Greater Morristown rail commuters in for long, hot summer of delays

Morristown train station just one week ago. Rail service has been suspended Oct. 29 because of the snowstorm. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
The Morristown train station. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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It’s going to be a long, hot summer for Greater Morristown rail commuters.

They can expect eight weeks of “significant delays,” from July through Labor Day 2017, as Mid-Town Direct rail service to New York’s Penn Station becomes limited on the Morris & Essex lines during Amtrak track repairs, Gov. Chris Christie said on Wednesday.

The line will be diverted to Hoboken, the governor said in a statement. Enhanced bus service, ferry service and light rail options will be provided, and Hoboken terminal ferry service and Path trains will accept and cross honor NJ TRANSIT tickets and passes.

Christie said he has ordered fare reductions of up to 63 percent for Morris & Essex Mid-Town Direct customers during this period. A customer from Gladstone who travels to midtown Manhattan now pays $451 per month. That will go down to $168 a month, the Governor said.

“These fare reductions, in my view, are absolutely necessary to compensate for Amtrak’s failings, and to give NJ TRANSIT customers some financial relief in addition to the relief we are going to try to give them by also running more ferry service, more bus service, and obviously having access to the Path,” Christie said.

NJ TRANSIT will release modified schedules in June, he said.

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