River Line (NJ Transit)
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The River Line (stylized as River LINE) is a
The River Line stops at the
The line is operated for
Ridership
The River Line is currently exceeding final
In 2022 after the COVID-19 pandemic ridership was at 5,350 boardings per weekday, around 61% of pre-pandemic levels.[5]
History
Alignment
The River Line was constructed on what originally was the Camden-
Planning
The path to NJ Transit's River Line spanned at least three decades and over multiple planning agencies. An unrelated precursor to the NJ Transit River Line was the
NJ Transit's planning for the Burlington-Gloucester Transit System began in the early 1990s.[7]
The primary goals of the BGTS were:
- Connecting South Jersey communities to Philadelphia
- Providing streetcarservice to downtown Camden
- Providing regional rail transit service to Burlington and Gloucester Counties
A
Dissatisfied with this analysis, Senator
Two special studies were commissioned to supplement the alternatives identified in the MIS. The second of these special studies examined the Bordentown Secondary, another Conrail corridor through Burlington County, the alignment of today’s River Line. The parallel NJ Transit local bus on U.S. Route 130 was heavily patronized, and the corridor was ripe for economic development. Since the original intent of the Mount Holly service was to provide transit to the people of Burlington County, the belief was that the new alignment would achieve a similar objective.[citation needed]
Although the MIS focused on providing connectivity from South Jersey counties to PATCO service via a transfer point in Camden, an equally important goal was to provide the economic impetus to spark the redevelopment of the Camden waterfront and serve the city itself.[citation needed]
In November 1996, NJ Transit's board of directors approved a light rail transit alignment from Glassboro to Trenton with diesel light rail transit cars based on the findings of the Special Study. The entire alignment constitutes the Southern New Jersey Light Rail Transit Study project. The Board also established the Initial Operating Corridor (IOC) to be the Trenton-Camden corridor. The draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) was completed in 1998, and the contract with SNJRG was finalized in 1999, permitting the system to open to the public on March 14, 2004.[3]
Much of the political impetus that led to the funding and construction of the River Line was, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, State Senator C. William Haines. He was in effect the father of the River Line. The entire line was 100 percent funded by the State of New Jersey from its Transportation Trust Fund. No federal capital was expended for this diesel light rail project. Former NJ Transit executive director George Warrington has described the River Line as "the poster child for how not to plan and make decisions about a transit investment."[11]
Pennsauken Transit Center
The lack of a direct transfer between the River Line and NJ Transit's
Ownership and time sharing agreement
Except at each end of the line, the River Line was Conrail's Bordentown Secondary until June 1, 1999, when NJ Transit bought it for $67.5 million. NJ Transit has exclusive access to run light rail passenger service on the line from 05:30 to 22:10 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.[citation needed]
Within a year of the River Line's launch, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) granted permission to adjust timesharing agreement (more technically, "temporal separation") terms. NJ Transit and Conrail agreed to divide the line into two segments, from Camden to Bordentown (south), and from Bordentown to Trenton (north). In the northern section, the passenger period starts at 5:45 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. Initially, these new periods allowed NJ Transit to deadhead equipment from Trenton to Bordentown and Florence at 5.45 a.m., to form the 6:08 a.m. and 6:23 a.m. northbound departures. These early morning trains provide earlier connections at Trenton for NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor services to Newark and New York City than were available previously.[16][17]
Service improvements and cutbacks
NJ Transit has made some service improvements within the constraints of the timesharing agreement, with the construction of a mid-line yard in 2005 to permit later Burlington arrivals in the evening, and earlier departures after 6 a.m. However, most of the changes noted to facilitate late night service (after 10 p.m. on nights other than Saturdays) have been reversed, as listed.[18] Since the River Line opened, NJ Transit has made the service enhancements listed below (some of them subsequently reversed):
- Introduced 15-minute peak-period service in June 2004
- Enhanced Capital Connection bus service in Trenton to provide better connections for state workers with River Line trains in June 2004
- Launched new early morning service to Trenton from Florence and Roebling in September 2004, enabling customers to make earlier connections to Northeast Corridor trains
- Launched new early service from Cinnaminsonto Camden in January 2005
- Launched late-night bus shuttle service between 36th Street Station in Pennsauken to Route 73/Pennsauken in 2006. This no longer operates as of 2010, although the bus route 419 does serve both locations.
- Added early-morning trips from Burlington South and Burlington Towne Centre stations in September 2006 to create additional Northeast Corridor and PATCO connections
- Added a later, 9:28 p.m. Trenton departure in September 2006 on weekdays (9:30 p.m. on Sundays) as far as Burlington South Station.
- Added late-night, seven days a week service from Camden to Pennsauken, with the last train leaving Entertainment Center Station at 12:00 a.m. This option was discontinued in 2010, although the bus route 419 does serve stations between the Walter Rand Transportation Center and Pennsauken/Route 73 as well as several other stations as far north as Riverside. The last train from Camden leaves the Walter Rand Transportation at 9:38 p.m. and arrives at Pennsauken/Route 73 at 9:47 p.m. Some late night service continues to run, on Saturdays, and, on irregular occasions, for special events on the Camden Waterfront or at the Entertainment Center in Camden.
- Added early-morning trains for both weekdays and weekends, including a special limited-stop weekday train leaving at 5:53 a.m. from Walter Rand Transportation Center and arriving at Trenton at 6:42 a.m. (normal runs take 58 minutes,[19] compared to the 49 minutes for the limited-stop train), allowing commuters ample time to transfer to a 6:50 scheduled New York City-bound express train.[citation needed]
There is no northbound late night service except on Saturdays due to budget cuts; the last northbound train leaves the Walter Rand Transportation Center at 9:38 p.m. Sundays through Fridays and goes only as far as the Pennsauken/Route 73 station. The only option to reach some stations north of the Walter Rand Transportation Center from Camden on these nights is the Route 419 bus which stops at each station as far north as Riverside while the Atlantic City Rail Line from Philadelphia and Lindenwold connects with the River Line at the Pennsauken Transit Center Station.
Discontinuation of late night service
Currently, there is no service on the line after 10 p.m., except on Saturdays and limited nights when there is a concert at the Entertainment Center at the southern end of the line or another special event. Two stations in Camden, which are double-tracked where the final southbound trains stop just after 10 p.m., are the only exception.[16] This reduction in service occurred in 2010 to save money.[20]
Operations and signalling
Most of the length of the project, except for street-running portion at the Camden end, is shared between non-FRA compliant light rail DMUs and heavy mainline freight trains. The 34-mile shared-track segment contains a mixture of single and double track sections.
The River Line was initially designed for commingled operations (i.e., where freight trains and light rail trains may operate on the same line controlled only by the signal systems) to provide maximum flexibility both for the freight and transit operators. The line, rebuilt under a design-build-operate-maintain (DBOM) contract, features mainline railroad signals with full
Signals set to stop for the diesel light rail cars are positively enforced via
Payment and ticketing
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/New_NJT_TVM.jpg/200px-New_NJT_TVM.jpg)
The River Line is equivalent to a one-zone bus ride: fares cost $1.60. The River Line operates on a
Rolling stock
The River Line fleet comprises 20 articulated Swiss-built Stadler GTW 2/6 DMU (diesel multiple unit) cars. The River Line is the first light rail system in the United States to use these instead of more typical electric vehicles.[25]
Stations
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/River_LINE_interior.jpg/200px-River_LINE_interior.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Riverline_At_Walter_Rand.jpg/200px-Riverline_At_Walter_Rand.jpg)
All stations and rolling stock were built after 1990 and are fully ADA-compliant.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Palmyra_RiverLINE_Station_in_Snow.jpg/200px-Palmyra_RiverLINE_Station_in_Snow.jpg)
Location | Station | Connections | Boardings per Weekday (2022)[5] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Trenton | Trenton ![]() |
127
|
914 | Northern terminus, located just west of rail station |
Hamilton Avenue ![]() |
![]() 609
|
140 | Serves CURE Insurance Arena | |
Cass Street | 229 | Serves Trenton Thunder Ballpark | ||
Bordentown | Bordentown ![]() |
![]() 409
|
132 | |
Florence Township | Roebling ![]() |
![]() 409 ![]() |
110 | |
Florence ![]() |
BurLink: B5 | 366 | Park and ride | |
Burlington | Burlington Towne Centre | ![]() 413
|
429 | |
Burlington South ![]() |
153 | Park and ride | ||
Beverly | Beverly/Edgewater Park ![]() |
304 | ||
Delanco Township | Delanco ![]() |
140 | ||
Riverside | Riverside ![]() |
![]() 419 ![]() |
295 | |
Cinnaminson Township | Cinnaminson ![]() |
![]() 419
|
142 | |
Riverton | Riverton ![]() |
![]() 419
|
75 | |
Palmyra | ![]() 419
|
295 | ||
Pennsauken Township | Pennsauken–Route 73 ![]() |
![]() SJTA Bus : TransIT Link
|
78 | Park and ride |
Pennsauken Transit Center ![]() |
419
|
NO DATA | ||
36th Street ![]() |
![]() 452
|
173 | ||
Camden | Walter Rand Transportation Center | ![]() SJTA Bus : Pureland Shuttle
|
1026 | |
Cooper Street–Rutgers University | 133 | |||
Aquarium | ![]() 453
|
43 | Serves Adventure Aquarium | |
Entertainment Center | 46 | Southern terminus, serves Freedom Mortgage Pavilion |
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.
Glassboro–Camden Line
The Glassboro–Camden Line is a proposed 18-mile (28.97 km) diesel multiple unit (DMU) light rail system.[26][27] At its northern end in Camden it will converge with the River Line, with which its infrastructure and vehicles will be compatible, and terminate at the Walter Rand Transportation Center. The plan is part of larger expansion of public transportation in South Jersey that will include bus rapid transit along the Route 42 and Route 55, improvements to the Atlantic City Rail Line, and enhanced connections to the Atlantic City International Airport.[28]
New Jersey State House extension
The
West Trenton extension
A third proposed extension would take the River Line beyond the State House through Trenton, to
Additional double-track service
Much of the River Line uses double track, however, in some places, there is no room for double-track service without narrowing or removing road lanes, such as Burlington (where streets flank the single track on either side), Palmyra and Bordentown. Improving headways from the current peak level of 15 minutes would require either building additional passing sidings or removing one lane of traffic on certain local roads.
See also
- Hudson–Bergen Light Rail
- Newark Light Rail
- Light rail in the United States
- List of tram and light rail transit systems
References
- ^ a b "Bombardier Wins New Operations and Maintenance Contract in New Jersey". bombardier.com. October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on 2018-11-06. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "NJ Transit Facts At a Glance Fiscal Year 2014" (PDF). NJ Transit. March 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
- ^ a b "Camden-Trenton: River Line Light Railway Gains Riders, Spurs Economic Development". www.lightrailnow.org. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
- ^ "Camden-Trenton: River Line Light Railway Gains Riders, Spurs Economic Development". lightrailnow.org.
- ^ a b "New Jersey Transit Friendly Data Application". njlutrans.org. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
- ^ Chen, David W. " ROAD AND RAIL;Trolley Urged for a Limping Old Freight Line", The New York Times, April 28, 1996. Accessed October 23, 2007. "In 1963, passenger service ended, and as factories moved to the outer-ring suburbs or closed (Roebling in 1974), freight service decreased to only a few times a day."
- ^ Dooley, Tara; Dalan, Matthew (July 26, 1996). "Nj Transit Study Explores S. Jersey Rail-line Options Burlco Officials Are Pleased With The Report. Gloucester County Residents Are Not". Philadelphia. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
- ^ a b NJ Transit. Burlington - Camden - Gloucester Transit Project: Major Investment Study. 1996.
- ^ Olsen, Eddie. "Transit Corridor Proposed." The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 29, 1993.
- ^ a b Kummer, Frank. "Senator Engineered Change in Rail Route - A Political Maneuver Shifted the Trains from Gloucester to Burlington." The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 28, 2003.
- ^ Michaels, David A. "Deal is Reached in Rail Lawsuit." New Jersey Record, March 11, 2007.
- ^ "Delair, NJ - Google Maps". google.com.
- ^ "New Jersey Transit". njtransit.com.
- ^ "New Jersey Transit". njtransit.com.
- ^ "Pennsauken Transit Center linking River Line to A.C. opens". October 14, 2013.
- ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-08-12. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/R0070.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "New Jersey Transit". njtransit.com.
- ^ "Riverline.com" (PDF). NJ Transit. 27 May 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- ^ "New Jersey Transit". www.njtransit.com. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
- ^ NJ Transit – Light Rail Tickets
- ^ Mansnerus, Laura. "Light Rail, with the Emphasis on Light." The New York Times, March 13, 2004.
- ^ Higgs, Larry (2019-06-06). "NJ Transit takes a small step toward getting its own fare card, similar to NYC". NJ.com. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
- ^ Higgs, Larry (April 13, 2022). "NJ Transit takes first step to put a fare card in riders' hands by late 2024". NJ.com. Advance Media.
- ^ DVV Media Group GmbH. "Diesel light rail rolls at last in North America". Railway Gazette. Archived from the original on 2017-02-15.
- ^ "Fact Sheet 2013" (PDF). Glassboro-Camden Line. DVPA & PATCO. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-08-19. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
- ^ "NJ Transit Board Advances South Jersey Transportation Projects" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. December 9, 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
- ^ Baldwin, Zoe (May 22, 2009). "South Jersey Transit Improvements on Tap". Tri-State Transportation Campaign. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
- ^ Free Congress Foundation Online
- ^ The 2020 Transit Map Archived 2006-10-08 at the Wayback Machine, accessed December 26, 2006
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)