NJ Transit riders will lose 18 trains starting Sunday

NEWARK — NJ Transit riders will temporarily lose 18 scheduled trains across most lines as emergency brake installation kicks into high gear to meet a December 31 deadline.

The changes will take effect on Sunday and will last until mid-January. It will affect the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line, Morris & Essex Lines, Montclair-Boonton, and Main and Bergen County Lines. The Dinky from Princeton to Princeton Junction is also suspended.

The agency will also cut rail fares across the board by 10 percent in November, December and January to soften the blow of the cuts.

Service was suspended on the Atlantic City Line after Labor Day with the promise it will return at the beginning of the new year.

Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday said the installation of positive train control, which was just 13 percent done in January when he took office, is now 70 percent complete. He is so confident that NJ Transit will meet its deadline that there is no "Plan B" in case the effort falls short.

"We will succeed," Murphy said.

If the deadline is met, NJ Transit trains may not be allowed to travel to Penn Station in New York.

The suspension of the lines should also reduce last-minute cancellation of trains that have plagued the line since summer. Executive Director Kevin Corbett has acknowledged that the agency underestimated the interruptions that the project would cause.

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"We've asked our rail customers to be flexible, patient and understanding while we've made a series of schedule adjustments to advance our PTC project to meet the federal year-end deadline. I believe it's our turn to give back to our rail customers," Corbett said when the suspension was announced. The executive director is a regular commuter on the Morris & Essex Line.

Brittany Lane said she appreciates that NJ Transit is trying to make the best of an inconvenient situation by offering the fare discount.

"PTC is definitely needed and should have been installed years ago, so I'm glad that they're finally making it a priority," the commuter said. "My main concern is that with so many cancelled trains, the trains are going to be unsafely over-crowded as this has already been an issue all summer."

Northeast Corridor rider Gabriel G. is also grateful for the discount "but that's not going to make my life any better."

Northeast Corridor suspensions

INBOUND:

10:42 a.m. (#3832) from Trenton to NY Penn

OUTBOUND:

6:04 a.m.(#3703) from NY Penn to New Brunswick
3:42 p.m. (#3857) from NY Penn to Trenton

North Jersey Coast Line suspensions

INBOUND:

7:00 a.m. (#3500) from South Amboy to NY Penn

OUTBOUND:

7:46 a.m. (#3507) from NY Penn to South Amboy

Morris & Essex suspensions

INBOUND to Hoboken

6:01 p.m. (#330) from Summit
6:57 p.m. (#332) from Summut
10:38 p.m. (#436) from Gladstone
12:28 a.m. (#684) from Dover
All weekend Gladstone Branch service will be replaced by buses

OUTBOUND from Hoboken

5:59 a.m. (#303) to Summit
4:42 p.m. (#643) to Dover
6:07 p.m. (#467) to Murray Hill
7:09 p.m. (#441) to Gladstone

Other M&E Adjustments

Train 301, which departs Hoboken at 4:55 a.m. and arrives in Summit at 5:46 a.m., will operate 10 minutes earlier.
Train 300, which departs Summit at 5:23 a.m. and arrives at Hoboken at 6:11 a.m., will operate 18 minutes earlier.
Train 432, the 6:19 p.m. arrival in Hoboken from Gladstone operates 19 minutes earlier and replaces Train 330.
Train 813, the 6:34 p.m. departure from Hoboken to Lake Hopatcong, will terminate at Dover and be renumbered as Train 657 departing Hoboken at 6:36 p.m. As alternates, customers may take Train 1011, the 6:29 p.m. departure from
Hoboken to Lake Hopatcong or Train 1085, the 7:22 p.m. departure from Hoboken to Hackettstown.
Train 341, the 7:03 p.m. departure from Hoboken to Summit, will operate 31 minutes later and depart Hoboken at 7:34 p.m.

Montclair/Boonton suspensions

OUTBOUND from Hoboken