The Slow Train to P'burg - Part 1

I like trains. I like riding on trains. When I lived in the suburbs of Chicago I commuted into the city by train on Metra practically every day. Of course, the general awfulness of Chicago traffic had something to do with that, but I also liked the ability to do something else during my travel time than merely drive. Oh, and that environmental thing? Somehow in the last 10 years that hasn't gone away, either.

So I'm intrigued by the proposals that periodically circulate to "re-extend " New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line from central NJ, where I now live, to Phillipsburg/Easton, where I now work (I say re-extend because until about 1982, there were commuter trains on this route). I-78 traffic hasn't reached the Chicago level of awfulness yet (at least in the reverse commute direction that I drive), but it's getting worse.

The most recent proposal comes from the North Jersey Regional Transportation Planning Authority, a federally mandated metropolitan planning organization (MPO) which studies, sets priorities, and recommends federal funding for transportation projects in North Jersey. Since they get to recommend where the money goes, it's particularly interesting to see that NJPTA is currently conducting a study on the I-78 Corridor and recently commissioned a $1.2M study to consider "non-highway solutions" to I-78 congestion, including extending RVL service from High Bridge back to Phillipsburg.

How could this be accomplished? How long might it take to get from PBurg to NYC by train? Will it happen before I retire? Stay tuned as I explore these and other questions.