The NJ Transit Atlantic City Line: Less-Ridden Transit #2

[@215Christ]

2:25 my gig in the background. cool.

[@centredoorplugsthornton4112]

NJ Transit's Atlantic City line is the dead last absolute rock bottom in consideration at Amtrak 30th St Station Philadelphia. From information booth employees giving any info about it as if their teeth were being extracted, to Amtrak police actually beginning to lock up the station before the final train of the night departs. I speak from personal experience as a regular commuter. The last Conrail PRSL Budd cars Lindenwold-Atlantic City ran June 30th 1982, the day before the line was "suspended" due to track conditions. Ocean City Cape May trains came off August and October the year before. When service was suspended September 2018 to May 2019, there were times commuters and local officials believed NJ Transit would NEVER reopen the line. Another source of disruption on the line is the Delair bridge between Port Richmond and Pennsauken. River ships have priority and bridge openings can be lengthy.

[@assonance9057]

im from staten island actually and today i did an adventure to atlantic city, since NJT is free LMFAO for the week and WOW. what an adventure, 5 hours of train fun

[@TheHungryTransitFan]

@@assonance9057 that's awesome! Thanks for coming to South Jersey and I hope that you enjoyed it! Good use of the free week

[@history_leisure]

Other than a tunnel from Haddonfield to Suburban (adding Haddonfield, Broadway/Walter Rand, and Suburban over 30th St). Also if NJT wants to restore the ROW around Chatsworth as a future phase to the MOM corridor for service to Atlantic City, that might not be so bad

[@kenw7287]

A tunnel from Haddonfield to Suburban makes no sense as the existing elevated tracks on the Ben Franklin Bridge is good enough. I would rather see an expansion to West Philly/University City as the city of Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania may be cooperative in engineering and funding

[@spmcdill]

Thank you for this video. I grew up in the Lindenwold and used to take both Patco and the AC line everywhere. I think your point about Hamilton. Being the only downtown within walking distance is important. There is so much potential for TOD. When I was a teenager, I would ride this to the old Atco multiplex. That giant empty site is right next to the station and would be amazing if redeveloped.

[@TheHungryTransitFan]

@@spmcdill agreed, there is sooooo much room for development. It looks like more things coming around the Egg Harbor City area are the most promising projects, but it would be nice to see growth around every station, too!

[@Josephcavagnaro]

6:14 that bus the 559 also passes by a restaurant in galloway named Tony Beef

[@TheHungryTransitFan]

@@Josephcavagnaro oh, I've heard good things about that place, I'll have to add it to the list. Thanks!

[@Thom-TRA]

Great video! I learned several new things!

[@TheHungryTransitFan]

@@Thom-TRA Thank you!

[@ryanstevens2722]

You failed to mention that across the street from the AC Station is the Tanger Outlet center with many stores and is a corridor to the boardwalk casinos. The optimal project would be to electrify a 2 track line as an extension to the PATCO service.

[@TheHungryTransitFan]

@@ryanstevens2722 that sure would be nice! And keep an eye out, there may be something from that same trip related to the outlets in the future…

[@johnchambers8528]

While electrification and two track service would be great the existing service is adequate for the number of passengers the line is attracting now. The competition of casinos not located in Atlantic City has hurt ridership on this line. That is also why Amtrak gave up on serving Atlantic City. The trains are the busiest in the summer and when there is a big event at the convention center since it is right at the train station. Otherwise the existing four car trains have plenty of space for existing ridership. About the only improvement needed would be more frequent service to attract more passengers who want more flexibility to go or return.

[@ryanstevens2722]

@@johnchambers8528 Excellent analysis. But faster more frequent service would convince more riders that the ACX tolls and the parking costs in AC make the train a better alternative. Also, the Cherry Hill station I have used deters a lot of riders. It is hidden off Route 70 behind a Shop Rite. I doubt if most drivers even know it is there. The ticket machines have a terrible glare on sunny days making it hard to even buy a ticket. The one track causes delays on Philly bound trains due the uses of sidings.

[@TheHungryTransitFan]

@@johnchambers8528 yes, AC has had trouble building/maintaining tourism numbers for so long. More frequent service could be a great tool. The extras they run for, say, the airshow are always packed

[@philnaegely]

@@johnchambers8528more people would ride it to Philly if it ran more often

[@HugginsFlora-e5s]

Dach Centers

[@himbourbanist]

I honestly can't believe that this line is still around

[@TheHungryTransitFan]

@@himbourbanist at times I can't, either. After riding the full length though, I can really see its benefits. There are some folks also trying to raise its potential, there will be some things to come in that regard.

[@himbourbanist]

@@TheHungryTransitFan South Jersey is so underserved by NJT, it's a vital connection for those communities and a pretty pleasant ride too

[@TheHungryTransitFan]

@@himbourbanist agreed! I would love to see future service returns to the many lines what the past once held for passenger rail. SJ traffic sucks, hopefully the future will hold good things for South Jerseyans who want a better alternative to driving

[@CarlGerhardt1]

It's definitely because of political reasons...with the massive amount of commuter rail service North Jersey gets, they HAVE to give South Jersey something.

[@TheHungryTransitFan]

@@CarlGerhardt1 and I wish they would/could do more

[@kenw7287]

Normally I support rail transit. The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is the only rail line in New Jersey that I severely dislike. The routing over the Delair Bridge and North Philly into 30th street station is poor. The length of the line combined with the low population density once you leave Camden County means that frequencies are low. I would rather see the line converted into a BRT line / busway with physical ramps to surrounding roads. This would improve frequency, operational costs, and allow for new service utilizing the busway.

[@TheHungryTransitFan]

@@kenw7287 oooh, great points. The current line seems to just...come up short on a few levels. I think back a lot to Alan Fisher's video about a proper tunnel connection under the Delaware. Could you imagine the ACL connecting through Market East?

[@kenw7287]

@@TheHungryTransitFan It won’t happen as the cost of building a new tunnel under the Delaware is not worth it for a low utilized rail line with poor frequencies and long route. Even the PATCO line uses the Market st tunnel and the Ben Franklin bridge. Both sets of infrastructure were built in the 1930s and were simply refurbished in the 1970s. The ACL is a dinosaur/remnant of a time when people used to take trains to the shore in an era where air travel was rare and expensive. People nowadays just take Spirit and Frontier airlines to Florida and other more exotic locations.

[@henrylubinski2728]

Lowest fare box recovery on the system. Lowest rider ship on the system. Disconnected from the system. This line only exists because of politics. Buses would meet the need better.

[@qjtvaddict]

It needs to be faster to remain useful