RARITAN – Somerset County Freeholder Peter S. Palmer, who also chairs the Raritan Valley Rail Coalition, will board the first one-seat ride train leaving the Raritan Borough station for New York on Monday, March 3.

          The train will depart from the Raritan station at 8:43 a.m. and arrive at New York’s Penn Station at 10:09 a.m.

          “This is the culmination of 15 years of effort by the Rail Coalition, county and local officials and stakeholders all along the Raritan Valley Line,” Freeholder Palmer said.  “I’m looking forward to being part of this maiden voyage as we celebrate the launch of off-peak direct service to Manhattan.”

          NJ Transit is rolling out the morning off-peak, one-seat ride to New York’s Penn Station starting Monday, as announced last week by the Raritan Valley Rail Coalition and the One-Seat Ride Coalition.  For departure times from the High Bridge, Raritan and other stations going eastbound, and from Penn Station going westbound, visit http://bit.ly/OneSeatRide

          NJ Transit has purchased dual-mode locomotives that will operate as diesels through Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex and Union counties and as electric locomotives through the tunnel to Manhattan, making the one-seat ride possible.  Ten trains will be part of the pilot program.

          The Raritan Valley Rail Coalition, joined by a coalition of 30 mayors of towns along the line, seeks to ultimately achieve a full one-seat ride Manhattan service on the Raritan Valley Line, so that riders do not have to change trains in Newark.