The New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers (NJ-ARP) is solidly in favor of extending New York City’s No. 7 subway line to Secaucus Junction, and we hail the release of the positive study by New York City’s Economic Development Corporation.
Implementation of the “7 to Secaucus” project will allow passengers coming from New Jersey to make convenient connections to reach the east side of Midtown Manhattan, particularly the Grand Central area and all along 42nd Street. Access to this important, bustling area of New York City, where a great many New Jerseyans are employed, is currently very difficult.
A great step forward for residents of Bergen and Passaic Counties: “7 to Secaucus” will be especially advantageous to rail passengers from Bergen and Passaic Counties in New Jersey and Rockland and Orange Counties in New York, who now make multiple transfers to reach the east side of New York City. With the completion of this project, there will only be one change of trains – within an uncongested setting – providing them with a convenient two-seat ride to destinations along 42nd Street and into Queens.
A boon to bus riders and drivers using the Lincoln Tunnel too: The “7 to Secaucus” project will also establish a bus hub. Many buses will be diverted to the intermodal station, in essence rerouting a portion of the Port Authority Bus Terminal’s (PABT) traffic to New Jersey, and relieving the already-at-capacity Lincoln Tunnel Express Bus Lane (XBL). It will also spare passengers the traumatic and tedious transfer from the overcrowded PABT to the 42nd Street-Times Square subway station complex.
Good news also for NJ Transit rail passengers throughout the State: Rail passengers from Bergen and Passaic counties traveling to Penn Station on the West Side of Manhattan will also have a quicker and easier ride as they will find less crowded trains to board at Secaucus and easier egress from Penn Station platforms. The ‘7 to Secaucus’ will also help riders wishing to reach New York City’s east side from New Jersey Transit’s Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line, Raritan Valley, Morris & Essex Midtown Direct and Montclair-Boonton lines, as they will have an easier transfer at Secaucus to the 7 train, as opposed to having to navigate the congested corridors and stairways of Penn Station.
Not a complete panacea but a valuable first step: This project will not eliminate the need for the construction of an additional pair of railroad tunnels to Penn Station, as envisioned in Amtrak’s Gateway project, but instead will complement it. NJ-ARP has been on record since February, 2011 of also supporting Gateway, as it will allow for a large increase in the number of trains between New Jersey and New York to meet current and future demand for more service by both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit on their lines serving the Northeast Corridor, Midtown Direct and many branches.
NJ-ARP urges the states of New Jersey and New York, and the Port Authority to find funds to build this important link in the Metropolitan Area’s transportation network.
