NJ Transit Resumes Off-Peak, Direct Raritan Valley Trip to NYC

(Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Transit will resume direct train service to New York from the central part of the state on weekdays during off-peak hours.

The service will be available on the Raritan Valley Line line starting Nov. 4, Governor Phil Murphy said Monday at a press conference in Westfield.

The line, which serves more than 23,000 commuters a day from suburban Union, Somerset and Hunterdon counties, suspended the direct service to Manhattan in September 2018 to focus on installing emergency-braking equipment mandated by Congress. The move forced riders to switch trains in Newark, extending their commutes by as much as 25 minutes, according to the Raritan Valley Line Mayor’s Alliance,a bi-partisan group of 32 mayors.

“We’re taking a major step to getting things right along the RVL,” Murphy said.

Restoring the direct service to Manhattan during peak hours remains a goal for New Jersey officials. But officials say that can’t be done without completing Gateway, the stalled project that includes a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River and is needed to ease congestion on rail lines.

Murphy said he is “frustrated” by the lack of action by the Trump administration on Gateway, but “cautiously optimistic” that it will be approved.

U.S. Representative Tom Malinowski, a Democrat who represents New Jersey’s 7th congressional District, said the Raritan Valley line “is so critical to our hope for a growing economy in this part of New Jersey.” He and other officials continue to push for Gateway funding.

“Let’s take some steps now,” he said in Westfield. “Let’s get some light ahead of the tunnel.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Stacie Sherman in Princeton at sbabula@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rakshita Saluja at rsaluja4@bloomberg.net, William Selway

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