The Atlantic City Express Service (ACES) - NJ Transit's FAILED One Stop Express 

Fact is Atlantic City is not as desirable a destination as it used to be. Car traffic to the Jersey Shore proves that, at least seasonally, there is much demand for most NJ coastline destinations. One of my regional rail fantasies is electrification and extension of the Long Branch line. I can dream, can’t I?

Honestly if it had more stops, had proper schedules and had the ALP-45DP it could have been NJT's version of the Keystone

the biggest problem with rail service to Atlantic City is the ease and frequency of BUS service....A/C was built up by charter buses and most casinos still have a bus "dock" allowing coaches access to the casino/hotels themselves......Plus of course buses are not restricted by needing existing track.....The current A/C.... NJ transit service easily makes as much or more revenue as a commuter service into and out of Philadelphia to/from west Jersey....and the line goes single track nearer to A/C causing schedule limits......

Ultimately NJ Transit needs to have the NJ Coast Line continue south from it's current terminus of Bay Head. That line should just continue south to Cape May. It should have regular dependable service 24 hours a day.

Sadly there isn't a direct way to AC anymore from NYC without the dreaded double-backing and high runtimes. Back in the day the Blue Comet use to get to AC via Red Bank and Lakehurst. The army bases, and Garden State Parkway kind of killed The Blue Comet. Most of its right-of-way is now grown over.

They should have never done that reverse move at Frankfort Junction to get onto the AC line. Would have been better to connect to the AC line directly in Jersey and bypass North Philly.

If it followed the former Blue Comet route instead of going towards Philadelphia, this would've worked.

The P40 units were acquired from Amtrak.

It was a cool set up NJT had with the locomotives it was a fun ride to AC so sad it stopped

Bus service from Port Authority (only blocks away from Penn Station) goes directly to several Casinos, instead of a train station at the end of town. The bus takes the Garden State Parkway instead of having to go to Philadelphia and loop back around. If the rail infrastructure was better the ACES would have had the advantage of less delays and consumption of alcohol allowed and with party style busses to the Casino.

With power, as long as the P40 was running, you were good. If the AEM broke down, you could at least make Newark

That explains why I rarely see that variant of the P42 locomotives, despite Wikipedia displaying them proudly.

One crucial flaw is that the 319 goes direct from the Port Authority Bus Terminal to Atlantic City in 150 minutes. 160 minutes is roughly London King's Cross to Newcastle (OK that's 170 minutes or so) which is about 300 miles.

it is pronounced "bom-bar-dee-ay" not bom-bar-deer

Or if the NJ Central Blue Comet line was rebuilt n used the north Jersey coast to redbank it probably would've worked.

For decades, NJ transit has been exploring the possibility of a mid state commuter line that runs through western Monmouth and Ocean counites using the old Blue Comet route. They should be working on restoring that route for commuter service and potential Atlantic City and Philadelphia Express services. The rights of way still exist but are in need of major reconstruction and upgrades to meet modern track standards. It could also take a load of the North East Corridor Line.

If there was a WYE track off the NEC straight on to the Atlantic City line without reversing into Frankford Jct coming from the north it probably would've been better. Then it could've used a P40 only and later an ALP45-DP.

If NJT was going to the extra effort of acquiring exclusive rolling stock for ACES anyway, why did they not get a Dual-Mode Locomotive as well? That could operate in Electric mode on the NEC, then seemlessly switch to Diesel Operation on the unelectrified Atlantic City line.

Well there's something I've never seen before - first-class seating and a cafe in a Bombardier Multilevel coach

Good stuff. Def more videos on NJ Transit history

I love trains.

I never got to ride to this service, namely because i'd have to backtrack to Newark from Philly. It just would have been one of those things to say you did. Atlantic City while fairly close, seems rather boring to me these days as im not a big gambler.

AC is a bit of a ghetto now

Very interesting! 😃

This thing had no chance. The route was just too circuitous. It's faster and more convenient to take one of the many, many buses from NYC to AC. Most will drop you right off at the casino where you'll often get free slots play.

This thing could’ve worked if the train didn’t have wait for permission to use Philadelphia tracks and change power on the trains. I loved it but hated sitting on the tracks for sometimes up to forty five minutes. It needed to pick up people from other stations as well but couldn’t.

My dream is that someday NJT would revive the former lines to the other shore town destinations Ocean City and Cape May. Sea Isle and Wildwood are no longer possible as most of the former right-of-ways are now covered by houses/buildings and highways. However, this will most likely NEVER HAPPEN anyway as it wouldn’t be profitable for NJT because, 1. Those lines wouldn’t even see nearly as much ridership at the AC line, they would basically have to run them only seasonally from like, May to September, 2. The residents of those towns would be in an uproar if they were to hear about a potential return of passenger train service as those towns would be, if not dealing with already, crime. Especially Ocean City. A direct train from Philadelphia would attract even more garbage. 3. Much like the most of the AC line, the lines to the other shore towns are single tracked. And it would force NJT to reconfigure the scheduling making even longer wait times between trains. So even though it’s not gonna happen, doesn’t hurt to dream.

Not that it would have mattered if they did fix the scheduling. Atlantic City just isn't what it used to be. NJT should take a page out of CapeFlyer and the near revival of the Suntan Special from Caltrain. Aim for more practical tourism like seaside towns and beachgoers than just gambling.

,..... .🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 fully watched 🎉👍🎉🏆

The train went to Philly, but no station stop there?

i lived in new jersey for 10 years i always used to see NJ transit trains sometimes often but really never these kids of trains including this one i have only seen once i never took the train that oiften since i didnt work back in the day but atlantic city isnt as busy as it used to be

I really enjoyed this video. I subscribed to your channel as well!

that engine more the diesel-electric than any diesel though, right

what a frankenstein train. electric front "engine" and diesel back engine

Should've stopped at NY, Sec, NWP, NWAP, Trenton, Philly, and Intermdiate stops on the Atlantic city lines.

Awesome! 😎

YES

I don’t know why did NJT ran ACES during 3 days of weekends, what was it for?

Fire vid

Those models still being used for n.j. transit??????

Do they still use the p40s?

Roool them without over head wiress. 2 good luk

United States has one of the worst public transportation in the world. Is our city the full of concrete.

Not enough stops so not picking up enough people doesn't work.