bread-train-belmar-dp.jpg

A direct Shore express train arrives in Belmar last year, NJ Transit is seeking federal funds to offer the service again this summer. (Brendan Read | NJ.com user)

Hate being stuck in summer shore traffic on the Parkway? NJ Transit could offer an express rail alternative to bumper-to-bumper beach traffic again this year if federal funds come through.



"We're in the process of seeking federal funds to provide (direct) summer service," said Veronique Hakim, NJ Transit executive director.



Last summer, a $270,000 federal grant helped pay for direct trains that let beach-goers skip changing trains in Long Branch and saved 25 minutes off the time of a regular North Jersey Coast Line train trip. That service used NJ Transit's dual-mode locomotives, which can run on diesel power past Long Branch, where overhead electric wires end.



NJ Transit owns 35 dual-mode locomotives, which have allowed the agency to offer a one seat ride on the Raritan Valley Line to and from New York on select trains. The Coast Line ends in Bay Head.

"That's great, it was very well received here," said Brendan Read, a trustee of the Belmar Business Partnership, about the summer service. "We would like to see through trains happen, especially on the weekends."

Last year, direct service ran for 23 days on summer weekends and holidays and a total of 49,690 passengers rode those trains, said William Smith, NJ Transit spokesman. NJ Transit operated four New York bound and four Shore bound direct trains each of those days, he said.

"The biggest ridership day was July 26, when we carried 3,385 customers," he said. "The biggest impact on ridership -- the weather."

Direct trains were run in addition to hourly Coast Line service. Transit advocates said ridership could be increased with the right advertising.

wiz.jpg

GOT QUESTIONS?

Ticked off about mass transit? Wondering about road construction? E-mail your questions to

. He'll answer your questions on Tuesdays on NJ.com. You can also Tweet

.

"If properly promoted, service from Penn Station, New York should be a success," said Orrin Getz, New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers Rockland liaison. "The Long Island Rail Road runs it Cannonball service (to the beach) and it's sold out weeks before the service starts."

Read, a former Queens resident who rode the LIRR beach trains, agreed and said the Jersey Shore is more accessible to transit riders.

"We have great downtown communities that are walkable from the train, compared to the LIRR, where every other place you have to take a jitney or a ferry," Read said. "We definitely have a more marketable product. My question is what plans do we have to get more interest from New Yorkers to bring them down on the train?"

NJ Transit could partner with business and downtown groups in shore towns to advertise and promote the service, he said.

Last year, NJ Transit used radio promotions, Internet ads, social media, posters on ATMs in New York and Newark and internal advertising to promote the service, Smith said.

"We're finalizing the plan for 2015 right now, but we expect similar methods, including promotions to NYC audiences," he said.

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