Union County, NJ – On Monday, March 3, commuter history will be made in Union County as NJ TRANSIT begins offering its first ever “one-seat” direct rail service to Penn Station in New York City on the Raritan Valley Line, which includes the Union County municipalities Plainfield, Fanwood, Westfield, Garwood, Cranford, Roselle Park and Union.
“One-seat service represents a significant improvement for commuters and for all of Union County,” said Freeholder Chairman Christopher Hudak. “Our future goes hand in hand with mass transit, which is instrumental in economic development and quality of life as well as environmental and public health.”
The Raritan Valley Line previously required all passengers to disembark from a diesel train in Newark and continue to New York in an electric train.
“When I took office as Freeholder Chair this year, I pledged that the Freeholder Board would work hard to support this much-anticipated service,” said Hudak. “I would like to thank NJ TRANSIT and the Raritan Valley Rail Coalition for ensuring that the vision has become a reality.”
The one-seat service was made possible by the purchase of new dual-mode locomotives by NJ Transit. The new locomotives can switch from diesel to electric power as required.
The service is currently a limited pilot project. It is available only on weekdays, during midday hours. Rush hour, evening, and weekend one-seat service is not available at this time.
There will be no change in the price of a ticket.
For a complete, printable version of the full NJ TRANSIT Raritan Valley Line schedule visitnjtransit.com. The one-seat rides are highlighted in bold frames on the schedule.
Printed schedules will be available from NJ TRANSIT when the one-seat service begins.
For convenient links to all forms of transit information in Union County including auto, bus, air, rail, and bike paths, visit Union County ConneXions at ucnj.org.
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