NE933
Conductor
Once upon a time New Jersey Transit's Main Bergen Line went under Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, both without stopping. Then it was decided to build a transfer point at the intersection. But it wasn't that simple, nor cheap, but very silly. For example: passengers transfering from a NJT Northeast Corridor train to the Main Bergen, or vice versa, have to go up to a transfer concourse first. This was intended to aid in speedy ticket processing. NY Penn station is only a few minutes away, and since conductors would've have enough time to collect all tickets, that would go to the job of gated turnstyles that would open and close each time a ticket was swiped to eliminate the free ride people who did not get their ticket collected and therefore, save it for the next time. But such an arrangement has drawbacks, namely any backup, like of the kind that happened during the Super Bowl, would result in overcrowding on the platforms, so the idea of diverting everyone out of the way to a concourse was born. Such a design during large gatherings are inherantly flawed and will likely always result in poor crowd processing, and at the very least, having to go left to go right, right to go left, up to go down, down to.... you get the idea. This criticism has been voiced since day one.
Having local trains stopping there meant the need for new interclockings on the Corridor so that they could get out of the way of trains that don't stop. A real headscatcher was New Jersey Transits relocating the Main Bergen Line alignment more south, so that it lined up with the track slots of Secaucus station. But doing so means that they were no longer facing the direction of the drawbridge crossing the Hacksensack River near the Meadowlands, so the brilliant minds had to install a nearly 90 degree curve for trains to go back North, then another right angle in the other direction, back to the original route (which ran parallel to ConRail's Croxton yard) to cross the bridge into Rutherford.
Building a mammoth structure that is Secaucus station in the middle of estuaries and swampy tidal flats costs plenty. And what it did was it rerouted a passenger stream formerly destined for Hoboken, which has ample capacity and ferry connections to Lower and Midtown Manhattan, into two already overburdened Hudson River tunnels. Note that Midtown Direct (ex. Kearney Connection) was already siphoning Hoboken bound trains them into Penn Station.
I loved Frank Lautenberg's great work he has done for the cause of passenger rail; I say this because Secaucus station is sometimes referred to in his name. It was an error of grand proportions to not have taken all the money it cost to build a three story structure in the Jersey meadows, along with track realignment, and build a Gateway/new Hudson River tunnels first. Amtrak made a booboo when it signed off on allowing that to happen, though I get it in that at the time the political will wasn't there. Now that the existing tunnels are ticking away on a non-stop countdown, while everyone wants Acelas running on the half hour, lots of decision makers are or should be going "oops".
Finally, this problem mentality did not impact rail only, but the road to reach this place as well. If you wanted to drive here, you would use the NJ Turnpike/Route 95 and then simply get off on a clover leaf. But someone must have decided that lots and lots and lots of people would be driving to Secaucus station, because after getting off the Turnpike, you shall traverse a nearly mile long boomerang routing first. Yes, an eight lane highway sized road, which is suspiciously empty looking every time I see it, goes south for about half mile, then you turn a 180, before another nearly half a mile to go compass north, to reach the parking lots. Lots of ground traveled for a net distance of very little. And it ain't over. There are designs to build a spiral, Tehachapi like loop with the goal of saving passengers the need to get up and transfer, by having trains move from one route to the other. It won't be as simple as splicing a small connection, since the grade needed to join the two llines would be significant, so, the idea is for trains to do a complete circle on a 360 + degree track. During building, space on the Northeast Corridor was kept in the form of a dead end, intended to be one of two tracks to do this ridiculous dance. It would be a travesty waste of money if this is ever done, money that is badly needed elsewhere, and I hope all who have read my essay here will influence all in their power to vote nay.
Having local trains stopping there meant the need for new interclockings on the Corridor so that they could get out of the way of trains that don't stop. A real headscatcher was New Jersey Transits relocating the Main Bergen Line alignment more south, so that it lined up with the track slots of Secaucus station. But doing so means that they were no longer facing the direction of the drawbridge crossing the Hacksensack River near the Meadowlands, so the brilliant minds had to install a nearly 90 degree curve for trains to go back North, then another right angle in the other direction, back to the original route (which ran parallel to ConRail's Croxton yard) to cross the bridge into Rutherford.
Building a mammoth structure that is Secaucus station in the middle of estuaries and swampy tidal flats costs plenty. And what it did was it rerouted a passenger stream formerly destined for Hoboken, which has ample capacity and ferry connections to Lower and Midtown Manhattan, into two already overburdened Hudson River tunnels. Note that Midtown Direct (ex. Kearney Connection) was already siphoning Hoboken bound trains them into Penn Station.
I loved Frank Lautenberg's great work he has done for the cause of passenger rail; I say this because Secaucus station is sometimes referred to in his name. It was an error of grand proportions to not have taken all the money it cost to build a three story structure in the Jersey meadows, along with track realignment, and build a Gateway/new Hudson River tunnels first. Amtrak made a booboo when it signed off on allowing that to happen, though I get it in that at the time the political will wasn't there. Now that the existing tunnels are ticking away on a non-stop countdown, while everyone wants Acelas running on the half hour, lots of decision makers are or should be going "oops".
Finally, this problem mentality did not impact rail only, but the road to reach this place as well. If you wanted to drive here, you would use the NJ Turnpike/Route 95 and then simply get off on a clover leaf. But someone must have decided that lots and lots and lots of people would be driving to Secaucus station, because after getting off the Turnpike, you shall traverse a nearly mile long boomerang routing first. Yes, an eight lane highway sized road, which is suspiciously empty looking every time I see it, goes south for about half mile, then you turn a 180, before another nearly half a mile to go compass north, to reach the parking lots. Lots of ground traveled for a net distance of very little. And it ain't over. There are designs to build a spiral, Tehachapi like loop with the goal of saving passengers the need to get up and transfer, by having trains move from one route to the other. It won't be as simple as splicing a small connection, since the grade needed to join the two llines would be significant, so, the idea is for trains to do a complete circle on a 360 + degree track. During building, space on the Northeast Corridor was kept in the form of a dead end, intended to be one of two tracks to do this ridiculous dance. It would be a travesty waste of money if this is ever done, money that is badly needed elsewhere, and I hope all who have read my essay here will influence all in their power to vote nay.
