| Issue 277 | July 17, 2000 |
The
severe problems experienced by the Newark Airport monorail (design flaws
have forced it partially out of service now, and it will be closed entirely
for repairs from Labor Day until the end of the year) appear to be bringing
home complaints made over the years by transit advocates concerned about
the Port Authority's penchant for unique, exotic rail systems, rather
than off-the-shelf rapid transit or light rail gear.
It's hard to imagine the F-train or the #6 conking out for six months.
But both the Newark monorail and the JFK AirTrain, now under construction, are unlike other rail facilities in the region, have few sister systems anywhere in the world and thus have short track records. Top officials may want to use another agency to pick technology for future rail projects, like a LaGuardia train to the plane.
The notion of extending the PATH train to Newark Airport, which seemed redundant when Governor Whitman broached it anew earlier this summer, is looking better all the time.
The Port Authority is telling passengers to add 30 minutes to travel times at Newark Airport, which is already no walk in the park from either ground access or air travel points of view. 30,000 passengers per day used the airport monorail before service was curtailed last week. The monorail began service on the airport in 1996. An extension is supposed to link airport terminals to a new Northeast Corridor train station in 2001.
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