By charles w. kim
Staff Writer
Members of the public will have a chance to speak on NJ Transit’s Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex passenger rail project.
State Transportation Commissioner James Fox announced last week that starting in the fall, NJ Transit will begin a "public outreach" as part of the $4 million draft environmental impact statement of the proposed Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM) passenger rail line. Officials say the effort will include a number of public hearings in the three counties.
"The MOM project is one of several initiatives being pursued around the state that support regional mobility and New Jersey’s economy," Fox said in a July 23 press release.
The study, which is expected to be completed sometime next year, is being conducted by SYSTRA Consulting, Bloomfield. It will analyze projections of riders using the line, potential station locations, equipment requirements, infrastructure improvements and environmental impacts in each of the proposed passenger rail routes.
The $400 million commuter rail project looks to use existing freight rail lines to bring commuters from Ocean and Monmouth counties north for connecting service to New York.
The favored 40.1-mile route would start in Lakehurst and travel north through Lakewood, Howell, and then turn west in Freehold and pass through Manalapan and Englishtown, and the Middlesex County communities of Monroe Township and Jamesburg, finally connecting with Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor Line in the Monmouth Junction section of South Brunswick.
Two other routes will also be studied, including a 27.7-mile freight route from Lakehurst to Red Bank, where the train could run on the North Jersey Coast Line to Newark and New York, and a 35.8-mile route that would run between Lakehurst and Matawan that would also connect with the North Jersey Coast Line.
While the passenger rail line has the support of some officials and residents in Monmouth and Ocean counties, the three towns in Middlesex County vehemently oppose the project. South Brunswick and Jamesburg have recently both passed resolutions to restate their opposition to the plan. Some residents of Englishtown have also objected to the proximity of a rail line to their homes.
"Prior to this announcement (announcing the public hearings), it looked like Middlesex County literally was going to be railroaded by this MOM line," state Assemblyman Gary Guear (D-Middlesex) said in a statement. "Now affected residents should have ample opportunity to have some input about where this rail line operates."
The number and locations for the public hearings have not yet been determined.
The MOM rail project was dismissed by NJ Transit in 1996 in favor of enhanced bus service on the Route 9 corridor. The project was revived when Jeffrey Warsh was appointed as NJ Transit’s director in 1998.
The state Legislature added a Central Jersey commuter link to the state’s Circle of Mobility legislation in 2000. That move makes the project eligible for federal aid.
The New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers (NJ-ARP) said in its newsletter Monday that only two of the proposed routes are actually viable.
"A route linking Matawan to Freehold is essentially window dressing, since that route is slated to become a bike/hike trail," the newsletter states. "The true MOM route (including Middlesex County) will … compete with the Red Bank alternative."
The newsletter also warns members that the agencies involved may not end up building the line unless the towns agree.
"NJ Transit and New Jersey Department of Transportation have signaled that, lacking unity and consensus, neither state entity is likely to put any effort into advancing MOM," the newsletter said.