(rshsdepot) Hoboken, NJ Tunnels

["James Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

May 11, 2001


Yearlong Tunnel Repairs to Disrupt Trains Through Hoboken

By ROBERT HANLEY

HOBOKEN, N.J., May 10 — One of the two aged railroad tunnels leading to New
Jersey Transit's train station here will be shut down next month for 15
months of major renovations, forcing thousands of passengers to adjust their
weekday commute.

Loss of the tunnel's two tracks, starting June 24, will affect about 170 of
the 280 trains that carry some 48,000 commuters from the waterfront terminal
and back each weekday, New Jersey Transit officials said. Of the 170, 7
weekday trains will be canceled and 4 will start or end their runs in
Newark. The timetables of 24 trains will be altered by 5 to 18 minutes, and
the other 135 will have changes of under 5 minutes.

Years of leaks in the 4,400-foot- long tunnel, which was built in 1877, have
left its ceiling and walls in a state of "rather radical decomposition," New
Jersey Transit's executive director, Jeffrey A. Warsh, said during a news
conference at the station today.

He said the dripping water sometimes caused short circuits in overhead
wires, disrupting service. In winter, icicles sometimes break away from the
ceiling and walls, falling onto the tracks and, on occasion, a train.

Although officials said no passengers had been hurt by falling ice or
debris, Mr. Warsh said the renovation would improve safety and make train
service more reliable in this time of increased ridership. Many of the
agency's trains are operating at 120 percent to 130 percent of capacity, he
said.

The reconstruction will cost $64 million and include installation of a
waterproof lining and a new concrete facade on the walls and ceiling, as
well as new exits, signals, lighting and ventilation.

In addition, the track bed will be lowered to provide clearance for 200 new
double-decker trains Mr. Warsh said the agency hoped to start using in 2004.
The work will take place around the clock on weekdays and is expected to be
completed in the fall of 2002, he said.

Until then, all trains entering and leaving the Hoboken station will use the
two tracks of an adjacent tunnel, built in 1908. That tunnel is also to be
renovated, but a date has not been set, officials said.

Five of the seven canceled trains operate on the Gladstone and Morristown
branches of the Morris and Essex Line; the two others are on the Boonton
Line. Additional cars will be added to other trains to accommodate
passengers, officials said.

In addition, two weekday trains on the North Jersey Coast Line that operated
between Bay Head and Hoboken, with a stop at Newark's Pennsylvania Station,
will now travel just between Bay Head and the Newark station, which is
linked to Hoboken's station by PATH trains.

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