A BE20 CREW; UNFAMILIAR WITH EWR; CROSSES A RWY WITHOUT CLRNC.

Narrative

GND CTL GAVE US A TAXI CLRNC CONSISTING OF 2 TXWYS (TXWY S AND TXWY Z) TO RWY 22R. AS WE TAXIED OUT; THE PF NOTED THAT WE WERE ALREADY ON TXWY S. GLANCING AT THE ARPT DIAGRAM; THE PNF SAID TO CONTINUE STRAIGHT AHEAD TO REACH TXWY Z; BUT THAT A RWY HAD TO BE CROSSED TO GET THERE. THE PF SAID WE HAD BEEN CLRED; AND AFTER CHKING THE RWY AND APCH FOR POTENTIAL TFC; CROSSED THE RWYS. UPON XING THE RWY; WE RECOGNIZED THAT TXWY Z HAD ALREADY BEEN PASSED (AND MUST HAVE BEEN MISSED) AND IN FACT WE WERE TAXIING AWAY FROM IT. GND CTL RE-SEQUENCED US IN THE TKOF QUEUE. NO EVASIVE ACTION WAS TAKEN OR NEEDED. NO NEAR MISS OCCURRED. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: 1) BEFORE TKOF CHKLIST AND DEP PROCS WERE BEING REVIEWED DURING TAXI. THIS COULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO MISSING TXWY Z AND NOT REALIZING WE WERE TAXIING AWAY FROM DESIRED POS. 2) BOTH PLTS UNFAMILIAR WITH THIS ARPT. 3) PAX WAS LATE AND ANXIOUS TO DEPART. THIS CAUSED BOTH PLTS TO QUICKEN PACE; ADDING TO POSSIBILITY OF A MISTAKE. 4) GND CTL FREQ WAS HEAVILY CONGESTED; DISCOURAGING A PROGRESSIVE TAXI REQUEST AND NOT PERMITTING CTLR TO OBSERVE ACFT TO INSURE THEY ARE PROCEEDING AS INSTRUCTED. TO PREVENT A RECURRENCE OR CORRECT THE SIT: 1) CHANGE BEFORE TAXI CHKLIST TO INCLUDE REVIEW OF TAXI INSTRUCTIONS AND DIRECTIONS; REQUIRING BOTH PLTS TO AGREE PRIOR TO TAXI. THIS WOULD HAVE IDENTED THE PROPER LOCATION ON THE FIELD. 2) AVOID STUDYING DEP PROC DURING TAXI TO PROVIDE 2 PAIRS OF EYES LOOKING FOR TAXI TURNOFFS. THIS COULD HAVE PREVENTED BYPASSING THE TXWY Z IN THE FIRST PLACE. 3) PROVIDE ADDITIONAL GND CTL FREQ FOR USE DURING PEAK TIMES AT LARGE ARPTS. THIS WOULD ALLOW CTLRS TO OBSERVE ACFT AND ENCOURAGE PROGRESSIVE TAXI REQUESTS FROM THOSE PLTS UNFAMILIAR. 5) IMPROVED SIGNAGE DENOTING TAXI TURNS TO VARIOUS RWYS. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 626755: THE PNF WAS GIVING ME DIRECTIONS. HE THOUGHT WE STARTED FROM A DIFFERENT POINT ON THE CHART. NO HOLD SHORT CLRNC WAS GIVEN. WE SHOULD NOT HAVE CROSSED THE RWY IF WE WENT THE CORRECT WAY. I SHOULD HAVE HAD BETTER CREW COORD. ATC ADVISED US OF WHAT WE DID AND NO ACTION WAS TAKEN AND THERE WAS NO CONFLICT WITH OTHER TFC.