Maplewood and South Orange leaders say they are taking action after NJ Transit proposed eliminating Mountain Station and Maplewood Station stops from a newly scheduled train that will leave Penn Station at 6:20 p.m. on weekdays, combining the former 6:19 p.m. and 6:22 p.m. trains.
Commuter Kadee Shipman, who started a petition after posting about the change on social media, wrote that removing the stops “would cause unnecessary hardships for commuters who are already struggling with poor service and lack of reliability from NJT.”
“Mountain Station and Maplewood are more than just local stops,” wrote Shipman, “they are crucial hubs for countless commuters. The neighborhoods surrounding Mountain Station and Maplewood are full of families and working professionals who have relied on this specific route for a decade or more.”
On June 3, Maplewood Mayor Vic De Luca addressed the issue at a Township Committee meeting. “We’re getting increased comments from commuters in town about the unreliability of transit over the last couple of weeks,” said De Luca, noting the May 29 fire in the Hudson tunnel, among other problems.
“And there’s been a change in the train from New York,” said De Luca. “The 6:19 no longer stops in Maplewood, so I’m going to be reaching out to transit and try to get a huddle to see if we can get this resolved.”
South Orange Village Council will vote on a resolution on Monday, June 8, advocating for New Jersey Transit to reconsider its proposed elimination of the two stations from the new 6:20 p.m. train and evaluate alternatives that would preserve direct service for commuters in the evening.
South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum drafted the resolution after Shipman posted in social media and created a petition asking NJ Transit to maintain the station stops.
The resolution also states that the South Orange Mayor and Village Council “support and commend the civic engagement of riders — residents who have advocated for the preservation of direct service, to Mountain Station, and encourage New Jersey Transit, to continue working collaboratively with affected riders, local officials and community stakeholders, to assess the impacts of the proposed schedule change, and identify solutions that support both system performance, and rider convenience.”
The draft also contains information about South Orange as a transit community, and Collum posted it to social media in advance, letting riders know “I didn’t forget about you.”
“I felt it was important to also include a lot of information about our community and the regional impact of our trains not just for residents but commuters who utilize our station from the region and particularly how we stand out (significantly) in advancing state goals, the new state plan, transit friendly objectives from NJTransit, etc.,” she said, adding a link on Facebook to the draft.
The full draft of the resolution is below:
Feature photo credit: Kaydee Duffy-Shipman’s petition and Facebook post.
