Lakehurst-Monmouth Junction option has the highest price tag.
By: Joseph Harvie
A Lakehurst-to-Monmouth Junction rail line would be the most expensive of three central New Jersey rail routes being considered by NJ Transit and would take commuters the greatest amount of time to travel to New York, according to a study compiled by the rail agency.
The report, which was presented to officials and residents of Monmouth County in Freehold, says the Monmouth Junction rail line would cost $860 million to construct and $49 million to operate. The Lakehurst-to-Matawan option would cost $730 million to build and $45 million to operate and the Lakehurst-to-Red Bank line would cost $600 million to construct and $42 million to operate, the report says.
Officials representing South Brunswick, Monroe and Jamesburg said the report verifies the concerns they have been raising about the Monmouth Junction line. They say it would not benefit the people living in the area and would cost too much to construct and maintain.
They remain firmly opposed to the line, which would run through the three towns before linking with the Northeast Corridor line in Monmouth Junction and run north to Newark.
"The preliminary results certainly appear to support Monroe Township’s and Middlesex County’s contention that the Monmouth Junction alternative is the least desirable," Monroe Township Business Administrator Wayne Hamilton wrote in an e-mail to NJ Transit that he released to the South Brunswick Post. "It is the most costly of the options and has the longest travel time of the three alternatives. And the projected ridership does not come close to support such a costly venture."
South Brunswick Mayor Frank Gambatese also said the study’s findings prove that the Monmouth Junction option is not the best of the three.
"It proves what we’ve been saying all along," he said. "You would have to travel west to travel east, and that doesn’t make any sense."
Three options are being studied by NJ Transit, which hopes to develop ways to reduce congestion on roads in the region. All three options begin in Lakehurst and run through Lakewood, eventually connecting with the Northeast Corridor line. And all three would require commuters heading to New York to change trains in Newark.
The Monmouth Junction option would run through Freehold, Manalapan, Englishtown, Monroe and Jamesburg and end in Monmouth Junction. It would be 40 miles and would service 44 daily diesel trains that would travel at an average of 38.3 mph. It also could accommodate eight new rail stations. According to the study it would take a rider about 1 hour and 50 minutes to travel a total of 71.7 miles from Lakehurst to Newark Penn Station.
The Lakehurst-to-Red Bank option would run north from Lakewood and connect with the North Jersey Coast line in Red Bank. It is 29 miles and would service 44 daily diesel trains that would travel an average of 37.4 mph. It would accommodate six new train stations. According to the study it would take riders 1 hour and 37 minutes to travel 62.2 miles from Lakehurst to Newark Penn Station.
The Lakehurst-to-Matawan option would run west to Freehold Borough and then north Matawan, where it would connect with the North Jersey Coast line. It would be 36 miles and would service 44 daily diesel trains traveling at an average of 35.5 mph. It would accommodate seven new train stations. According to the study, it would take riders 1 hour and 35 minutes to travel 58.7 miles to travel from Lakehurst to Newark Penn Station.
Two other alternatives were included to the project outlined in the study that included: bus service to New Brunswick from the Route 9 corridor in Toms River and Lakewood area with express service from Marlboro and bus service from Freehold Borough to Princeton Junction and Princeton.
According to the study, Route 9 bus service with a shoulder bus lane through Freehold Township, Manalapan and Marlboro could be implemented as an alternative to the MOM line.
Also additional parking at the Matawan train station and added bus service from the park-and-ride at Exit 105 of the Garden State Parkway to Jersey City and New York were also listed as low-cost options.
According to the study, 4,500 daily riders would use the Monmouth Junction option, 1,920 of them going to Newark Penn Station or Hoboken and 1,700 going to New York Penn Station. The study also estimates that 110 riders would travel from New York to get to travel to the MOM line.
According to the study, 5,440 daily riders would use the Matawan line, 2,370 of them going to Newark Penn Station or Hoboken and 2,560 to New York Penn Station. The study also estimates that 70 riders would travel from New York to the MOM line.
The study also indicates that if the Red Bank option is built there would be 3,950, 1,940 going to Newark or Hoboken and 1,400 going to New York. The study also shows that 60 riders would travel from New York to the MOM line.
According to the study if the Monmouth Junction alternative is built there eight new rail stations could be constructed in Lakehurst or Manchester, Jackson and Lakewood in Ocean County; Freehold Township and Borough and Manalapan in Monmouth County; and Jamesburg and South Brunswick on Herrod Boulevard in Middlesex County.
The Jamesburg station would have about 380 parking spaces, according to the study, and Mayor LaMantia said this will not happen in the borough.
"They want to take away a three-block area with rateables and residents’ homes," Mayor LaMantia said. "We are not going to put people out of houses. That will not happen in Jamesburg."
There would also have to be a tunnel built in Monmouth Junction to connect to the Northeast Corridor, according to the study.
There also would have to be extensive crossing protection in Jamesburg with track barriers constructed and grade-separated barriers built throughout the borough.
If the MOM line were constructed it would run through downtown Jamesburg on the rail line that runs down the middle of East and West Railroad avenues.
Mayor Lamantia said NJ Transit should work with what they have before building something that people in the communities the rail line will affect would not use.
"To me they should improve what they have to make it better instead of spending money on things that people don’t want," Jamesburg Mayor Tony Lamantia said.
Assemblyman Bill Baroni, a Republican representing South Brunswick, Monroe and Jamesburg, said he will continue to fight the issue.
Mr. Baroni said he feels Middlesex County should not have to bear the burden of a rail line it does not want.
"It was reassuring that the document supports the arguments that (state) Sen. Peter Inverso and I have made that MOM should be MO," Mr. Baroni said. "It is a Monmouth and Ocean issue and the best route is either Matawan or Red Bank."
Mr. Baroni said the rail line would not be used by the people of Middlesex County. He said a majority of the riders would be coming from Ocean County and local residents would not use the rail line.
Mayor LaMantia said it would be better if the proposed railway ran in the counties it would serve.
"If you want a train for Monmouth and Ocean counties keep it in Monmouth or Ocean counties," Mayor LaMania said.
Monroe Mayor Richard Pucci said Monroe will continue to oppose the rail line..
"Both the economic and ridership standpoints don’t help the immediate area," Mayor Pucci said. "It is really helping South Jersey and the people form that area. Our position has always been that the Matawan line is the best option and we are still committed to that position."

