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NJ TRANSIT NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT TO EXPAND WEEKDAY EVENING SERVICE ON THE RARITAN VALLEY LINE

Service Frequency to Increase June 25

CONTACT: Michael Klufas (973-491-7078)

NEWARK, NJ, June 20, 2001 --In response to requests from customers and the Raritan Valley Rail Coalition, NJ TRANSIT will improve weekday evening service on the Raritan Valley Line (RVL) starting Monday, June 25 by adding an early evening Raritan-bound train, allowing for peak period trips from Newark Penn Station to operate at least every 30 minutes from 4:45 p.m. until 8:15 p.m.

The schedule adjustment will accommodate customers who work later hours. Currently, RVL service from Newark Penn Station operates at half-hour intervals until about 7 p.m., and RVL customers leaving New York after 6:30 p.m. must wait at least 40 minutes for a direct connection. In addition, the waiting time between early evening High Bridge-bound trains will be reduced to less than one hour. Finally, a reverse-peak train from Raritan will be added.

"Raritan Valley Line customers have been requesting additional early evening service for some time," said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director Jeffrey A. Warsh. "As a Raritan Valley Line customer, I understand the dilemma of trying to balance today's work schedule with family and recreation time. This change will give our customers greater flexibility and provide more frequent service for those who work later hours."

The revised RVL schedule will:

  • Truncate train 5445, the 6:29 p.m. departure from Newark, which will be renumbered as train 5903 and will terminate in Plainfield at 7:03 p.m. Customers west of Plainfield can take the 6:23 p.m. express train from Newark, which operates express to Westfield and Plainfield, then makes all local stops to High Bridge, or train 5447, which will operate earlier (see below).
  • Adjust the schedule of train 5447, the 6:56 p.m. departure from Newark. This train will now depart Newark at 6:45 p.m. and make the same stops to Raritan as it presently does.
  • Adjust the schedule of train 5713, the 7:34 p.m. departure from Newark. This train will now depart Newark at 7:15 p.m. and make the same stops to High Bridge as it presently does. It will also reduce the waiting time between early evening High Bridge trains by 20 minutes.
  • Add a 7:46 p.m. departure from Newark, which will make all stops to Raritan except Finderne. This train -- number 5449 -- will arrive in Raritan at 8:44 p.m.
  • Add a reverse peak train, number 5446, which will depart Raritan at 5:34 p.m. and make all stops to Newark except Finderne. This train will arrive in Newark Penn Station at 6:26 p.m.
  • Adjust the schedules of trains 5448 and 5450, which will depart Raritan at 6:34 p.m. and 7:34 p.m. and arrive in Newark at 7:24 p.m. and 8:17 p.m., respectively.

For further information, RVL customers can call NJ TRANSIT between 6 a.m. and midnight at 1-800-772-2222 or at 973-762-5100 from out of state. For persons with hearing impairments, the number is 1-800-772-2287.

Since 1998 -- designated the "Year of the Raritan Valley Line" -- NJ TRANSIT has added additional RVL weekday and weekend service. The weekday service expansion included an additional weekday morning train, an 8:30 a.m. local departing Plainfield, and an additional evening train, the 6:23 p.m. express to High Bridge. Weekend service expanded with the addition of Raritan-to-Hoboken trips on Sundays.

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing bus, rail and light rail services for 383,900 daily commuters on 240 bus routes, two light rail lines and 12 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 162 rail stations, 26 light rail stations and more than 17,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.

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