Summer of Hell - Was it really that bad?

Reacquainting myself with the standing room only 6:49 from Penn Station this evening I had a sudden paean of nostalgia for the "Summer of Hell" commute.  I'm only a couple of blocks from the PATH and so the difference in journey time between today's less than comfortable experience and the civility and comfort of the now discontinued 6:56 from Hoboken was minimal.  I think it's time to consider reinstating some of the express trains to SOMA from Hoboken as everything after the 6:01 on the regular schedule is an all stops affair.  With a relatively modest investment in tracks and signalling I believe the Hoboken trains could be 5 minutes faster and with the upgraded PATH and Ferry service I actually think it could become a viable option and relieve some of the pressure on Penn.  With a new regime in Trenton does anyone think this is a possibility?

my summer train/ferry/shuttle commute was much more pleasant.  but it was about 25 minutes longer each way.  there's really no way around that time difference when you're making 2 connections instead of 1.  Getting that extra hour of my life back each day is worth the annoyance of traveling through the Penn Station hellhole.  

Hubby actually enjoyed getting the earlier train to Penn which no longer exists.  

I miss the morning bus, which saved me about 15 minutes, but not the evening poor-choice assortment, which added an hour.

ETA: Ooh, Likes!

I think so-called SOH was so non-hellish that they seriously should think about routing more trains through  Hoboken. 

I commute through Hoboken and work in lower Manhattan so I didn't have an extra leg added onto my commute like people going mid/uptown did, but I totally expected SOH trains to be super slow and bottlenecked into Hoboken, and I also expected the Hoboken station and trains to be massively overcrowded with fellow commuters. Instead, it was generally smooth sailing save for a few 5-10 minute delays here and there.

So, SOH should be studied for what went right and they should try to incorporate some of that into regular scheduling, as it makes sense. But given how dysfunctional NJT is, I have low confidence that anything like that will happen.    

as I understand it, the issue is that after Sandy, there is a serious equipment shortage at NJT.  New train cars take several years to build, and they still don't have the damaged equipment replaced from 5 years ago.  To add service to Hoboken without being able to use any extra locomotives would require diverting trains from MTD.  Given the mass migration of people to the Morris and Essex line specifically to commute on MTD, I don't think it's the best use of resources to divert MTD equipment to Hoboken.

And the notion that there's going to be budget to maintain the service we have AND add more service to Hoboken seems doubtful to me.  I'm all for it, but I don't see this being politically feasible any time soon.

The first week of September is always a jolt after the lower volumes of summer, so I think that plays into the comparison.  I'm not a commuter, but from my spouse's experience, I would say that it wasn't that bad, but it did lengthen his commute by a few minutes.  His regular train is very early in the AM, so he continued to go into Penn, but had to come out via Hoboken, of course.  He was getting home about 15 minutes later than normal most days.

I agree I work downtown and the Summer of hell turned into an unexpected improvement... having double decker trains that ran faster with a selection of express trains made a huge difference.. the free ferries were nice too.   Before the summer I had commuted to  Penn because I was frustrated that it took an extra half hour to commute though Hoboken.  For now  I am sticking with Hoboken trains, back to reality with the local routes ...  and paying for the ferries...   Would be great if NJT followed up with their promise of making improvements on the Hoboken trains.

No it was not so bad, barely the Summer of HECK!  Morning buses were cool, comfortable and convenient, and while the extra PATH-Hoboken connection did add to the commute time, the additional 3-4 trains/hour at Hoboken were a big plus. Often a shorter wait for a train than the regular Penn schedule.  I have hated NJT with a white-hot passion recently, but even I must admit that they really did their best.

I noticed a bit more volume this week on my AM train to Hoboken. Middle seats were taken where they had never been pre "SOH."' Converts I imagine. 

Express service to HoB from SOMA was more frequent when I moved here in 01. Hopefully a new administration and a new attitude to NJ Rail will bring some much needed investment and the return of better service. With 17 platforms and a four track tunnel leading into the station there would seem to be a lot of potential for Hoboken. I sense the slow downs at many points are due to track issues. If the SOMA to HOB trip could be reduced to 20-25 minutes I think it could take quite a few people off the over crowded NEC. 

cuethesun said:

I noticed a bit more volume this week on my AM train to Hoboken. Middle seats were taken where they had never been pre "SOH."' Converts I imagine. 

I've noticed that too.  And more people still riding the ferry than pre-SOH".