explained, "If you look at a pig and call it a horse, and if lots of people call it a horse, maybe a lot of people start saying, 'Is it a horse?' No, it's a pig."

I agree with Gov Christie: his increase in our commuting costs, much like his reduction in state aid to NJ Transit last year that made my monthly train fare go through the roof, seems more like a pig than a horse.

Let's hope that one day the pig will lie down with the horse and the people of New Jersey can live in peace again.

NJ Transit Gets Poor Grades in Recent Survey

The results of a recent NJ Transit passenger satisfaction survey are online. You can look at the overall results or drill down to particular train or bus lines to see how they fared.

The regional papers are all saying that passengers gave NJT a "C" grade. Blah blah blah. I don't know about your school, but at mine, 70-79% was the range of a C. 44% was a failing grade requiring a note home and maybe a visit by your parents to the school. 30% was time for the County Board of Education or Department of Youth and Family Services to intervene in the school or family, respectively. I doubt anyone is coming to the rescue of my commute. The Department of Transportation? Yeah, right...

North Jersey Coast train passengers who took the survey were outraged at high fares (30%), poor handling of service disruptions (33%), unreliable equipment (39%), poor announcements during service disruptions (39%), and poor on-time performance (41%). They gave the NJ Coast train a 37% score for "value for your money" and an overall score of 44%.

All levels of government should be encouraging mass transit by lowering fares, increasing schedules, and making it easier for people to get to and from train stations. Instead funding and services are being reduced. Stimulus funds and work programs should be more focused on mass transit and less on road construction. Christie cuts in aid to NJ Transit directly increased commuter fares. His dismissal of the federal rail project into New York City was amazingly short-sighted. Congressional efforts to kill funding for everything but their own salaries will also negatively affect mass transit.

Local planners should be looking to synchronize their transit assets. These assets should not be competing with one another. Some buses serve Metropark, but you won't see any buses at the Aberdeen-Matawan rail station (except the popular evening bus to the PNC Arts Center). In the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, the bus lines serve the Metro system. In general, buses here compete with trains.

On a somewhat unrelated note, I sometimes take the train into the city from Metropark. The fare is a little less than at Aberdeen-Matawan, so I can show my monthly there and pay nothing additional. I dread the train ride from there, though. It is often standing room only during rush hour. In contrast, I usually can get a seat at Matawan.

Train Commuting Nightmare

The Newark Star-Ledger has a good article summing up the major headaches suffered by commuters on the trains the past couple of days. OMG! Two mornings in a row and again last night. Yesterday morning the entire Northeast Corridor had no power, so Aberdeen-Matawan passengers heading to the city were stacked 3 high at Woodbridge and being told at the station to find alternate means to get to their destinations. Last night the monitors at Newark were showing all trains to Aberdeen-Matawan running one and a half hours late. I saw people running from platform to platform trying to find the correct train as the signage was all wrong. One man threw his briefcase into the doorway of one train and shouted angrily down the track to a far off conductor, "Where is this train going?" Commuters' tempers were only just starting to flare last night, mostly patient through it all, but I fear for the worst if the trip in or back is bad again today. As for myself, it's just another steamy summer on the metro area rails. I just turn on my iPod and try to pretend I'm somewhere else.

The NJ Transit Train Boards Color Coded

The NJ Transit train schedule boards at Newark Penn Station are color coded these days. If you are heading to the shore, look for a blue row on a board like the one above. Blue represents North Jersey Coast Line trains heading to Aberdeen, Long Branch, and Bay Head. When the train is due, a second monitor on the platform will show the train's individual stops with a blue background.

Trains to Metropark and New Brunswick have red rows and backgrounds. Raritan Valley and Amtrak trains have their own colors.

Take advantage of the color code to find your way on the rails.

History: Train Accident at Woodbridge, 1951

Below are two articles from the 8 Feb 1951 edition of The Matawan Journal related to an extremely serious train accident that occurred during the evening rush hour at Woodbridge, New Jersey. The paper said 88 passengers were killed and 500+ injured when their speeding train caused the collapse of a temporary train trestle over construction on the NJ Turnpike.

See also Woodbridge Township's site , GenDisasters, and the Wikipedia article.

Seven Dead, Eight Injured From Area In Pennsylvania Wreck At Woodbridge
Local Aid Squads, Police, Firemen, Join In Efforts To Aid Victims; Lack Of Service On Strikebound Jersey Central Crammed Train

Seven from his area were dead and eight injured in the still incomplete count of the casualties resulting from the Pennsylvania Railroad wreck Tuesday at Woodbridge. The total dead was 88 and over 500 were injured.

The dead:

• Ruth I. Crimmins, 21, 111 Cleveland Ave., Laurence Harbor.
• Irene J. DenBleyker, Matawan Rd., Laurence Harbor.
• George W. Gracie, 46, 112 Morningside Ave., Laurence Harbor.
• Leo W. Mullen. 28, of 411 Jefferson Ave., Laurence Harbor.
• John A. Nordlund. 69, of 127 Laurence Pkway., Laurence Harbor.
• Clarence W. Holmes, 58, of 220 Birchwood Dr., Cliffwood Beach.
• George Bernius. Grove Ave., Laurence Harbor.

The injured:

• Albert Clayton, RD Matawan, South Amboy Memorial Hospital. (discharged)
• Christina Connelly, 256 Harding Ave., Laurence Harbor, Perth Amboy General Hospital.
• Frank Flynn, 23, of 611 Aumack Ave., Union Beach, Perth Amboy General Hospital. Fractured pelvis.
• James Gallagher, 878 State Highway, Laurence Harbor, Camp Kilmer Hospital.
• John Hall, 206 Shoreland Circle, Laurence Harbor.
• Evelyn Herrick, 336 Raritan Blvd., Cliffwood Beach, Perth Amboy General Hospital.
• David Lembert, S Ocean Bvld., Cliffwood Beach, Perth Amboy General Hospital.
• John E. Thurn, 481 Brookside Av., Laurence Harbor.

 Edgar Walling, Main St., Keyport, was on the train but reported only minor cuts.

Toll Could Have Been Higher

The casualty total for the area would have been much higher if it had been generally known by commuters from the Keyport-Matawan sector that the ill-fated train, known as "The Broker," leaving Exchange Place, Jersey City at 5:07 p.m., was making a special stop at Matawan to accommodate those who ordinarily rode the strike-bound, Jersey Central. On its regular schedule "The Broker" does not stop at Matawan.

Bayshore disaster relief units joined those of 20 other municipalities in assisting Woodbridge agencies in coping with the sudden and stunning catastrophe.

Keyport, Matawan, Union Beach, West Keansburg, and Keansburg First Aid Squads were rushed to the scene. The Keyport squad did standby duty for the Fords squad. As the Fords unit took victims from the wrecked cars, the Keyport squad made two trips, one to Perth Amboy and the second to a Long Branch hospital. The Matawan squad made two trips from the disaster scene to Perth Amboy General Hospital. Union Beach squad was held at home under orders until later in the evening, but they, too, were summoned to the scene in time to give aid to victims. They also had a stretcher squad atop one of the cars when the dead were being brought out. West Keansburg aidmen assisted in bringing victims out of the cars, according to Squad Capt. Leroy Hay. Keansburg had both ambulances at the scene and made runs to Perth Amboy General Hospital.

Chief Leroy Sproul and Patrolman William Geiger, Keyport Police, took Bert Peteler, a Keyport resident who Is a specialist in acetylene torch work, to the scene in the police car with oxygen tanks and torches. Tho two policemen were assigned to duty assisting Woodbridge Police control the crowds at the scene. Patrolman Robert McGowan, Matawan, also assisted with this work.

Many Rush To Scene

Many borough residents rushed to the scene, some in concern for the welfare of residents or to give aid, others out of curiosity. Others hurried to Matawan station for reports on the train, or to telephone to call any agency which might have a casualty list.

The accident occurred at 5:43 p.m. when the train entered a sharp curve on the temporary overpass opened three hours earlier to carry trains over construction work on the New Jersey Freeway. The exact cause was undetermined but it appeared to observers that a temporary wooden trestle had collapsed after the engine and the first five cars had cleared it.

The locomotive tender and first five cars of the 11-car train passed safely over the trestle, one car length across and supported by eighteen wooden tiles. Wheels of the sixth car apparently broke through the wooden bridge, causing a whip-lash action to convulse the train.

Engine Topples Over

The steam locomotive toppled over on its side but remained on top of the embankment. The tender fell to the west down the 25-foot embankment, landing in Fulton St., a roadway running parallel to the tracks.

The first and second cars slewed part way down the embankment, perilously tilted but not overturned. The third and fourth cars plunged farther down the embankment and were the worst damaged. They contained most of the dead and critically injured.

Tho fifth car rested on its side in the mud of the embankment just south of the bridge, while the sixth, under which the trestle appeared to have collapsed, spanned the trestle, resting on the concrete abutments at either end. One of its wheel trucks had dropped through the bridge and rested in Legion Pl. below.

The seventh and eighth cars appeared to have sheared past the sixth car, ripping open their sides and plowing down the embankment near the third and fourth coaches. The last three cars remained to the north of the bridge, upright on the tracks.

Going 50 Says Engineer

The engineer of "The Broker" admitted yesterday afternoon he was going 50 miles an hour, twice the authorized speed, when the train suddenly jumped the tracks.

Joseph H. Fitzsimmons, 57, of Point Pleasant, the veteran engineer, however blamed the absence of caution signals for the disaster. But Conductor John N. Bishop, also of Point Pleasant, declared he sensed the train was going much too fast for safety and was just about to pull the emergency brake for a slowdown when the smashup happened.

Both the railroad and the Turnpike Authority, which built the temporary overpass where the train left the tracks, absolved the trestle from blame. Assistant Middlesex County prosecutor Alex Eber questioned the
engineer and the conductor in their hospital cots. Neither was injured seriously.

Mr. Eber said Mr. Fitzsimmons admitted he had read orders limiting speed to 25 miles per hour over the trestle. When he reached the Woodbridge station area, where the train was not scheduled to stop, he cut his speed from 60 to 50 miles, he told Mr. Eber, and began to looking for amber caution signals when he was about 2500 feet from the trestle.

Mr. Fitzsimmons said he would have reduced his speed further if there had been any.signals, adding that it was the rallroad's responsibility to see that proper signals were in operation.

According to Mr. Eber, Mr. Fitzsimmons said he began applying his brakes about 2300 feet from the trestle. "Then something happened to the train and  it was derailed," he said.

But, Mr. Eber said, Mr. Bishop pointed to the speed of the train, which was rounding a curve on an upgrade approaching the overpass.

Conductor's Story

Mr. Eber said Mr. Bishop, the conductor, told this story of the wreck:

"Before we left Jersey City I spoke to Mr. Fitzsimmons and discussed the order limiting speed to 25 miles an hour in the vicinity of the trestle.

"The train was unusually crowded because the Jersey Central was not operating due to the switchman's "sickness" strike.

"Because of my experience as a conductor I sensed that we were on an upgrade and going much too fast. I was just going to reach for the emergency cord when the train was derailed. I felt no braking immediately before the 'wreck."

Mr. Eber said he also learned from railroad officials that there was no speedometer on the wrecked
locomotive, that there were no caution signals in the area, and that no advance safety tests had been made of the trestle.

However, Mr. Eber joined the railroad and Turnpike Authority in insisting the trestle was sound. There was no evidence, he said, that the trestle collapsed before the train jumped the tracks.

Wreck Victims

Below is obituary information on six of the seven Laurence Harbor-Cliffwood residents who died in Tuesday's tragic rail wreck, at Woodbridge:

Crimmins Rites

Services for Miss Crimmins, daughter of John W. Crimmins, Madison Township committeeman, will be held from the Day Funeral Home, Keyport, Saturday at 8 a.m. A requiem mass will be celebrated in St. Lawrence's Church, Laurence Harbor, at 9. Employed by a New York insurance firm, Miss Crimmins is survived, besides her father, by a brother, John C. Oakland, Calif., and her stepmother, Mrs. Catherine Crimmins.

George Bernius jr.

Georgc Bernius Jr. of 937 Grove Ave., Laurence Harbor, was born 29 years ago in Orange, where he livcd until moving here in 1946. A veteran of World War II, he was a welder for The New York Times. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Elsie Corback Bernius, and his father, George Bernius, Sr. of Laurence Harbor. The funeral will be from the Frank J. Codey & Sons Funeral Home, 69 High St., Orange.

Clarence W. Holmes

Clarence W. Holmes, 58, of 220 Birchwood Dr., Cliffwood Beach, was a native of Connecticut. He has lived in Cliffwood Beach eight years, coming from Newark. He was employed by the Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Co. in Newark. Mr. Holmes is survived by his wife, Mrs. Florence Holmes, a five-
year-old daughter, Barbara, and two brothers, Charles and Ernest, both of Newark.

George W. Gracie

George W. Gracie, 46, of 112 Morningside Ave., Laurence Harbor, had lived there 18 months and was employed at General Motors Export Division in New York. Born in Newark, he lived in Irvington before moving to Laurence Harbor.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Jean Duncan Gracie; two daughters, Ellen, 5, and Jean, 3; a brother William Gracie of Linden, and three sisters, Mrs Elizabeth Corvan and Mrs. Florence Leu of Irvington, and Mrs. V. Rehm of Detroit.

Leo A. Mullen

Leo A. Mullen of 411 Jefferson Ave., Laurence Harbor was project manager in the technical writing service section of the McGraw Hill Publishing Co., of New York. He was born 28 years ago, in Astoria, L. I., and moved to Laurence Harbor four years ago. A World War II veteran of four years In the Air Force,  Mr. Mullen was a second lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve. He had attended both Yale and Rutgers, majoring in business administration. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Ann Mullen of Springfield Gardens, L. I.; a four-year-old daughter, Kathleen, and two brothers, Joseph of Melrose, L. I., and Raymond of Springfield Gardens.

Mrs. Daniel DenBleyker

Mrs. Irene (Jaeger) DenBleyker of Matawan Rd., Laurence Harbor, was employed by Dieterle & Sleight Inc., Newark, paper box firm. Mrs. DenBleyker usually commuted on the Jersey Central, but because of the strike, took the Pennsylvania Tuesday night.

Mrs DenBleyker was born in Newark and moved to Laurence Harbor in 1933. She was 53. Mrs. DenBleyker was the widow of Daniel DenBleyker, who died in 1940. She lived with her sister, Mrs. Elsie Benner. She also leaves a brother, William Jaeger of Orange.

Congressman Frank Pallone Greeting Constituents

Congressman Frank Pallone is greeting constituents at Aberdeen Matawan rail station.

UPDATE: I had nearly half an hour to wait for my train so I had ample opportunity to chat with the Congressman and his aide, who were handing out constituent services brochures and offering to talk about whatever the public wanted.

I expressed my concern about the possible loss of Medicare funding for medical intern programs. The Congressman pointed out that the health care reform package contains wording to deal with the shortage of general practitioners. He said doctors favor medical specializations and at the same time discourage anyone with lesser qualifications from stepping in to help deal with the shortage of general practitioners. I wryly joked that that is what Emergency Rooms are for.

Aberdeen-Matawan Gas Prices

With fuel prices up about a dollar since last year, you will want to watch for the best local price for gasoline. You can check the latest gasoline prices in the Aberdeen-Matawan area using New Jersey Gas Prices. Add a link to this page to your Favorite Places. I've also added this site to the Transportation links on the right side of the blog for your convenience.

NJ Transit Rail Doing What It Can To Battle Ice n Snow

Nj Transit workers pre-position sand at Rahway anticipating icy commute home Wed. 9:42 out of Aberdeen was only 11 min late today, but earlier trains were another story. The ride home from the city is liable to be harrowing as temps drop later today.

Quiet Turmoil in the End Cars

NJ Transit is getting more than it bargained for with its new quiet cars program on rush hour trains. Passengers cannot agree on how quiet is quiet, and the finger pointing, bickering, rulebook arguments, and general rolling of eyes is raising some not so quiet turmoil among seasoned commuters. NYT provides a briefing on the situation with an article datelined Matawan.

History: Passenger Train Service Ends on Freehold-Matawan Branch, 1953

Camel-Back Train Replaced By Bus 
Freehold-Matawan Commuters Rode Old 757 Last Time Saturday

Camelback Steam Engine c 1920, CNJ (Wikimedia)

The whistle of old 757 sounded sad and mournful Saturday [25 April 1953] as the veteran Central Railroad of New Jersey camel-back locomotive left the Freehold station at 7:12 a.m. with its string of its four coaches on its last trip to Matawan.

Somehow it sensed that its traveling days on the daily round trip run between Freehold' and Matawan were over. For passenger railroading on this branch line is another victim to the ever-increasing automobile and bus. The Freehold-Matawan run was the last Shore run for the old camel-back steam engines.

From now on the railroad will run a bus to take its commuters to the main Shore line at Matawan. Whether the passengers will miss the romance of riding the old train might be open to question. But for the veteran crew there can be no doubt. For them, it is the end of an era in which they played a prominent part.

Recalls Early Days

Conductor Edward R Jones, Barnegat, a 30 year veteran of the run, recalls back in 1911, when the railroad ran seven round trips daily between the two towns, with six coaches to each train. The latest tally of passengers showed an average of 30 a day on week-days, and from five to eight on Saturdays.

With him on the last trip were Engineer Edward Irons, Red Bank; Fireman Harold Tillon. Barnegat; Brakeman Oliver Klrkpatrick, Lakehurst, and Flagman George Egan, Keyport. They will soon be seen on other runs, railroad officials said.

Banned for Safety Reasons

The doom of old 757, along with others of its type was forecast back as far as 1925, when the camel-back type of engine was banned for safety reasons. The engineer could not see the left side of the roadway, and the fireman was not in the cab with the engineer to take over in an emergency. Although the branch line has been abandoned for passenger service, the railroad will continue to run freight over the tracks. But the freight trains will be powered with diesel engines.

For the commuters, gasoline fumes will replace the smoke and cinders of old 757!

Source: The Matawan Journal, 30 April 1953, front page

Aberdeen Matawan Train Station Parking Turns the Corner

The Matawan and Aberdeen municipal governments have procrastinated so long on their plans to renovate the train station area that events have finally overtaken them. The Independent says that NJ Transit is choosing a company to standardize their parking offerings at many of their train stations, including the Aberdeen-Matawan Station. This could throw a serious wrench in -- well, in whatever sort of plans the municipalities couldn't ever seem to get off the ground for oh so many years. Oh, my. Someone recently commented here about the SeaWalk campaign promise finally being met, albeit a little late.  This campaign promise looks to be going down in flames.

Alas, I suppose the NJ Transit initiative means an end to an era of super cheap parking ($40/mo?!) for holders of undervalued and poorly controlled train station parking permits. I can get a parking permit at Edison if and when I'm willing to pay their fees and put up with their ornery management, but there has been no monthly municipal parking available at Aberdeen, my neighborhood station, for years. It's been frustrating, no unlike trying to get NFL season tickets when they are owned by corporations or remain in families for generations.

I frankly don't think a company could handle the parking policy any worse. And they certainly couldn't make that neglected, mercenary zone of lined pavement look any worse than it already does.

Venables at Aberdeen Station

Janice Venables, Democratic candidate for Monmouth Co Freeholder, greeted commuters this morning at Aberdeen-Matawan train station.

NJ Transit Trains Delayed

NJ Transit trains have been running late or not at all this afternoon and evening. Transit police are on duty at Newark to help with crowd control.

Jersey Coast Trains Suffering Delays and Cancellations Due to Switching Problems

This evening's New Jersey Transit North Jersey Coast Seashore trains have been suffering delays since 5 pm due to a switch problem near the Portal Bridge at Kearney. Delays started at 15 to 20 min but quickly grew to 30 min to an hour. At 6:39 pm, NJT announced the cancellation of the 6:01 pm train out of Penn Station New York and recommended using the 6:32 pm. At 7:15 pm, they canceled the 6:32 pm and suggested that 6:01 pm and 6:32 pm passengers use the 7:08 pm. Sounds like a tight squeeze. Glad I'm not riding the rails this evening. Yikes!

Presumably the issue will be resolved before the morning commute.

UPDATE: As of 10:10 pm, switch problems continued to plague the trains entering and leaving the city, with 20 to 30 min delays reported.

UPDATE: As of 11:44 pm, trains were once again on or close to schedule. Of course, trains are about an hour apart at this hour, so that's no great challenge. We'll just have to wait and see what the morning brings.

Wrested From Development

Governor Christie is protecting the taxpayers of New Jersey from their debt by gradually dismantling society. He has effectively cut teachers, closed and merged schools, fired janitors, shuttered public libraries, reduced public transportation, and raised commuter costs. Now he has called a halt to the largest public works project in America, inexplicably redirecting much-needed monies and jobs from a $10 billion trans-Hudson transportation project to projects in other areas of the country. Christie already demonstrated that he knows how to lose the state millions in school aid; now he is managing at the same time to avoid the federal gravy train in public works funding and reject cooperation on a mutually beneficial interstate construction project with New York.

To top it off, when we are down on our luck, we won't even be able to go bet on the horses because he plans to close the track. Now that's progress.