(erielack) Re: To MidTown via Moscow;

["MDelvec952_@_aol.com"]

In a message dated 6/26/00 8:36:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Inlinebob writes:

> Launching a less than desirable service to 
> start will taint the whole thing. The "yammering" is in the name of the big 
> picture, which is to do it right the first time.

Ahh, Rob, feeling guilty?  Why else would you think that the "yammering" 
comment was directed at you.  In fact, it wasn't directed at you.  Here in 
Morris County I've heard dozens of rail supporters arguing that the Scranton 
trains should go to New York. I, too, consider that the best bet -- you and I 
don't disagree.  But Penn isn't practical right now regardless of anyone's 
contrary feelings.

My note to which you replied was merely reporting the big reason why no new 
NYP trains are likely in the near future.  And that goes for all lines, 
Raritan Valley included.  And I'm told that the biggest cause of congestion 
isn't as much the slots in the schedule as it is the time it takes for a 
trainload of people to clear the platform.  There are many factors that must 
be looked at to improve train handling at New York Penn.  I"ve heard NJT 
people say that the third tunnel is a decade or more from the date of 
groundbreaking, whenever that is.

> The big picture addresses more than Morris County... The yammering, I am 
afraid, must continue until someone actually does something to address the 
big picture and not just please Morris County with more pork (which is all a 
service targeted at Stroudsburg-Dover will be).

You gotta be kidding. Pork?  Most of the incfluence for the Scranton trains 
is coming from the Keystone State, remember.  NJ is not in this voluntarily, 
and never was.


>  Sorry, that's the central Jersey point of view creeping through. ;-)

Sure is.  It's nice to see such strong convictions on a subject.

As for Hoboken's desireability as a destination - according to official 
ridership figgers, more of NJT's pre-MidTown commuters were heading to Wall 
Street than Uptown.  The Scranton folks bound for Wall Street, or the World 
Financial Center or Downtown, are going to be riding Hoboken trains.  Folks 
heading to Tribecca, The Bowery, the Garment District, Greenwich Village and 
other in-between-Midtown and Downtown Manhattan offices are also going to use 
Hoboken.  When I worked on Hudson Street (between Greenwich Village and 
Tribecca), I tried the MidTown trains.  Besides the $250 MidTown-monthly 
ticket versus the $179 Hoboken-monthly, the PATH connection (sloppy as it 
was) from HOB got me to the office quicker and with much less fuss then the 7 
Train from PennStation. 

Today's MidTown ridership might be higher than Hoboken because so many of 
today's riders are converts from busses and highways, not from Hoboken trains.


>  Next stop, Lakewood.
>  
>  Rob
>  
>  Rob
>  

               ....Mike


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