(The Associated Press circulated the following story by Janet Frankston Lorin on March 16.)
NEWARK, N.J. — Express weekend train service from New York City to Atlantic City will stop in Newark.
While details about price and start date are still being determined, a consortium of casinos has announced the New Jersey stop on the 2 1/2-hour train.
The Atlantic City Express Service is expected to begin in the second half of this year and will offer two grades of seats, first-class and coach, with leather seating, food and beverage kiosks and space for luggage, said Maureen Garrity, a spokeswoman for the express train.
Last week, NJ Transit’s board approved a contract with the manufacturer of the trains, Bombardier, Inc., to modify the interiors of the multilevel cars.
Referred to as “ACES,” the trains will be owned by a consortium of three casino-hotels _ the Borgata, Caesars and Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City. It will be operated by NJ Transit at no extra cost to the agency.
It’s unclear how many trains will be running on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and the consortium doesn’t yet have rider projections.
ACES will depart from New York City’s Penn Station. After stopping at Newark Penn Station, the trains will travel through Trenton, following Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line, crossing the Delaware River and continuing north of Philadelphia, where they’ll merge onto NJ Transit’s Atlantic City Line.
“It’s a service that will support one of New Jersey’s largest tourist destinations,” said Dan Stessel, a spokesman for NJ Transit.
The casinos will pay nearly $15 million to purchase and modify eight new multilevel rail cars, according to the consortium.
The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, a state agency that provides money for economic development, will pay $4.5 million to NJ Transit toward the purchase four diesel locomotives from Amtrak.
The trains need both electric and diesel cars to accommodate the types of power used on the Northeast Corridor and Atlantic City lines.