NJ Transit will make two major service cuts next month, shutting down the Atlantic City Line for four months and ending Raritan Valley Line direct service to and from New York.

The Atlantic City Line shutdown is scheduled to last for four months and off-peak Raritan Valley Line trains will no longer go to and from New York, starting Tuesday, September 4, according to a memo sent Friday from Richard Green Jr., NJ Transit director rail operations and obtained by NJ Advance Media.

A public announcement is scheduled to be made Friday afternoon.

NJ Transit officials said the shut downs are to install federally mandated Positive Train Control equipment. PTC uses computers and radios to stop a train if the operator fails to obey signals or speed limits.

The memo comes as NJ Transit canceled 18 rush-hour trains Friday morning, blaming it on crew and equipment shortages. Commuters have complained about a higher number of canceled trains this week, which causes overcrowding on trains that are running and abnormally long trips for riders.

Atlantic City rail tickets and passes will be cross-honored on NJ Transit bus route 554, on PATCO trains at Lindenwold, Walter Rand Transportation Center and 8

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Street./Market Street only, on River LINE light rails between Pennsauken and Walter Rand Transportation Center only, and on a special shuttle bus service operating between Cherry Hill, Pennsauken and Walter Rand.

Service is expected to resume on both lines in early 2019, NJ Transit officials said. Riders said the shut down will complicate their commutes

Commuter Lee Rosen takes the Atlantic City Line from Absecon to Lindenwold where she transfers to a PATCO train to Philadelphia.

"I'll probably drive to Lindenwold, but that is a lot of driving...it takes about 50 to 55 minutes to get to Lindenwold," she said. "If they had a designated bus (that stops at train stations), I would definitely take that."

The installation of Positive Train Control equipment has sidelined an average of 30 to 40 locomotives and cab cars a month as NJ Transit tries to meet a Dec. 31, 2018, deadline to have all the hardware installed. So far, NJ Transit hasn't installed enough equipment to satisfy the Federal Railroad Administration and qualify for a two-year extension of the PTC to 2020.

A shortage of rail cars and locomotives resulted in trains that are missing one or two cars, causing severe overcrowding and complaints from commuters.

Now up to 15 trains cancelled since 5am, including 8 M&E trains. Conductor on my HOB-bound train calling at every platform “every station til we’re full! Every station!” — Ben Berkowitz (@BerkowitzBT) August 3, 2018

Redeployment of Atlantic City crews could cut down the number of canceled trains which spiked this week. An engineer shortage, caused by employees leaving NJ Transit for jobs at other railroads have forced trains to be canceled when an engineer can't be found to operate the train. Engineers also are testing PTC equipment.

Commuters complained bitterly on social media about the cancelations, especially on the Morris and Essex lines, which along with the Pascack Valley Line, had many canceled trains this week

@NJTRANSIT HERE WE ARE AGAIN, what is going on? Why are so many trains canceled on a daily basis? pic.twitter.com/5OURkKhK05 — joeyjoey73 (@joeyjoey73) August 3, 2018

The Atlantic City Line has been operated by NJ Transit since 1995, after Amtrak bowed out on a joint operation it had with NJ Transit since 1989. The line has the lowest ridership of any of NJ Transit's rail lines.

The one-seat ride to and from New York City on the Raritan Valley Line has been a holy grail that advocates fought to get since 1999. NJ Transit started sending off-peak RVL trains directly to and from New York in March 2014. Commuters riding during rush hour still have to change trains in Newark to get to and from New York.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

