Save Cornwells Heights
Friday, October 14, 2005
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New Cornwells Heights Train Schedule Expected As Of October 31, 2005
For
about a week now, Amtrak has been posting a new online schedule for Cornwells
Heights service, to take effect on Monday, October 31st. The posted schedule is almost the same as
what an Amtrak officer recited to me over the phone 11 days ago, the one
difference being that at the time he was speaking, he believed our second
return train would run at 6:09 instead of 6:30. A schedule change paper distributed on some trains last month
seemed to indicate that the 8:11 a.m. Keystone to New York and the 3:40 p.m.
Keystone from New York would both still be running to Cornwells Heights. It is not clear yet whether or not they
might still be stopping for us.
From Cornwells
Heights to New York City
From New York
City to Cornwells Heights
All
trains stop at Newark. Half skip
Trenton (trains 180 and 193). None stop
at Princeton Junction. Train #630 is
expected to change its run to approximately a 6:30-leaving-to-7:32-arrival
schedule after track work on the Harrisburg line is completed some unknown
number of months down the line.
Last
Chance To Buy “Cheap” Monthly Passes Ends at Close of Business Tomorrow,
October 15th
I’ve
heard sporadic reports of commuters being told they could not buy monthly
passes more than one month in advance.
This has apparently happened at both Penn Station in Manhattan and 30th
Street Station in Philadelphia. In some
cases, this may sometimes be a matter of having a ticket agent who just doesn’t
know how to order up tickets more than one month in advance. As far as I can tell, this is not a general
Amtrak policy at this time, and some ticket agents will still sell far in
advance. The Trenton Amtrak ticket
office is still a convenient option for advance monthly pass purchases, and
they’re open on Saturday.
The
battle of the fare hike – the one that threatens to drive many monthly pass
holders away from our station, or else onto SEPTA/NJT – will continue, but for
the next few months, Amtrak will probably get away with it. Due to the fare hike, simply crossing the
Delaware from Trenton costs an extra $6,000/year in base price for
single-train-ride commuters (Amtrak vs. NJT).
That doesn’t seem right, and with continued political pressure, maybe it
can be fixed some months down the line.
We’ll keep working on it.
–
Rick
[The articles below were
originally posted on 9/28/2005.]
Amtrak
to Hike Cornwells Heights Monthly Pass Cost 57%
Amtrak
announced yesterday that it would increase the cost of a monthly pass from
Cornwells Heights to New York City from its present $555 to approximately $712
as of October 16th, and $870 as of February (most likely February 16th,
but possibly earlier). The ultimate
rise to $870 will mean an extra annual outlay of $3780 per Cornwells Heights
commuter using a monthly pass. Another
reprieve from the hikes, in the short term, may not be likely.
How
You Can Protect Yourself From the Increase
Amtrak
allows monthly passes to be purchased for up to 11 months in advance at current
rates. Therefore, up until October
16th, it should be possible to make advance purchases of all monthly passes
needed for commuting through September, 2006.
The cost of buying 10 extra passes next month, in addition to the
November pass, would be $5,550. Monthly
passes purchased but not used may be turned back in before the month in which
they were to be used, and Amtrak refunds 90% of the purchase price under such
circumstances.
What
About Next Year?
Trenton
commuters can still get monthly New Jersey Transit passes for $320. A monthly Amtrak pass for the 104 miles of
commute from Philadelphia to Harrisburg is currently $299, and will likely rise
to only $469. Commuters using New Jersey
Transit trains to commute from little Campbell Hall in upstate New York, almost
the same distance as our commute, pay $279.
Cornwells Heights, at $870, and Philadelphia itself, are in an odd
commuting fare warp zone. It is
possible that the warp can be corrected within the next year with continued
political effort.
More
News And Commentary To Come…
There
is much more that can and should be said about the impending Amtrak fare hike
and the bizarre fare warp zone being experienced by New York City commuters
south of the Delaware River. More will
be written here soon.
–
Rick