[Date Prev][Date Next] [Chronological] [Thread] [Top]

(erielack) commuter railroads

If current day long distance rail travel is hurting, commuter railroads are doing better than ever.
   
  I'll bet both ex Erie & DL&W lines still active in the NY metro area are seeing more commuter activity than ever before. Too bad so many tracks were removed.
   
  Some exLackawanna tracks now go directly in to Manhattan. This caused a lot of new construction near the rail lines.
   
  The PATH trains (subways beneath the Hudson river) took about 20 minutes to get to NYC's Penn station. The new routing shortened the rail trip by 20 minutes for some riders.
   
  The fare between NYC and Morristown seemed pretty steep (around $12 I think) but commuters buy a commutation ticket which is a lot less expensive, probably less than the cost of gas and the tolls over the bridges. That doesn't include parking either.
   
  There's been a lot of construction of homes in Orange and Rockland counties in the last 30 years. I'm sure that brought a lot of new riders on the exErie tracks.
   
  Intermediate distance rail travel may be having a rebirth too. A train trip is much shorter time wise from center city NYC to center city Philadelphia. It's takes a lot of time to get to and from the airports, wait on line etc.
   
  A car has one big advantage though. It gets you door to door and there's no waiting. My trip by train from my home on Long Island to Morristown was enjoyable but I had to switch trains in Penn station and wait for the connecting trains. Plus I had to pay for local parking and 2 cab rides in Morristown.
   
  Ed Mines


Edward B. Mines
238 Willard Dr.
Hewlett, NY  11557
516 205-6523
 		
- ---------------------------------
Get your email and more, right on the  new Yahoo.com 

	The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List
	Sponsored by the ELH&TS
	http://www.elhts.org

------------------------------