Consideration of the NJT Weekend Service Further Delayed (7/27/08) 

Recently, a N.J. Supreme Court judge ruled against NJDOT’s attempt to temporarily take the property of the Palace Car Wash in Montclair to utilize it for staging during the reconstruction of the Bloomfield Avenue Bridge. The judge determined DOT’s offer failed to take into account the owner’s loss of business. DOT has said that it will appeal the decision. As a result, reconstruction of the bridge will not begin until early 2009. However, it is likely that DOT’s decision to appeal the aforesaid decision will delay it well beyond that time. As the project is expected to take at least nine months to complete, it is highly unlikely that the subject of weekend service will be discussed until late 2009 at the earliest.

New Jersey Transit Montclair Branch Weekend Service Update (7/1/2008)

The  commencement of weekend service on the New Jersey Transit Montclair Branch tentatively scheduled for the autumn of 2008 will now be delayed until the autumn of 2009 at the earliest.  This delay is due to two different construction activities.  The first is the reconstruction of the Bloomfield Avenue bridge over the Montclair line.  As the catenaries are attached to the bridge structure, track outages must occur when construction is in progress.  The New Jersey Department of Transportation has ordered that work on the bridge be restricted to the weekends to minimize disruptions to the current (daily) train schedule.  Construction is anticipated to start in September 2008 and last approximately 9 months.  The second project, affecting weekend service is Amtrak's life/safety program for the Hudson tunnels.  Amtrak is making track and ventiliation improvements that likewise require the closing of one tunnel during the weekends.  There is currently no contract end date as Amtrak is using its own personnel on the project.  We expect New Jersey Transit will revisit the subject of weekend service mid-year 2009.