SENATE, No. 798

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 15, 1996

 

 

By Senators HAINES and SINGER

 

 

An Act requiring a study of rail passenger service.

 

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

    1. The New Jersey Transit Corporation shall study the feasibility and cost of instituting rail passenger service from the City of Camden to the City of Trenton, making use of existing rail freight lines or rights-of way, with stops at intermediate points in municipalities bordering, or adjacent to, the Delaware River.

    The study shall include, but not be limited to, an examination of the cost of using or modifying existing rail freight lines or rights-of-way for both conventional and light rail passenger service, the feasibility and cost of entering into an agreement with the Consolidated Rail Corporation for the use of the existing rail freight lines or rights-of-way and the location and cost of stations at the proposed intermediate stops. The study shall be completed not more than six months following the effective date of this act.

 

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    The use of existing rail trackage or rights-of way for instituting rail passenger service is of fundamental importance to the rational growth and development of the State of New Jersey. Existing rail lines or rights-of-way may be used at a fraction of the cost of building or acquiring new facilities in the future. In addition, little used existing rail lines are always in danger of being abandoned or discontinued, making any future use of them difficult if not impossible. Not using available mass transit facilities could lead to excessive reliance upon the passenger automobile, with the attendant problems of congestion and pollution.

    Existing rail lines from Camden to Trenton, currently used on an infrequent basis by Conrail for freight service, present an unparalled opportunity to institute conventional or light rail passenger service between these two urban transportation centers, with their connections to other points in New Jersey, as well as to Philadelphia and New York. This bill requires the New Jersey Transit Corporation to study the feasibility and estimate the cost of instituting rail passenger service in the Route 130 Corridor along the Delaware Riverfront communities. The study is to be completed within six months of the effective date of this bill becoming law.

 

 

                             

 

Requires NJT to study feasibility and estimate costs of rail passenger service on Route 130 corridor.