(The following article by Jennifer Moroz was posted on the Philadelphia Inquirer website on June 5.)
PHILADELPHIA — NJ Transit chief George Warrington is pitching a new rail service between Philadelphia and Newark, with the goal of giving central New Jerseyans a quick, cheap ride into Center City.
But the trains, which could be running within a couple of years, also would give another travel option to Philadelphians always on the lookout for a good deal into New York.
In an interview, Warrington outlined his plan for extending the line that links Atlantic City with Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. Eleven of the 14 daily trains would continue north, stopping in Trenton, Princeton Junction and Hamilton on their way to Newark Penn Station or possibly Hoboken.
NJ Transit is also in talks with the casino industry to create a service along a similar path to shuttle gamblers between New York and Atlantic City.
Both lines are far from done deals. Warrington still has to hammer out agreements with the casinos and Amtrak, which owns the tracks. If all goes well, the casino shuttle, which would be paid for by the gambling industry and operated by NJ Transit, could be running by the fall of 2007, officials familiar with the negotiations said.
The earliest the service to Newark would be available is 18 months from now, Warrington said.
But he said that he was confident it would happen, and that he thought it was long overdue.
The idea, Warrington said, is to provide an express service for residents of central New Jersey who he believes now drive to Philadelphia – or don’t go at all – because no really convenient mass transit option exists.
The way he sees it, Philadelphia is to that swath of the state what New York City is to North Jersey.
And NJ Transit’s operations should reflect that.
“I think we owe it to our customers to be able to travel into Philadelphia at reasonable price in a reasonable time,” Warrington said. “It’s what we offer customers into Manhattan.”
Although all the details have not been worked out, the ride would most certainly be faster than SEPTA’s R7 train, which makes 10 Pennsylvania stops between 30th Street Station and Trenton.
It would also be cheaper than Amtrak.
And though Warrington said his objective was not to provide a better link between Philadelphia and Manhattan, per se, the service would expand the choices.
The proposed diesel service couldn’t run all the way to Manhattan because only electric trains can travel into New York Penn Station. But riders could take the new train to Trenton and transfer as usual, or take it to Newark and then jump onto a local into Manhattan.
The more options, the better, passenger advocates say.
“It’s a great idea,” said Don Nigro of Collingswood, a regular rail user and former officer with the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers. “You have these two metropolitan regions that are so close to each other, traffic is so snarled, and the rail choices are not very good… .
“Amtrak is expensive, and the combination of SEPTA and NJ Transit means you have to stop at dozens of stations between your origin and destination.”
The service, however, could take a while to begin.
Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black characterized the corporation’s discussions with NJ Transit regarding the tracks as “high-level” but “informal.”
“It’s very preliminary,” he said.
Warrington said he was looking to serve a market different from the one targeted by Amtrak and SEPTA. But the possibility of Amtrak’s losing revenue would be discussed during the negotiations, he said.
“To the extent there is diversion of traffic, my commitment to Amtrak is that we’ll work out a business deal,” said Warrington, a former Amtrak president. “We’re very appreciative of Amtrak’s willingness to work with us to develop these kinds of opportunities.”
Even if a contract is signed with Amtrak, NJ Transit has to wait on some railcar shipments to have enough equipment. If all goes well, Warrington said, the service could be available between 18 months and two years from now.
Further along, he said, is the casino shuttle to New York.
Details have yet to be worked out, but those familiar with the negotiations said the casinos envisioned train service of a slightly more upscale sort – with food and beverage service. The idea is to target Manhattan gamblers who might not be rich enough for a private jet but see themselves as above the bus.
Warrington and others privy to talks said the service would focus on weekends, running Friday, Saturday and Sunday and possibly Thursday and Monday.
The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority would pay roughly $4.5 million needed to lease equipment for the service over its first three years, said Karlis Povilis, its director of policy research.
The casino industry, he said, would cough up the rest: about $13.5 million for eight new railcars and $3.7 million annually for operating expenses. The casinos also would pay for any renovations to the railcars and provide the food and beverage service, marketing, and a reservation system, Povilis said.
Povilis said that he was not sure exactly which casinos would be involved, but that Harrah’s Atlantic City and the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa were key players. Mark Sandson, an attorney for the Casino Association of New Jersey, referred all questions to Borgata attorney Joe Corbo, who declined to comment.
How much the service would cost and who exactly would get to ride it remains unclear, though presumably many of the seats would be held for casino patrons.
But because the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority would pay at least part of the start-up costs, Povilis said, at least some seats would have to be open to “Joe Blow off the street.”
“If we’re paying 25 percent of the equipment costs, we want 25 percent of seating available to the public,” he said.