New Jersey Transit (Northern NJ) Frequencies Question

[misterrick]

I recently programmed by scanner for the New Jersey Transit (Northern NJ) frequencies, Except I am getting a lot of transmissions in Spanish with the Talkgroup ID 400-9. Can someone please confirm that these are the correct frequencies for New Jersey Transit (Northern NJ) and if they are can someone tell me why are they transmitting in Spanish?

Rick.

[carbineone]

Those are private bus companys contracted by NJ transit and
those are there assigned talk groups for that company.
Nobody really uses that talkgroup but that company so as long
as nobody complains that is what you get. Some of those talkgroups are good to find out where the radar traps are on
parkway or turnpike.

[misterrick]

So are these frequencies just the private bus companies contracted by NJ Transit or are they also NJ Transit rail, subway, light rail etc... also?

Rick.

[carbineone]

They have a little of everything check out the database on this site for N.J. transit. There is a lot of info still left out but it gives
you something to start with.

[nosoup4u]

There are a lot of Bus to Bus Comms on this system (Tends to be VERY annoying at times). I still haven't been able to figure out who's on the 4xx-x system (its not even used on the southern system). 5xx-x groups appear to be used by Academy Bus Lines and T/G 102-1 is Leisure Line Buses.

[misterrick]

See, I'm really more interested in listening to the rail lines then the buses, Mainly because I ride the trains on a regular basis and when for some god awful unknown reason the train stops and I am stuck on the Midtown Direct between Secaucus and the middle of nowhere and the conductors aren't telling us why we're stopped or what the problem is I'd like to at least have one up on them and find out whats going on.

Rick

[transitman]

The NJTransit trunked radio network is not used on the commuter rail network. Try the following VHF frequencies for your trip:

161.010 (AAR 60) - Penn Station NY to Kearny Junction
161.400 (AAR 86) - Kearny Junction west

[k2nnj]

Transit Police

160.830 PL 123.0 Out
161.520 PL 179.9 In

Bob
k2nnj@k2nnj.com

[Tsch6373]

I receive NJTransit North as Type 2 with the TGs for Academy, Coach USA (Suburban) and NJTransit's supervisors. Cannot receive NJTs buses since we have to use a PTT button to reach the control center. I am able to get the rail this way, also, including LightRail. I was able to monitor a LightRail accident with a truck in Jersey City last year. I'm sure I'm probably missing alot by not having my radio programmed as Type 1 but I'm not sure how to correct this. Don't even know if I really need to. I have NJState Police programmed as Type 2 in the central region and now hear that all of the state has switched to Type 2. I've been scanning for nearly 30 years and have owned many scanners during that time. Am currently using BC785XLT and BC250D, w/o the digital card.

[Sparx]

2 other freqs for NJT Rail are:

161.235 NJ Coastline Dispatch (Raritan to Bayhead) but in all radios
160.920 NJT while on Amtrak rails

Enjoy!

Sparx

[Aircargo]

how do we log in railroad freqs. we cant huh? when we scan...can we actually set or bank freqs. for railroad under railroad?
just curious

[PointMan]

for some god awful unknown reason the train stops and I am stuck on the Midtown Direct between Secaucus and the middle of nowhere and the conductors aren't telling us why we're stopped or what the problem is I'd like to at least have one up on them and find out whats going on.

That can be because of a few things. The first is that the one draw bridge, called portal bridge, is open for barges to pass through, needless to say when they open it, trains are held up untill the maintainers confirm that the rails are indeed in place. ALSO Amtrack, or Slam Track as the transit guys call them, are more than happy to hold up NJT trains for amtrack trains. If your refering to delays in the new "seacaucus transfer" you should know that your frustration isnt limited to passengers, train crews often refer to that place as the "Frank Laughtenberg Delay Center" because they are forced to stop there, and the passenger count is unexpectedly low........

If your delays are occuring after newark broad street, but before secaucus, its because of the phase gaps, this is where the catenary wire physicaly ends and another wire begins, the train actualy coasts in a type of "neutral" in between the two different wires. This is because Amtrack uses a different voltage and current type than Transit, so the engine automaticaly switches between the two, this takes time, which is also why the lights in the coaches flicker. Sometimes the engine fails to switch over, and the train takes a poop, and your stuck.

If you listen to 161.400 you can listen to NJT anywhere on your midtown direct trip up to Newark Broad street from the following outlining points, dover, summit, gladstone, denville, hoboken, as well as any traffic on the sping valley line, montclair line, and the old booton line. Once you leave newark broad street going east, they switch to the Slamtrack frequency, 161.010 for the north east corridor (The engineer MUST do a radio check with the dispatcher on amtrack, which lets amtrack know hes on the way up) and then you will soon be switching from NJ tranist property onto amtrack. Once you enter the hudson tubes going into NYC, you will want to listen to the penn station frequency which i dont currently have.

http://www.fordyce.org/cgi-bin/yabb2...num=1082903197 thats a prety good PDF file he offers for those freqs. Remember that there are other railroad only freqs available (and if anything, they are using landline repeaters, simulcasting from the dispatch, not 800 Mhz trunking by any means) for signal maintainers, yard operations, track maintence, and for the 160.83 transit police channel, which is always buisy.

Hope that helps.

[nosoup4u]

FYI, I'm having some cable modem issues, so the pdf aren't going to be accessable until tonight.

[Alarmroom]

Anyone have the new NJ Transit Riverline, I do belive that they operate on the the NJ Transit (South), with talk groups 58016 (E2A) and 58032 (E2B). However radio reference lists 56016 (DAD) 56032 (DAE) and 56096 (DB2). Can anyone confirm which is correct for the new Riverline. I did notice that they are using Motorola MCS2000 radios in the cabs.

[jacksinnj]

Bob wrote:

Transit Police

160.830 PL 123.0 Out
161.520 PL 179.9 In

Bob
k2nnj@k2nnj.com
======================

I searched the FCC General Menu database & found their transmitter sites & mobile allocations. I'm in Flemington & hear them loud & clear in my basement from what I believe is their 40' tower on 338' Mt. Kipp in nearby Glenn Gardner. I programmed 160.830/123.0 into my Alinco DJ-X2000. The CTCSS decode feature eliminates the annoying digital ANI burts on their transmissions.

Their HQ IDs as 'Central.' Their mobiles are licensed to transmit on both channels ('talkaround' on 160.83). I hadn't listened to them before & it's pretty interesting. I believe I'm hearing north Jersey traffic being received by their sites in places like Hoboken. Anyone know how their system is put together?

Same comments on their dispatch comms on 161.235. They are also licensed for this on Mt. Kipp (coverage of the High Bridge line) but I hear traffic from their entire system.

Jack

[jmm346]

Its been a while since I've ridden NJ Transit, but in cars that could be used by the train operator but isn't because its in the middle of the train, there is a channel layout listed on a metal plate in many cars. Its listed next to a knob that selects the various channels. You need to be in the portion of the car that could be used for train operations but because its the middle of the train its available for normal entry/exit purposes at the ends. Most if not all of the channels are normal railroad channels. I would see the plates quite often on the 10-car electric trains that commonly run on the Northeast Corridor. Diesel trains don't have cars with operator positions so you won't have any luck there. Also, as of a couple of years ago, their new cars have enclosed train operator cabs so you probably won't see a channel layout on those.

[EAN503]

Anyone hear of them going Digital and encrypted? I heard a rumor a while ago NJT was looking for police to switch!!

[jacksinnj]

I don't monitor them all the time but when I do it is all in the clear.

I live in a high area in Hunterdon County and pick up at least 2 of their repeaters. I can hear the fuzzy phase distortion of the different transmitters being on the air at the same time. There is no heterodyne because they are on the exact same frequency. They are apparently linked as I hear traffic from all over the NJT system.

[PointMan]

jmm346 - what your talking about are called "Cab Cars" they have them in the Arrow MU trains and in the Comet coaches, its basicly a cab for the engineer to run the train from. What you saw was the radio panel, which is only activated by a coach key, that engineers and conudctors, as well as maintenence and management people have. They jam this key in the panel and turn it, and the Radio / Intercomm / PA lights up and is useable. Normaly youd have an 8 car train, with 7 coaches and one cab car, on the tail end of the train, with the loco at the opptosite end. Same would go for a 4 car train, one cab car with 3 coaches.

Since transit has a tough time keeping the equipment runing, ocasionaly they put a cab car in the center of a train, instead of on the end, to replace a normal coach car. Sometimes you will have a 4 car train, all cab cars! So the cab car is coupled inside the train, unused. FYI the difference between the Intercomm and PA, well the conductors use the PA to tell the passengers "Dover, Denville, Mount Tabor, Morristown, Morris pains .... " where as the IC is only broadcast in the vestibules between cars where the conductors stand when theyre done punching tickets (Read hiding from the obnoxious public) and in the cab car / diesel or electric locomotive where the engineer sits. This way when the train "Takes a Dump" (yes thats radio slang! listen for it!) the engineer can call the conductor, without informing the passnegers, who in their usual patient and amicable state, rush the trian crew and swear at them, make statements about their family and martial preferences, throw food at them, threaten them, and always ALWAYS threaten to report them to customer service!

All transit conductors, as well as slAMTRACK conductors, are reqired to have hand held radios on them at all times. This way they can communicate with the engineer, and if the train radio dies, the engineer can have the conductor call for help on the hand held. So if your on the train, being inside that big mettle can, you will probably only hear the conductor, engineer, and the NJ rail dispatcher / slAMTRACK dispatcher depending on the territory. When i say all conductors, I dont mean every guy in a funny hat. Train crews are made up of an engineer, a conductor, a rear brake man, and any number of collectors. The collector/rear brake wear the same uniforms as the conductor, the conductor is just a "qualified conductor" and is technicaly in control of the train. So the guy with the radio, is usualy the conductor, and the others you see are either the rear brake, or collectors. If a 2 qualified conductors bid the same job, one becomes the conductor, and the other works as the rear brake.

NJ rail has a number of repeaters, but they are land line repeaters that go to the dispatcher. The repeaters can simulcast, all at once so the dispatcher can be heard anywhere on the property, and he can hear anyone within range of the repeaters. Mechanical desk can use this system also. BUT dont think that if a train in Dover keys up, his message is repeated in summit, hoboken, gladstone, port jervis, and port morris.... they arent that kind of repeater system. Its interesting, because the dover yard master can be talking, at the same time the hoboken yard master is talking, at the same time the port jervis yard master is talking ect. and they cant hear each other because of the extreem distances, BUT the ME dispatcher, hears them all.

So, dont bother looking for mircrowave relays, inputs, tone settings, talk groups, because this is a much more simple land line system. And it only works if your sitting in the ROCK with the ME dispatcher.......

[kb2vxa]

Hi guys,

Can the dialog and cut to the chase. The best way to find what frequencies are in use by any particular passenger rail line is to ask the conductor. They carry HTs for whatever is in use wherever the train goes and it's not always limited to a route owned by the company. Yes, they very often lease track rights from freight lines and other passenger lines. That's why lists are so hard to use, you end up missing frequencies and listening to ones not in use on that particular run. The conductor only knows the channel numbers but knowing them the corresponding frequencies may be easily found. There are 90something channells so don't look for the list here, do your homework yourself. (;->)

Helpful hint:
NJ Trainset switches channels depending on what division your in and what company's tracks you're on so it's best to listen to everything in that conductor's HT unless you're familiar with which channel is used where. BTW, if you should hear the engineer getting a condition of the train report it's coming from a track side robot.