Allentown Service

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I wonder if Amtrak could pay for a few sidings, specific to the schedule, that could be used for increasing capacity, combined with some track improvements for faster service?
 
The Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton to NYP line was formerly run by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in PA. It ran on their own tracks in PA and on CRRNJ tracks in NJ.. Double and triple tracks still exist in parts of the former CNJ RR line ( now NJ transit) and freight still runs on it, It accommodates freight and passenger service without a problem but in PA (west of Easton) the line was cut back to a single track during the lean years of the 1960's. Today those tracks are heavily utilized.. Norfolk Southern is probably telling the truth that no capacity for passenger service is available. Until there is a second track in PA, (mostly from Allentown to Bethlehem) passenger service would not be possible. Double tracking the line for about a 15 mile stretch would give a clear path to NYP but who pays for it is the question.
 
Seems to be dead: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-allentown-new-york-train-20160908-story.html

I'm a little rusty on the area. Can't trains from Allentown somehow get over to the former CNJ at Phillipsburg, NJ, and come in that way? Or does that also involve a busy single track NS line?

jb
There must be some way....NJ Transit extended its Raritan Valley Line to P'burg for a brief period, a few years ago. And the CNJ did go into Pa. a long time ago, and connected to the Reading RR....
 
Seems to be dead: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-allentown-new-york-train-20160908-story.html

I'm a little rusty on the area. Can't trains from Allentown somehow get over to the former CNJ at Phillipsburg, NJ, and come in that way? Or does that also involve a busy single track NS line?

jb
Let me try to give an extended summary of the lay of the land as it exists today connecting it to historical ownerships.

The old CNJ route from Philippsburg to the west has been completely abandoned. Only route available is the ex-LV which is NS today. The CNJ route to the east from P'burg is abandoned upto CP Conn, where the ex-CNJ route from the east now joins the ex-LV now NS route from the east.

On the ex-CNJ route east of CP Conn, the tracks between High Bridge where NJT service terminates today, and CP Conn (actually a place called Valley a little east of CP Conn) is largely abandoned, but in many paces the track is in place the last time I looked. NJT uses the ex-CNJ route from High Bridge to the Aldene Connection as its Raritan Valley Line. NS uses the ex-LV all the way to Newark. At Aldene Connection NJT moves onto the ex-LV to get to CP-NK where they branch off to join the Amtrak NEC at CP Hunter. Incidentally, the old route of the Crusader from Philly joins the ex-CNJ NJT route at Bound Brook, and there has been talks off and on of restarting service to West Trenton on this route.

The other eastbound route from P'Burg is the ex-DLW route to Port Morris, and thence to Hoboken. This route is better maintained (NS to Hackettstown and then NJT). There is NJT service upto Hackettstown on this route, and it is electrified east of Dover via Morristown. This route is now also connected to the NEC at CP-Kearny/CP-Swift - the Midtown Direct connection. What used to be the Lackawanna Cutoff joins this route at Port Morris, and someday maybe there will be service all the way to Scranton and even Bingahmton on that route.

That is pretty much the lay of the land on the LV/CNJ/DLW side of the state. So there is no getting around NS to get from Allentown to NJT territory, and CNJ other than Cranford to High Bridge is gone.

The Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton to NYP line was formerly run by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in PA. It ran on their own tracks in PA and on CRRNJ tracks in NJ.. Double and triple tracks still exist in parts of the former CNJ RR line ( now NJ transit) and freight still runs on it, It accommodates freight and passenger service without a problem but in PA (west of Easton) the line was cut back to a single track during the lean years of the 1960's. Today those tracks are heavily utilized.. Norfolk Southern is probably telling the truth that no capacity for passenger service is available. Until there is a second track in PA, (mostly from Allentown to Bethlehem) passenger service would not be possible. Double tracking the line for about a 15 mile stretch would give a clear path to NYP but who pays for it is the question.
I am afraid you are a bit confused about who uses what in NJ. See the notes above. ex-CNJ is NJT RVL (Cranford to White House) and it carries no freight other than local freight delivery and pickup. All the through freight is now on ex-LV, now NS.

At present there are only two viable routes from P'Burg to Newark. One is all ex-LV all NS connecting into the NEC at CP-NK/CP-Hunter. The second is NS from P'Burg to Hackettstown, then NJT from there to Hoboken via Newark Broad Street, or alternatively New York via the Midtown Connection at CP-Kearny/CP-Swift. The latter will require a loco change from Diesel to Electric at Dover or use of dual mode engines.

A third possible route would involve reconstructing the track from CP Conn to High Bridge (assuming encroachment has not made that impossible) and getting the train from P'Burg to Newark largely on newly built track and existing NJT. But that is a lot of extra money, and I doubt anyone in NJ will pay for it.

The best bet might be to work with NS to make improvements, or rather contribute to additional improvements over and beyond what NS is already doing and run the service entirely on NS to the Hunter connection. Hence the original choice of the routing for the test run which did not happen.
 
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How about Allentown to Philadelphia?

jb
I am afraid I am not the right person to provide details of that since I am not familiar with the lay of the land between Philly and Allentown. The NJ part I know in detail because of my long association with NJ-ARP. Pennsylvania south of Allentown not so much.
 
I *believe* that much of the right of way between Bethlehem and Quakertown(?) has been turned into a trail but is still owned by SEPTA and that between Quakertown and Lansdale (where it connects with active SEPTA trackage) there is still limited freight service over SEPTA-owned trackage.
 
We put a man on the moon. Obviously there's a way to restore passenger train service between Allentown and New York City. (or Philadelphia, for that matter).

But as the article alludes to, it is simply a matter of priorities. Not Norfolk Southern's priorities...those are clear and not likely to change. It's a matter of political and public will to spend the kind of money needed to upgrade/build/operate the service. And no, that will is not likely to exist any time soon.

If I had to guess, I'd say that Allentown/Bethlehem-to--Philly train service is more likely because it doesn't cross state lines and because of the relative proximity to existing SEPTA service. But again, it's not going to happen any time soon.
 
I believe there is much more construction or restoration of trackage involved, including converting a trail back to track for Allentown to Philadelphia than for restoring service to Newark/New York from Allentown. The relative proximity of SEPTA service is kind of misleading since the ROW between that and Allentown has been repurposed or abandoned.

Hey of course one could restore service via Reading relatively easily, but that is the roundabout way.
 
A lot of the problem locally, is when anyone speaks of passenger rail service with Allentown, they automatically envision using the now shuttered station on the corner of Hamilton and the American Parkway. They problem is that the American Parkway itself was built on the rail right-of-way, and that option is really permanently gone. IMHO, that station could never be used for rail service again (unless someone picks it up and moves it).

I mention that, because as noted above, there are other options for a terminus point in the local area (Bethlehem, Emmaus, Eason, even P'Burg in NJ). The "locals" just don't want to think along those lines.
 
A lot of the problem locally, is when anyone speaks of passenger rail service with Allentown, they automatically envision using the now shuttered station on the corner of Hamilton and the American Parkway. They problem is that the American Parkway itself was built on the rail right-of-way, and that option is really permanently gone. IMHO, that station could never be used for rail service again (unless someone picks it up and moves it).

I mention that, because as noted above, there are other options for a terminus point in the local area (Bethlehem, Emmaus, Eason, even P'Burg in NJ). The "locals" just don't want to think along those lines.
Charlie, that is a very good point that you make is very true!

It probably makes it a little easier if service towards New York is from Bethlehem. Service towards Philly realisitically has to go via Reading at this point, unless there is enormous political will to restore the route via Quakerstown. Frankly if would be extremely pleasantly surprised to see such, but won;t hold my breath. And if it is via Reading probably Emmaus is a better terminating point in order to avoid the CF that Allentown is. However, whether it is Emmaus or Bethlehem, both will most likely require new station location.
 
Wet blanket time. For this service to NYP to be feasible will require the 10 - 15 years to get the additional capacity provided by the two new bores of the Hudson river tunnel and repair of existing bores. Other wise will require connections to <> from Newark Penn station.
 
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I think if service was restored in Allentown you'd want a new station anyhow. The old terminal is nice from a nostalgic standpoint but that probably isn't the best location for new service.

I'd think any new rail service to NYC or PHL would cater to commuters or day-trippers, who in reality would be better served by a station with easy freeway access and plenty of parking. Whether there's a logical spot that meets those requirements is basically irrelevant at this point.
 
For this service to NYP to be feasible will require the 10 - 15 years to get the additional capacity provided by the two new bores of the Hudson river tunnel and repair of existing bores. Other wise will require connections to <> from Newark Penn station.
The service does not have to go to NYP, so it need not wait for any tunnels to be completed. The service could always operate like the NJT RVL service, terminating and turning at Newark, connecting to PATH and NJT NEC and NJCL service to NYP, or it could even continue on to Hoboken providing further connectivity to PATH to 33rd st and Ferry to downtown.
 
Does somebody have a link to a good map of this area showing the potential routes? I would think as a potential state subsidized service a link to Philly would be first in the states eyes, keeping spending within the state.

PS isn't the Lackawanna work progressing, albeit sub-snails pace?
 
Yes, the Lackawanna Cutoff restoration only upto Andover NJ is progressing at sub snail's pace. But that has no relation to trying to get Allentown connected to anything. That is for Scranton and north along the old Lackawanna route to Bingo. And that still requires restoration between Andover and Slateford PA, and upgrade of trackage from there to Scranton. All currently unfunded.

Your best bet for getting a good reliable map is to spend the money and get a copy of SPV's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - Northeast. It costs something like $35.
 
NJ DOT publishes a comprehensive state rail map which can be found at:

NJ State Rail Map

Below is a screen grab from that map which shows the area between Newark and Phillipsburg. Sorry for the lack of graphic quality. The site software downgrades uploaded images.

NJ Rail.jpg
 
Interesting. Some of the lines shown in Green are only theoretically open, in the sense that they have no been officially abandoned. but it also not possible to operate anything on some parts without carrying along equipment to re-rail the equipment as and when it becomes necessary :)n Some parts of the Cape May Seashore falls in that category, mainly because NJDOT has not found the money to maintain the tracks. CMSL does manage to get equipment all the way to Cape May for their occasional summer service, but I understand it is a chore.
 
It's really a question of whether Bethelehem and Allentown want to degenerate into a slum in 20 years. They've voted to do so, so far. They have no native industrial base left, and they're too far out to be a comfortable automobile commute from Philadelphia or New York. They can either spend the big money to build a passenger line to one of those cities, or watch as their property values drop, as everyone who can afford it moves closer in. Odds are they'll choose option two, which unfortunately makes it even less likely that they'll have th money to restore the connection they need.
 
Actually NJ canceling the income tax arrangement will hasten that since more than half of those that commute towards New York from Allentown/Bethlehem actually go to jobs in NJ. As for transport, part of the problem with all rail restoration proposals so far is that the restored train service is slated to be slower than the existing bus service, which frankly, boggles my mind. But who said that NJ transportation planners aren't brain dead?
 
Just to clarify a few points that have been discussed.

Prior to the Aldene Plan that took effect on April 30, 1967, the CNJ ran several daily passenger trains between Jersey City and Allentown via it's own rails.

At one time the CNJ ran passenger service all the way to Scranton, but it was cut back first to Jim Thorpe, and then Allentown.

The other passenger train run by the CNJ in Pa, until the Aldene plan was the "Queen Of The Valley", and that train ran daily between Jersey City and Harrisburg.

After the Aldene Plan, the CNJ ran commuter trains on it's main line as far west as Hampton (with most service only to and from Raritan), and in 1974 with backing from the State of NJ, and Warren County it extended commuter service to Phillipsburg.

After NJ Transit started to run the commuter services in the early 80's, it truncated the service to High Bridge, as it remains today.

The CNJ main line was severed near Phillipsburg in the late 1980's to allow for a missing segment of Route 78 to be built.

Today, west of High Bridge there has been a few segments of the CNJ main used to reach local shippers.

East of Aldene Junction the tracks are OOS, and pulled in a number of spots.

Ken
 
As long as the ROW is intact under one or a few owners, and doesn't have buildings on top of it, it's potentially feasible to rebuild a route for passenger service. If there's serious money and political will, the only thing which really slows down construction is land acquisition. If there isn't serious money, nothing happens....
 
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