calls for committee
to study issue
Assembly resolution
calls for committee
to study issue
BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer
EDISON — One township man says he has proof that the fight against what has been dubbed the "trash train" is chugging along at a healthy pace.
According to Stuart Weiss, a township resident who heads a group called the Inman Railroad Committee, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s plan to increase railroad cargo movement in the local area is headed for derailment. His feeling is backed by petitions and political action on state and local levels that he says shows that more and more people and politicians are on board to stop the effort.
About a month ago, the Edison Township Council passed a resolution backing Weiss’ denouncement of the Port Authority proposal to increase its capacity for container shipments from 2.3 million to 8.8 million per year by reactivating defunct train tracks and constructing new ones.
Dubbed the "trash train" by some critics, the reactivated and new rail lines are slated to cart garbage from New York through New Jersey on its way to landfills in other states.
To accomplish the goal of increasing cargo movement, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has proposed the construction of a second "short line" freight track from Edison to Bound Brook, in addition to another "short line" from Linden to Summit. The lines, Weiss says, will clog traffic and pollute the air. He also said the long trains, which would effectively block some roads when they roll through, just may stop emergency services from getting where they need to go in a timely manner.
With the resolution, the township joined Weiss’ group to petition Gov. James E. McGreevey to halt construction and/or any funding for the project that he says will damage the health, safety and quality of life of people near and far.
The resolution was an important first step at the local government level for Weiss’ group to halt the controversial plan. But the effort must expand, he said, faster than a speeding locomotive.
Weiss says it is imperative to stop the movement in its tracks because doing so will not only preserve quality of life, but it just may save lives — and he’s heard enough on the subject to scare him. Weiss said that not only did he see a police officer, sirens blazing and lights flashing, halted by the tracks while in pursuit not long ago, but he’s heard other sad stories.
"While I was circulating my petition, a man stopped me and told me a story of how his wife recently passed away. He urged me to tell his story," Weiss said. "This woman, who was 67 years old, fell ill and EMS was called. On the way to the hospital, they were stopped by a passing freight train. She passed away. Neither he nor I will ever know for sure if she would have survived had the ambulance not been stalled by the train and was able to get her to the hospital quicker, but it just stuck in his mind and it does in mine that there was that one roadblock."
So, to Weiss the mission is one which can reach proportions of life or death and "there’s no time to waste," he said. Right now, in addition to the resolution passed in Edison supporting his initiative, Weiss has targeted 146 mayors and governing bodies whose towns will be affected by the freight lines. His aim is to get those local politicians to pass their own resolutions, like Edison’s, and forward them to McGreevey.
"I haven’t heard a word yet, but I’m still pushing for that," Weiss said. "It’s important. I feel that for the sake of traffic flow, preserving the environment and safety, the more resolutions and signatures I can get to the governor, the greater the chance that he’ll be on our side, especially if he sees that this is a bipartisan, not politically-motivated issue that affects so many state residents."
So far, while Weiss’ quest to get resolutions passed in 146 towns has not gained much steam, the names gathering on his petitions has. He has about 800 signatures and is ready to set up a table at a local supermarket to get more. But the best news so far, he said, is that on May 17, a resolution was introduced in the state Assembly to create a committee to examine the implications of the added and reactivated lines.
The committee will be comprised of two state Assembly members, two members of the state Senate, the commissioner of the DOT or a representative of that office, and five members of the public.
Those five members of the public will be: a rail freight services expert, an environmental specialist, a person with expertise in state transportation issues, a representative of the state’s League of Municipalities and a community advocate from a local organization.
The group, according to the resolution, would compile statistics in a comprehensive report that would take about a year. Until the group’s recommendations are made, there would be no further contracts signed for the purpose of creating or reactivating the rail lines and no money spent on the initiative.
In his own report on the subject, which he forwarded to McGreevey, Weiss points out what he sees a contradiction between pollution and the pending rail situation.
"Considering the fact that federal transportation funding for New Jersey can be further threatened by any worsening of our ability to meet air quality standards, NJDOT should not be making any rail or road plans to accommodate port expansion and New York City garbage until the impact on the state air quality management plan is resolved," his correspondence read. "Why should the Port Authority and New York garbage be treated any differently?"
While Weiss says he understands the need of cargo trains, he also says it must be done efficiently.
"We have to separate them [the lines], like highways," he said. "With my movement, I know we won’t be able to save everyone, just like air bags and seatbelts don’t save all drivers from fatalities, but it will help. All we want to do is stop a disaster before it starts — to help."