Fans can take a train directly to MetLife Stadium unless they're traveling southbound on the Pascack Valley Line.
Football fans can take the train to the game at MetLife Stadium, but for some that trip requires them to ride out of their way. Why do they have to change trains and double back?
Fans riding southbound NJ Transit Pascack Valley Line trains pass MetLife Stadium even though there are tracks that would take them directly. Instead, they have to travel to Secaucus and get on a northbound train to get to the game.
Trains to and from MetLife Stadium leave from Hoboken Station, stop at Secaucus Junction and continue on the Pascack Valley Line north, until they turn off onto a branch line to the stadium.
But that direct ride isn't available to riders coming from Bergen County and a reader wants to know why.
Q: Why can't southbound Pascack Valley Line trains go directly to MetLife Stadium?
A: Good question, since a quick check of Google Earth shows that the tracks are there, which would allow a southbound Pascack Valley Line train to make a left and go directly to the stadium.
But NJ Transit spokesman Jim Smith said it's not as simple as it sounds. While the infrastructure is there, logistics have sacked the idea.
"Our rail planning experts have closely examined this and determined that adding a MetLife Stadium stop to the Pascack Valley line during events would delay the majority of customers traveling to other destinations by 25 minutes or more," he said.
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That is because the train would need time to travel to the stadium, unload and for the crew to prepare to reverse the direction of travel and get back on the Pascack Valley Line, he said. That includes conducting mandated brake tests and inspections.
Trains going to the stadium from Hoboken also could be held up when a southbound train, which had just dropped off at MetLife Stadium, has to to cross the Pascack Valley Line to get on the correct side of the tracks.
"After a stadium event, boarding the Pascack Valley Line trains separately would cause boarding delays for many of our other customers," Smith said.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.