Atlantic City Line

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Atlantic City Line
#4216 leading three Comet IV cars waits to pull Train 4622 out of Atlantic City.
Info
Type Regional rail
System New Jersey Transit rail operations
Locale White Horse Pike corridor
Terminals Atlantic City Rail Terminal (south)
30th Street Station (north)
No. of stations 8
Operation
Owner New Jersey Transit
(Atlantic City to River Line)
Conrail Shared Assets
(Delair Bridge to Shore interlocking)
Amtrak
(Shore interlocking to 30th Street)
Operator(s) New Jersey Transit
Rolling stock GP40PH-2A/B locomotives, Comet IV cars
Technical
No. of tracks 1 plus sidings
(Shore Interlocking to Atlantic City-Brigantine Connector)
Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)
Line map
ACCa
Philadelphia-30th Street Station
ABZrg
Zoo Interlocking, Harrisburg Line diverges
eBHF
North Philadelphia
ABZlf
Shore Interlocking, diverges from NEC
eWBRÜCKE+GRENZE
Delaware R., Penn./N.J. border
ABZrf
CSAO Pavonia Yard lead
HSTACC
Cherry Hill
utCPICAle CPICAr
Lindenwold PATCO Speedline
HSTACC
Atco
HSTACC
Hammonton
HSTACC
Egg Harbor City
HSTACC
Absecon
ACCe
Atlantic City Rail Terminal

The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is run by New Jersey Transit between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike. It runs over trackage that was controlled by both the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines. It shares trackage with SEPTA and Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor until it crosses the Delaware River on its own Delair Bridge into New Jersey. The Atlantic City Line also shares the right-of-way with the PATCO Speedline between Haddonfield and Lindenwold, NJ. There are 14 departures each day in both directions. Conrail also uses the line for freight movements (which are segregated) on small sections, including the NEC-Delair Bridge section to its main freight yard in Camden, New Jersey. However, the line does not have a "peak period" of additional fares during a weekday. [2]

Contents

[edit] History

Geographically correct line map of the Atlantic City line.
Geographically correct line map of the Atlantic City line.

The current Atlantic City line opened April 1, 1989, using old tracks from previous railways. Amtrak ran from Philadelphia to Atlantic City, mainly, with a "Gambler's Express" train also going to Atlantic City from other areas. The following September, New Jersey Transit moved in, serving from Atlantic City to Lindenwold. At Lindenwold, transfer was available to PATCO to get to Philadelphia or elsewhere; the cost of an NJ Transit fare and a transfer undercut that of a direct Amtrak route from Philadelphia to Atlantic City. In 1994, Amtrak announced that it would pull out of its unprofitable Atlantic City service (it actually pulled out on April 1, 1995). Initially, there were worries that NJ Transit would also cease operations, as Amtrak had been helping maintain the track and NJ Transit would be forced to buy its own fueling facility. However, NJ Transit decided to stay, at least for the time being; a target of a US $1 million subsidy reduction was set in March 1996.[1] Service was expanded to go to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, and a new station was built in Cherry Hill. Ridership increased, and NJ Transit decided to maintain the line after declaring that the line's ridership had met the target set for it.

Another improvement that has since occurred was the starting of a shuttle service between the rail terminal and the city's casinos. Now, jitneys take arrivals free of charge to the shore and the various casinos.

[edit] Proposed express service to New York City

Main article: ACES (New Jersey Transit)

In June 2006, the board of New Jersey Transit accepted a plan for Express service between Atlantic City, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan, for a three year trial to begin in 2007.

Service will be provided with station stops at New York Penn Station and Newark Penn Station, then directly to Atlantic City in about two and one-half hours. New train cars will be provided by Amtrak and service will be partially funded by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (MGM Mirage) and Atlantic City Express Service, LLC (ACES) (Boyd Gaming Corporation), which are the companies that own Bally's, Harrah's, Showboat, Caesars, Borgata, Resorts, and Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City.[2]

The service will bypass Philadelphia and enter the Atlantic City Line directly from the Northeast Corridor Line at Shore Interlocking. Only 25% of the seats are slated for sale to the general public, with the rest reserved for the casinos backing the new train service.[3]

At first it was said that the new express train service will initially have no stops in New Jersey, and run directly from Penn Station New York to Atlantic City. However, as of March 16th, 2008, casino officials and NJ Transit have agreed that there will be a stop in New Jersey at Newark's Penn Station. [4]

The new service will have the nickname of "ACES" which stands for Atlantic City Express Service and is also a play on the aces card found in a deck of playing cards used in Atlantic City casinos.

[edit] Equipment

Regularly scheduled service on the Atlantic City Line consists mainly of rebuilt ex-Penn Central GP40PH-2A and 2B diesel locomotives pushing or pulling primarily three-car Comet IV trains. When Amtrak had regular service on this line, power was provided by now-retired F40PH locomotives, with a cab car on the opposite end to provide push-pull operation.

[edit] Station listing

The trains serve the following stations:

City Station Connections
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia-30th Street Station SEPTA, Amtrak
Cherry Hill Township Cherry Hill NJT 406 (Stops on Route 70), 450 buses
Lindenwold Lindenwold NJT 403, 451, 459, and 554 buses, PATCO
Atco Atco
Hammonton Hammonton NJT 554 bus, Community Shuttle
Egg Harbor City Egg Harbor City NJT 554 bus NOTE: Buses stop on White Horse Pike.
Absecon Absecon NJT 554 bus NOTE: The 554 eastbound stops one block north on White Horse Pike.
Atlantic City Atlantic City Rail Terminal Atlantic City Bus Terminal (2 blocks east of the station): NJT 319, 501, 502, 504, 505, 507, 508, 509, 551, 552, 553, 554, 559 buses NOTE: The 552 stops directly at the rail terminal.

[edit] Cross-honoring of tickets on buses

Atlantic City Line train tickets are also honored on the 551 and 554 lines for travel to and from railroad stations at all times. Customers using rail tickets to ride the 554 line must board and alight directly at or within one block of the Lindenwold, Hammonton, Egg Harbor City, or Absecon train stations, or at the Atlantic City Bus Terminal. Tickets for travel between Philadelphia and Atlantic City are honored on the 551 between the bus terminals in the two cities.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1215/is_n3_v199/ai_20460328, Railway Age
  2. ^ Atlantic City And Rail Line Agree to Offer Direct Service, The New York Times, June 20, 2006
  3. ^ Casinos, NJ Transit sign deal, The Courier-Post, December 15, 2006
  4. ^ [1], Newsday, March 16, 2008

[edit] External links

v • d • e
New Jersey Transit Rail Operations
Hoboken Division


Newark Division
Atlantic City Division
Atlantic City – ACES (starts 2009)
Connections
Other information
v • d • e
Mass transit in the Delaware Valley
Bus lines


Commuter/heavy
rail lines
SEPTA: Regional Rail • Market–Frankford Line Broad Street Line
New Jersey Transit: Atlantic City Line • Atlantic City-NYC express (future)
Camden County-Philadelphia: PATCO Speedline
Light rail lines