Time to Improve weekend Newark Light Rail

Time to improve weekend Newark Light Rail service!

Sunday, April 13 and it's Cherry Blossom Festival time at Branch Brook Park. After checking out the Festival (prime blossom time probably will be the following weekend),  I figured, why not take advantage of NJ Transit's free parking at Grove St. on the Newark Light Rail. (thanks to a suggestion by NJ-ARP) and take a ride along Branch Branch Brook Park and into downtown Newark.

Things didn't start off too well as neither Ticket Vending Machine was accepting credit card payments. In fact one of them would revert back to the opening screen as soon as one hit the payment button. The other kept asking to reinsert the card. Multiple attempts with multiple cards failed. A $5.00 bill finally worked. Waited for a train for about 10 minutes, then validated our tickets when the train pulled in at 12:43, thinking it was the 12:45 train. NOPE! It was the 1:10 train. Apparently NJT lost a train somewhere. 

Of course it was a single car consist and was standing room only after the Branch Brook Park station. There were people with shopping carts, baby carriages and even a motorized wheel chair on board. By Bloomfield Ave. the train looked like a morning rush hour consist. Most passengers departed at Military Park and Newark-Penn.

At Penn Station, there was something that was NEW to me. Trains to Grove St. run through to Newark-Broad making the loop at Newark-Penn. Unfortunately, there is SO MUCH dwell time built into the schedule that even with the extraordinary pokey pace (still no signal pre-emption) between Grove and Branch Brook...and a 4 minute dwell there, the train only arrived 1 minute late at Newark-Broad. 

Our Broad St-bound train passed a Grove St.-bound train as we exited the tunnel just before the NJPAC/Center St. station.  Our train was scheduled to leave Broad St. at 1:45. It did not leave until 1:52 and made it back to Grove St. exactly 7 minutes late at 2:18.  I guess the printed schedule was just tossed out the window that day.  This train was also very crowded with standing room only between Military Park and Bloomfield Ave. I did not encounter any fare-checks during the entire round trip.

NJT really needs to go back to 15 or 20 minute headway on weekends. First of all it will reduce crowding in the highly-used center segments between Bloomfield Ave. and Newark-Penn.  Secondly, it will benefit those passengers who wish to use the Light Rail to transfer from the M&E division at Broad St. to the NEC division at Newark-Penn, and finally, at least this way NJT can maintain somewhat of a clock face service that people can figure out.  25-minute headway makes it improbable for most to figure out when a train is due at a station without a timetable. (Example:  7:05, 7:30, 7:55, 8:20, 8:45, 9:10, 9:35, 10.00 for a 25 minute schedule as compared to 7:05, 7:25, 7:45, 8:05, 8:25, 8:45, 9:05, 9:25, 9:45, 10:05 for a 20 minute schedule or 7:05, 7:20: 7:35, 7:50, 8:05, 8:20: 8:35, 8:50, 9:05, 9:20: 9:35, 9:50, 10:05 for a 15 minute schedule.)


Although the equipment is more modern and handicapped accessible, I have to honestly say that during the return trip from Broad St., I had this overwhelming urge for the old PCCs. That operation was a living museum and had friendly "personalized" service where there was an engineer in the front of the car who knew and greeted passengers – not some faceless person sitting in an "isolation booth" with pre-recorded station and proof-of-payment instructions. At least, in the PCC days, if there was any trouble, the engineer would be aware and help. I doubt that I'll ever "joy-ride" the line again. Too sad and painful when compared to the "good old days".

Lester Wolff, Director, NJ-ARP