Francais | English | Espanõl

River LINE (New Jersey Transit)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Image:Riverline At Walter Rand.jpg

The River LINE is a light rail system in New Jersey, United States that connects the cities of Camden and Trenton, New Jersey's capital. It is operated for New Jersey Transit by the Southern New Jersey Rail Group, which includes Bechtel Group and Bombardier. It is so named because the path from those two cities runs more or less parallel to the Delaware River.

The River LINE stops at the PATCO Speedline's Broadway Station (Walter Rand Transportation Center), allowing passengers to transfer to and from this connection to Philadelphia.

Contents

[edit] Ridership

The River LINE is currently exceeding initial ridership estimates of 5,500 passengers per day, with a report in March 2006 of 6,900 passenger boardings per day.

[edit] Ownership

Except at its ends, the River LINE was Conrail's Bordentown Secondary until June 1, 1999, when NJ Transit bought it for $67.5 million.[1] NJ Transit has exclusive access to run light rail on the line from 06:00 to 22:00 Sunday through Friday, and all of Saturday night and Sunday morning. Conrail has exclusive access for freight at other times. Either agency may request to use the line at abnormal times in case of a special event or emergency.

The relatively early shutdown of the line has been a frequently raised concern of the River LINE, as it is unattractive to those wishing to attend late evening events in Camden or Philadelphia. The timesharing agreement with Conrail was renegotiated to allow late Saturday service for this reason.[citation needed] As a further measure, during summer 2006, NJ Transit will offer riders a guaranteed bus connection from 36th Street station, the last station not subject to the timesharing agreement, to the Pennsauken/Route 73 park and ride station, to increase the attractiveness of the service to riders attending concerts or Riversharks games in Camden on weekday evenings. The special service will operate through September 30, 2006. [2] [3]

[edit] Payment and ticketing

Image:Riverline TVM.jpg

The River LINE operates on a proof-of-payment system, as typical of most light rail systems throughout the United States. Passengers can buy the tickets at ticket vending machines (TVM) present at all stations, with the base fare being $1.25. The tickets then must be validated at separate ticket validation machines, where machine will print an expiration time/date stamp on the ticket; tickets are valid for two hours from the time of validation. Passengers must hold a valid ticket before boarding the train, and can face fines if a ticket inspector finds them on-board without proper proof of payment. Passengers holding valid New Jersey Transit bus passes or weekly or monthly rail tickets can present any of those as they are honored on the River Line. Unused Newark City Subway (same $1.25 fare) and Hudson-Bergen Light Rail ($1.75) tickets can be used after validation at a River LINE station.

[edit] Vehicles

Image:Gtw riverline.JPG

The River LINE fleet composes 20 Stadler diesel multiple unit cars, numbered 3501-3520. The River LINE is the first light rail system in the United States (but second in North America, after Ottawa's O-Train in Canada) to use these instead of more typical electric vehicles.

[edit] Stations

Image:River LINE map.svg

Northern Terminus

Southern Terminus

[edit] Future service, stations and extensions

New Jersey Transit has proposed several possible extensions and stations to the River LINE, either as parts of the initial construction plan which were deferred, or as potential future projects.

The New Jersey State House lies approximately 1.3 miles to the northwest of the River LINE's northern terminal at Trenton Station. While the line was being constructed, NJT studied an extension that would bridge this gap via a shared right-of-way on city streets.[4] Such an extension would provide direct service to the workplaces of state employees and other workers in downtown Trenton. While the project is supported by City of Trenton officials, NJT did not elect to expand the already overbudget construction effort, but instead operates a branded "Capitol Connection" bus service, requiring River LINE riders to transfer at Trenton Station.

The lack of a direct transfer between the River LINE and New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line, which crosses directly over the River LINE in Pennsauken,[5] was highly criticized at the time of the River LINE's opening. NJT has since reconsidered, and has promised to study the construction of a transfer station there. A direct transfer between these lines would widen rail-based commuting options to southern New Jersey residents and benefit riders of both lines.

A third proposed extension would take the River LINE beyond the State House through Trenton, to West Trenton station in Ewing Township, New Jersey, connecting with SEPTA's R3 service to Center City Philadelphia via Bucks and Mongomery counties. NJT listed this extension on its 2020 Transit wishlist map[6], but has not taken further action.

Much of the River LINE utilizes single track. Increasing headways from the current peak level of 15 minutes would require building more passing sidings or full double track. NJT has shown no interest so far in doing so.

New Jersey Transit announced a limited operational extension of the RiverLINE light rail to midnight on weeknights to the 36th Street Station Park & Ride with a potential future extension to the Pennsauken/Route 73 station, so service can be provided for late commuters and people attending evening events in Camden.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

This box: view • talk • edit</div>

New Jersey Transit Rail (system map) (website)
Hoboken Division Erie Lines: Bergen County Line – Main Line – Pascack Valley Line – Port Jervis Line
Morris & Essex Lines: Gladstone Branch– Morristown Line
Montclair-Boonton Line
Newark Division North Jersey Coast Line – Northeast Corridor Line – Princeton Branch – Raritan Valley Line
South NJ and light rail Atlantic City Line – Hudson-Bergen Light Rail – Newark Light Rail – River Line
Connections Aldene Connection – Hunter Connection – Kearny Connection – Montclair Connection – Secaucus Junction – Waterfront Connection
Other List of New Jersey Transit stations – Retired New Jersey Transit rail fleet

This box: view • talk • edit</div>

New Jersey Transit Corporation
Bus Bus operations – Bus fleet
Commuter rail Atlantic City Line
Main and Bergen County Lines, including the Port Jervis Line – Pascack Valley Line
Montclair-Boonton Line – Morris and Essex Lines (Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch)
North Jersey Coast Line – Northeast Corridor Line and Princeton Branch – Raritan Valley Line
System map – Stations – Retired fleet
Light rail Hudson-Bergen Light Rail – Newark Light Rail – River Line
de:River Line
Retrieved from "http://en.wikivisual.com/index.php/River_LINE_%28New_Jersey_Transit%29"
Personal tools