Ньюаркский Легкорельсовый Транспорт: История и Современность

Light rail system

The Newark Light Rail (NLR) is a light rail system serving Newark, New Jersey, and surrounding areas, owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by its bus operations division. The service consists of two segments, the original Newark City Subway (NCS), and the extension to Broad Street station. The City Subway opened on May 16, 1935, while the combined Newark Light Rail service was officially inaugurated on July 17, 2006. It is a "subway–surface" line which runs underground from Penn Station to Warren Street, and above ground north of Warren Street. Before becoming a part of the Newark Light Rail service, it was also known as the #7 City Subway line, an NJT Bus Operations route number carried over from its days when it was part of Public Service's Transport of New Jersey subsidiary. The number still applies internally. During subway system closures, replacement buses would also bear the route number "7 City Subway". The segment is 5.3 mile (9 km) long and runs between Grove Street in Bloomfield and Newark Penn Station, a major transportation hub with connections to the PATH rapid transit system to Manhattan, multiple bus routes, and both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit Rail Operations trains.

On June 22, 2002, the Newark City Subway was extended to the suburbs of Belleville and Bloomfield along what had been the former Erie Railroad Orange Branch, now under Norfolk Southern ownership. New stations were opened at Silver Lake and Grove Street, and the Heller Parkway and Franklin Avenue stations were combined into a new Branch Brook Park station. The loop at Franklin Avenue was removed, since the new vehicles are bidirectional, unlike the old PCCs. A new loop, however, is in place at the Grove Street facility. All the street crossings on the extension are at grade.

The original agreement gave sole operating privileges to Norfolk Southern between 11 pm and 5 am daily, but a new agreement allows passenger service to operate at all hours, with late night service commencing on January 8, 2005. In exchange, Norfolk Southern can now operate during all off peak hours, when passenger trains are infrequent.

The Broad Street Extension is the second segment of the Newark Light Rail. It was planned as the first phase of the Newark Elizabeth Rail Link. The line is 1 mile (2 km) long and connects Newark Penn Station to Broad Street Station. It branches off the older City Subway using the existing junction that had led to the Public Service terminal. A new tunnel leads from the junction to a portal about two blocks north. The remaining section runs above ground. For a few blocks, the two tracks run on different streets a block or two apart. Both tracks serve the New Jersey Performing Arts Center at Center Street. The outbound track makes stops at Atlantic Street and at the Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium. The inbound track makes a stop at Washington Park. The extension opened on July 17, 2006. Construction began in 2002 with an estimated cost of $207.7 million, or about $40,000 per foot of track; it was completed within budget. Projections were for 4,000 average weekday boardings after one year, growing to about 7,000 in 2010. Actual weekday boardings in 2010 for both Newark Light Rail lines combined were reported at 9,000. The art work at the new stations has a common theme, "Riding with Sarah and Wayne." It is a tribute to Newark born jazz greats Sarah Vaughan and Wayne Shorter, and includes the lyrics to Vaughan's signature song, "Send in the Clowns," and colored bricks representing the music notes. The Broad Street Extension was intended to ease connections between Newark's two rail stations. The two separate stations are a legacy of their roots in two separate railroads. Broad Street Station was once owned by the Lackawanna Railroad and its successor, the Erie Lackawanna Railway, while Penn Station was built and owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Previously, passengers wanting to transfer between Amtrak and the former PRR/Conrail commuter lines and the former (Erie) Lackawanna commuter lines had to make their own way (usually by taxi or bus) between the two stations.

The Newark Light Rail is equivalent to a one zone bus ride: a one way ticket costs $1.60 (as of October 1, 2015), and is valid for one hour on the entire system from the time the ticket is validated. A special $0.75 "Underground" fare is available for trips that use the subway only between Warren Street and Penn Station and not the surface portion. Through ticketing is available for connecting bus routes. Monthly and weekly NJ Transit bus and rail passes valid for one or more local bus zones, as well as transfers purchased on buses, are also accepted. The Newark Light Rail, like most light rail systems in the United States, operates on a proof of payment system, in which riders must present their tickets upon request during random fare inspections by police officers, transit workers, or fare agents. Passengers must purchase tickets at ticket vending machines (TVMs) located on station platforms or near station entrances. The tickets can also be purchased via the New Jersey Transit mobile app. One way, round trip, and ten trip tickets must then be validated, either by the app or with paper tickets, through automated validators located near the TVMs, which stamp the date and time on the ticket for 60 minutes of use. NJ Transit's fare inspectors randomly check tickets on trains and at stations; fare evasion carries a fine of up to $100. On the PCC streetcars, cash fares (exact fare) were paid on board via farebox, except for a brief period starting in October 1999 prior to the introduction of LRVs, when proof of payment fare collection was instituted.

In November 2011 scenes for the movie The Dark Knight Rises were filmed at Military Park station.