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Starting today, the ALP-45DP dual mode locomotives will start service on four trains in Northern Jersey: 1006 (Lake Hopatcong to Hoboken via Montclair State University), 808 (Lake Hopatcong to Hoboken via Summit), 1009 (Hoboken to Lake Hopatcong via MSU EXPRESS Newark Broad Street to MSU), and 855 (Hoboken to Mount Olive via Summit EXPRESS Newark Broad Street to Summit.

Many thanks to redarrow5591 for this information.  Hopefully the engines will do well in revenue service. Check out the “ALP-45DP in test run” thread for more details!

Finally SEPTA has awarded a contract for its New Payment Technology (NPT) system, which will upgrade SEPTA’s fare collection system to allow payment of fares with SmartCards and tap-and-go credit/debit cards.  ACS Transportation Solutions Group is the lucky winner.

SEPTA anticipates rolling the system out in 3 years, in 3 phases.  It will start off by upgrading the buses and trolleys, then the Subway-Elevated Lines, and finally the Regional Rail system.  For more details about NPT, check out SEPTA’s NPT website: http://www.septa.org/fares/npt/news-events-3.html

On Sunday, October 30th, SEPTA will be discontinuing most of the aspects of the Route 47 Service Enhancement program that started last spring.  Unfortunately, they weren’t able to receive the enhanced travel times that they desired and customers were still getting passed up.  They will keep the following things, though:

• SEPTA Loader during PM Rush at 8th and Market, allowing Center Door boarding.
• Far side stop (on the other side of the intersection) at 8th and Walnut
• Adjusting trash collection schedules to avoid 8th and 7th Streets during rush hour.

The regular September 4th schedule will still be in effect until February, though.

For SEPTA’s Press Release: http://www.septa.org/service/bus/47pilot/index.html

SEPTA has posted proposed changes to the C that would make the Nedro Division Route 4 and the Ogontz Division Route 16.  In addition making permanant some minor routing changes to routes 12, 99, 110, 150, the 400 series routes, and making Route 78 permanant are also on the agenda for hearing scheduled for November 29th, 2011.  More info at http://septa.org/notice/asp/hearings.html. 

PATCO is visiting several stations this week to get feedback from passengers on what the interior of the rehabilitated PATCO cars should look like.  PATCO staff will be stopping by the following stations during the PM rush hour:

Woodcrest- Monday, 10/17, 4pm-6pm
Haddonfield- Tuesday, 10/18, 4pm-6pm
Broadway West- Wednesday, 10/19, 4pm-6pm
Ashland- Thursday, 10/20, 4-pm- 6pm

PATCO is also soliciting feedback on the new interiors via a survey on its site.  Visit www.ridepatco.org for a link to the online survey and choose your favorite interior!

This morning, NHSL trains had to single track between West Overbrook – I mean, “Township Line Road” – and Radnor because an N5 hit a car that was parked on the tracks, resulting in at 25 passengers being injured.  At 4:25 this morning, Brian Manning of Haverford, while intoxicated, accidentally turned into the substation access road near Beechwood-Brookling Station with his Toyota off of Karakung Drive and got stuck on the tracks. While calling his wife and AAA, the first Norristown-bound train of the day slammed into the car.  Fortunately, the driver was not in the car and therefore wasn’t injured.

It’s not yet clear which railcar was affected.

For more details and photos:

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8390062

 

The merger between these two agencies is complete with the appointment of the new board of directors, so now rabbittransit covers both York and Adams Counties.  The new organization will officially be called York Adams Transportation Authority, but the rabbittransit branding will remain in place.  Also, Gettysburg’s Freedom Transit will retain its name as well.

Since November of 2009, the agencies worked together to create one unified regional system.  Rabbittransit was already contracted to operate Gettysburg’s “Freedom Transit” System as well as its paratransit service.  Additionally, the new rt 15N Rabbit Express connects Gettysburg commuters with our state capital of Harrisburg.

Hopefully other areas of the state will work together to create “regional systems” (we’re looking at you, Wilkes Barre and Scranton!).  Click the link for more details: http://www.rabbittransit.org/pressreleases/2011/pr_merger.html

With the opening of Penn Park, the University of Pennsylvania has expanded its “Penn Transit” shuttle service to operate during the daytimes (previously, the buses only ran in the evenings).  The buses will run on a “Campus Loop” serving all of the current stops in addition to the Levy Tennis Pavilion every 20 minutes.

For more details, check out this Press Release from the University of Pennsylvania: http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/current/2011-09-22/latest-news/penn-transit-adds-daytime-service-campus-loop-bus

As you already know, SEPTA has suffered a lot with this very rainy August, even after Hurricane Irene passed through.  With the latest rainstorm, a portion of the SEPTA Main Line was “washed out”, shutting down service North of Fern Rock.  There was a mud slide by Trevose Station.  A portion of the tracks on the Norristown High Speed Line, on the high ROW where it crosses over Conestoga Road near Rosemont (excuse me, “Robert’s Road) Station, is quite warped.

What a headache for the 6th largest transit agency in the nation!

SEPTA has a great photo gallery of the work being undertaken to bring the system back to normal.  At this time, there is a slow zone south of Jenkintown until the ballast under the track can support normal travel speeds again, and the NHSL (P&W) is single tracking between Bryn Mawr and Radnor Stations, with crowded trains and nice delays.

For the photo gallery: http://www.septa.org/service/weather-damage.html

As part of a pilot program, SEPTA and the City of Philadelphia are setting up a program where three city bus routes and one trolley route will be fitted with traffic prioritization technology.  This will enable the vehicle to “hold the light” until it makes it through the intersection, hopefully speeding up the travel time significantly.

The routes selected are the 6, 13, 52, and 60.  The Federal Highway Administration has contributed $3.3 million to the program.  SEPTA hopes to put this program into action in the next two years.

For more details, check out this article from Flying Kit Media: http://www.flyingkitemedia.com/devnews/stober0913.aspx