(The following story by Richard Pearsall appeared on the Courier-Post website on February 24.)
CAMDEN, N.J. — With regular service on the South Jersey light rail line shutting down at 10 p.m., NJ Transit has decided to run a late night shuttle between Pennsauken and Camden to serve the waterfront entertainment area.
Patrons will be able to park at the 36th Street Station in Pennsauken, ride to the waterfront for a concert or a baseball game and catch a train back as late as midnight.
And on Saturday, the entire 34-mile line will run later, with the last trains leaving Trenton and Camden at midnight.
NJ Transit announced these and other schedule adjustments Monday in anticipation of a March 14 opening date.
The billion-dollar line, dubbed the River Line by NJTransit officials, is more than a year behind schedule and has been delayed, most recently, by problems with crossing gates.
But a spokeswoman for the agency, Janet Hines, said that the March 14 date looks firm.
Test trains are now running on a full, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. schedule, she said, and the agency will be “ramping that up” to include the late night runs shortly.
NJ Transit officials have said they must have at least a week of full service without glitches before beginning to run the line for real.
The trains will normally run every half-hour beginning at 6 a.m., with the last train departing from either end of the line at about 9 p.m. in order to clear the tracks it shares with Conrail for freight service commencing at 10 p.m.
The shuttle between the park and ride lot at 36th Street in Pennsauken is possible because the light rail line runs on its own tracks between there and the Camden Waterfront.
The late night service “will give customers an attractive alternative when traveling to entertainment and sporting events,” said NJ Transit Executive Director George Warrington.
“The late night Saturday service between Camden and Trenton also provides River Line customers with opportunities to attend cultural, entertainment and sporting events in Camden and Trenton as well as late night rail connections to venues in New York City and Philadelphia,” Warrington said.
In an effort to better serve commuters bound for New York, the River Line will feature early morning trains, leaving from Florence and Bordentown, to catch northbound trains from Trenton.
An “early bird” special will leave Bordentown at 6:17 a.m., arriving in Trenton at 6:28.
Another will leave Florence at 6:23 a.m. to get to Trenton at 6:43.
The one-distance-fits-all fare will be $1.10.