Chris Bernardo

Secaucus firm gets $271.7M contract for Hudson River Rail Tunnel

NJ Transit Wednesday awarded a $271.7 million contract to a Secaucus company to drill through the Palisades as part of the Hudson River Rail Tunnel project, according to a report in The Asbury Park Press.

The report said the contract was given to PTP Constructors of Secaucus, a joint venture of J.F. Shea Construction and Skanska USA Civil Northeast Inc., for design and construction of the tunnel between North Bergen and Hoboken. In December, the first tunnel-drilling contract of $583 million was awarded to a consortium of Barnard of New Jersey and Judlau Contracting of College Point, N.Y., to build a mile of the tunnel in Manhattan.

Monitoring traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel from inside the tunnel

Ferry project in South Amboy step closer to moving off drawing board

The city has taken a step closer to putting its long-awaited ferry terminal project out to bid because of recent action taken by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.

The South Amboy Intermodal Center was recently added to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority's list of transportation improvement projects, according to Joe Dee, spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation, and that marks a critical step forward in the city's attempt to return ferry service to its residents.

NJT to study extending light rail to Hackensack River in Jersey City

The NJ Transit board of directors approved a $251,000 study this morning to extend the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line in Jersey City west to the Hackensack River redevelopment area.

Meadowlands trains-to-game show potential of regional rail

Next Sunday, when the New England Patriots come to New Jersey to meet the Jets, some football fans from Westchester and Connecticut will arrive via new train service to the Meadowlands.

The inauguration of the special game-day trains marks a small but important first step in the regionalization of passenger rail service, whereby trains from the three commuter railroads that serve New Jersey and New York will, for the first time, run on one another's tracks.

This autumn, before 1 p.m. kickoffs for either Jets or Giants games, three NJ Transit trains will run from New Haven, Conn., through New York's Penn Station to the Secaucus transfer station, where fans will switch to trains to Giants Stadium.

Amtrak rejoins project to expand N.Y. Penn Station rail complex

NEW YORK -- Passenger rail operator Amtrak is back on board with a plan to transform the city's main post office building into a grand rail gateway attached to Penn Station.

The agreement, announced Sunday by Gov. David Paterson, Sen. Charles Schumer and Amtrak President Joe Boardman, puts plans for the long-struggling Moynihan Station project back on track.

The Star-LedgerPassengers exit New York City's Penn Station to 7th Avenue.

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The project, which has been more than a decade in the making, would move Amtrak's ticketing, boarding and waiting areas across the street from Penn Station and into the historic James A. Farley post office building, with its Corinthian columns and gigantic staircase. The railroad had backed out of the project in 2004, saying it would not pay rent or transfer its main ticketing and waiting areas to the post office building.

Trolley through Liberty State Park?

Decades ago, trains traversed the Liberty State Park area, well before late businessman Morris Pesin started pushing in the 1950s for the land to become a park with views of the river.
There are still hints of the area’s railroad past. The old Central Railroad of New Jersey (CRRNJ) terminal, restored in 1980, is now a place for sightseeing. It also hosts a ticket office for ferries to Liberty State Park and Ellis Island, and contains the offices for the NJ Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Parks and Forestry, which operates the park year-round.

Pedestrian decoy program begins in southern N.J. communities

Is that a pedestrian in the crosswalk -- or a police officer posing as one? The answer could cost drivers who don't yield more than $100 and a couple points on their licenses.

Hoping to beat back an increase in deaths on New Jersey roadways this year, state traffic safety officials today brought their pedestrian decoy program to more than a dozen southern New Jersey communities to raise awareness about the laws protecting people in crosswalks.

Suburban New Jersey counties lack mass transit needed to serve populations

New Jersey's suburban counties, which had the biggest population and job growth, lack the mass transit to move those people even though the miles traveled by people on transit statewide doubled compared with miles traveled by car in a 10-year-period starting in 1997, a transit advocacy group found.

The "State of Transportation — 2009" report released Wednesday by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign found that "some of the counties experiencing the fastest population and employment growth in the state, such as Somerset, Ocean and Warren, have the least transit service."

Dignitaries will ride first train to Meadowlands sports complex

NEWARK -- Officials are set to cut the ribbon today on train service to the Meadowlands sports and entertainment complex.

Gov. Jon Corzine will join Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson IV and Giants owner John Mara for the inaugural ride. The service will link the Meadowlands with Hoboken and Secaucus.

The public can begin using it on Sunday for the CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer title match at Giants Stadium.

Initially, trains will operate for stadium events that figure to draw more than 50,000 people. These include Giants and Jets preseason and regular season games.

Trains will run every 10 to 20 minutes from Hoboken and Secaucus beginning 3 1/2 hours before events and up to two hours afterward.