NJ TRANSIT CELEBRATES OPENING OF NEW WAYNE/ROUTE 23 TRANSIT CENTER

Intermodal facility opens to bus commuters on January 12; rail service begins January 14

January 11, 2008
NJT-08-006

NEWARK, NJ ¿ NJ TRANSIT Executive Director Richard Sarles joined Assemblyman Scott T. Rumana and new Wayne Mayor Christopher P. Vergano to celebrate the opening of the new Wayne/Route 23 Transit Center, which will offer commuters along routes 23, 46 and Interstate 80 greater public transportation flexibility and more convenience.

The intermodal facility¿which offers express bus, local bus and train service¿opens to bus commuters tomorrow, January 12, with rail service beginning Monday, January 14.

"This project brings two modes of transit service to one location, offering improved access to public transportation for both bus and rail customers," said Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman Kris Kolluri. "With its convenient location, the new facility will help to relieve congestion along busy routes 23, 46 and Interstate 80."

"We are pleased to have worked with NJ TRANSIT on the Wayne/Route 23 Transit Center, which will ensure the long-term availability of parking for Wayne residents and area commuters along this heavily-traveled corridor," said Assemblyman and former Wayne Mayor Rumana.

"The Wayne/Route 23 Transit Center is part of a new generation of NJ TRANSIT facilities that maximizes flexibility and choice for customers," said Sarles. "This new facility serves as a model of an intermodal hub where commuters can easily turn off the highway and step aboard a bus or train."

"Projects like the Wayne/Route 23 Transit Center are key to ensuring the mobility of the region, offering commuters easy access to transportation options and the ability to leave their cars behind," said Susan Bass Levin, Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which helped fund the project.

"We welcome the addition of the Wayne/Route 23 Transit Center to our community and are excited that this new transit hub will serve as a model of intermodalism for the state," said Vergano.

On weekdays starting Monday, January 14, the Wayne/Route 23 Transit Center will be served by trains on the Montclair-Boonton Line, offering customers a new level of travel flexibility with 22 trains per day¿eight inbound to Hoboken and 14 outbound. (Mountain View Station will remain open.)

The new facility also will provide more than 1,000 parking spaces, heated shelters and bus service seven days a week. In addition, NJ TRANSIT has created a new bus route¿the 324 Wayne/Route 23 Transit Center-New York Express line¿to provide frequent express service between the new facility and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan.

The Transit Center will also be served by the 194 Newfoundland-New York route and the new 198 William Paterson University-New York route (weekends only). Local service will be offered on the 75 Butler-Newark line (weekday peak periods only) and the 748 Paterson-Willowbrook line (Monday-Saturday).

Portions of the Mothers Park & Ride (located one mile north of the new facility) will remain open with weekday-only bus service and new hours of operation. Effective Monday, January 14, the new hours for New York bus departures will be 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Return service to Mothers will be available throughout the day via the 194 and 324 lines.

With the opening of the new Wayne/Route 23 Transit Center, the Willowbrook Park & Ride also will become a weekday-only operation. The Willowbrook Shoppers¿ Stop will continue to be served seven days a week.

In September 2006, the NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors awarded a $16.3 million contract to J.H. Reid General Contractor of South Plainfield for construction of the facility, which includes an ADA-accessible high-level train platform, bus-boarding areas and a 1,000-space surface parking lot. The project also included equipping the facility with canopies and heated waiting areas for passenger comfort, as well as passenger information displays.

Located on a 10-acre parcel at the West Belt Road Interchange near the intersection of routes 23, 46 and Interstate 80, the new Wayne/Route 23 Transit Center is directly accessible from Route 23, eliminating the need for commuters to use local roads.

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing nearly 865,000 weekday trips on 240 bus routes, three light rail lines and 11 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 163 rail stations, 60 light rail stations and more than 18,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.