New Jersey Transit Selling Papal Rail Passes
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Passengers planning to ride New Jersey Transit trains to see Pope Francis in Philadelphia need to get tickets in advance.
New Jersey Transit began selling special passes for the Pope's visit at noon on Saturday. They'll be necessary to ride the Atlantic City or River Line on the weekend of September 26th and 27th. The lines will be operating on a limited schedule that weekend.
NJT is selling just over 4,000 tickets on the Atlantic City rail line for each day of the Pope's visit and 7,500 tickets for each of the days on the River Line. The passes will designate a two-to-three hour window in which customers can board, and the trains will make far fewer stops.
"New Jersey Transit will accommodate as many customers as our system safely allows," says spokesperson Nancy Snyder, "and the safety and capacity limitations means only a fraction of the anticipated passenger demand can actually be met.
Snyder says the Atlantic City line will go directly to 30th Street Station, with trains leaving every half hour or as they fill up.
The $30 round-trip Atlantic City line passes can be purchased at the Atlantic City terminal or on the New Jersey Transit website, but River Line passes have to be bought at one of six South Jersey stations: Trenton, Bordentown, Florence, Burlington South, Route 73 and Pennsauken. They cost $5 roundtrip. Each customer can buy four.
No bikes will be allowed on the trains.