NJ TRANSIT SERVICE IMPACTS DUE TO EXPECTED SNOW ON MARCH 14

March 13, 2017

NEWARK, NJ -- Out of an abundance of caution and safety, NJ TRANSIT is making service changes for Tuesday, March 14^th due to the forecasted severe winter weather expected to hit the region.  NJ TRANSIT encourages all customers to prepare their transportation needs in advance of the storm, if they must travel.

All Bus and Access Link service will begin shutting down at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning.  Customers should expect those services to remain suspended for the duration of Tuesday’s service day.  Service is anticipated to resume on Wednesday as weather and road conditions allow.

All but one rail line will operate on a weekend schedule on Tuesday for as long as weather conditions allow trains to operate safely.  Customers should be aware that weekend rail service does not extend west of Raritan on the Raritan Valley Line, west of Dover on the M&E Line or west of Bay Street on the Montclair-Boonton Line.  Please Note: The Atlantic City Rail Line will operate on a regular weekday schedule.  Pascack Valley Line trains will add Teterboro and Woodcliff Lakes stops and Train 2125 will operate as a local making all station stops.

Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will operate on a weekend schedule with the addition of service, operating every 20 minutes, between Tonnelle Ave. and Hoboken Terminal.  Newark Light Rail will operate on a Saturday schedule.  RiverLINE service will operate on a Sunday schedule.

Systemwide Cross-Honoring in Effect:  To give customers additional travel options – if they must travel – during expected winter weather conditions, NJ TRANSIT will offer full systemwide cross-honoring, enabling customers to use their ticket or pass on an alternate travel mode—rail, light rail, PATH or ferry.  As a reminder, on Tuesday, March 14^th all bus service will be suspended.  For example, customers who normally take the bus from Rutherford to the Port Authority Bus Terminal may use their bus pass or ticket on the train from Rutherford to New York Penn Station.  Similarly, customers who normally take the bus between Atlantic City and Lindenwold may use the Atlantic City Rail Line instead at no additional charge.  NY Waterway and Billybey ferries will accept NJ TRANSIT tickets and passes.

All customers are strongly advised to check njtransit.com before traveling for up-to-the-minute service information before starting their trip. NJ TRANSIT will have a special winter storm section on the homepage of its website.

NJ TRANSIT will continue to monitor the weather conditions and impacts to services as the storm progresses.  For the latest travel information, customers should visit njtransit.com, access NJ TRANSIT’s Twitter feed at @NJTRANSIT or listen to broadcast traffic reports.  Additionally, NJ TRANSIT will provide the most current service information via the My Transit alert system (www.njtransit.com/mytransit), which delivers travel advisories for your specific trip to your smartphone. Service information is also available by calling (973) 275-5555. 

Rail and light rail crews and equipment are on standby to quickly respond to downed trees, power outages or other issues that may arise.  In addition, NJ TRANSIT will be positioning locomotives at strategic locations across the rail system to rapidly respond in the event of a disabled train.  NJ TRANSIT’s employee Emergency Response Team will be at Newark Penn Station, Secaucus Transfer and Penn Station New York to assist customers who must travel on Tuesday.

Service At A Glance:
Tuesday March 14^th, 2017

Travel Advice:

• For the latest travel information, visit njtransit.com or access our Twitter feed at @NJTRANSIT prior to starting your trip.  In the event of delays or service adjustments, NJ TRANSIT will provide the most current service information via the My Transit alert system, which delivers travel advisories for your specific trip to your cell phone.  (If you are not yet a My Transit subscriber, we encourage you to sign up at www.njtransit.com/mytransit)  Service information is also available by calling (973) 275-5555 or from broadcast traffic reports.  
• Listen closely to public address announcements at stations for late-breaking service information.

• Build additional travel time into your trip to a station, terminal or bus stop.
• Stairs, flooring and platforms can be slippery, so please use caution when walking along wet surfaces or any outdoor surface exposed to the weather. Use extra care when boarding or exiting buses and trains.

• Report slippery or unsafe conditions to bus operators, train crews or NJ TRANSIT staff.  

• If you park, ensure your car is stocked with a snow brush and ice scraper so you can clear your car upon returning to the lot. 
• If customers have the ability to work from home on Tuesday, they may want to consider exercising that option.

NJ TRANSIT is prepared to handle the impending winter weather:

• Snow plows and salt spreaders are ready for service and snow-removal contracts are in place with outside vendors.
• NJ TRANSIT is well-stocked snow-melting supplies, and hundreds of shovels and snow blowers.
• NJ TRANSIT has performed maintenance and testing on its two rail-mounted jet snow blowers in the event they are needed to help clear train tracks of snow and ice, particularly in rail yards.
• Rail switches, switch heaters and overhead wires were inspected as part of
  NJ TRANSIT’s preventative maintenance program.
• Onboard heating systems, thermostats, weather stripping and electronic components have been inspected on NJ TRANSIT railcars, light rail cars and locomotives.
• Bus maintenance personnel have inspected and performed necessary maintenance on a fleet of more than 2,200 buses - from the heating and airbrake systems, to the engine fluids, tires, windshield wipers and doors in anticipation of service resumption on Wednesday.

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 944,000 weekday trips on 255 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through Access Link paratransit service. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 166 rail stations, 62 light rail stations and more than 18,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.