The 18-mile commute time by light rail from Glassboro to Camden looks like it’s coming in now at just under six more years.
That’s because a long-planned commuter rail project connecting a growing population hub in South Jersey with mass transit into Philadelphia still appears to be a few more years away, despite an old timeline that still says it’d be up and running in 2019.
“I am disappointed that this project has not moved at a faster pace and that the line won’t be in operation sooner,” state Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) said this week.
“But it is making progress and there is still a commitment by everyone to get it done.”
A two-year study completed in 2009 recommended the line as the choice of local communities for transit expansion in southern New Jersey.
The concept of providing improved passenger rail access in this area dates to the 1930s. The most recent impetus for improved transit began in 2003 when the Delaware River Port Authority initiated a study completed in 2005.
The DRPA eventually signed on to be a lead project manager along with NJ Transit.
Jeff Nash, the DRPA vice chairman from New Jersey, said an environmental impact study is a few months away from completion and public hearings will follow. He said it could then take up to six years for the project to be completed. The study was originally scheduled to be completed in 2014.
“In order to build a $2 billion line with the hope of attracting federal funds, it is important to follow federal guidelines which are complicated and take time,” Nash said this week. “This project has taken longer than I would have liked, but the benefit has been having over 100 public meetings and carefully reviewing alternative routes and environmental impacts.”
The DRPA operates four bridges into Pennsylvania and a regional light-rail line through Camden County into Philadelphia. The proposed line would connect neighboring Gloucester County into the network that also intersects with NJ Transit’s River Line to Trenton. Diesel tram trains are also projected for the Glassboro-Camden line.
The project is expected to be funded in part by a 2016 agreement to raise the state gas tax by 23 cents per gallon. A similar project, the Hudson-Bergen light-rail extension was also targeted for funding. Both projects remain on the drawing board.
“This project continues to be a priority and I expect the work to continue at a productive pace,” Sweeney said. “This will be important for commuters and commerce in the many communities in and around Camden and Glassboro and those in between.”
A projected path of the Glassboro-Camden rail line according to a 2013 rendering.
The corridor has older, densely-populated communities, like Glassboro, Woodbury and Pitman that developed along the rail line. Colleges, medical centers and other businesses which drive the economy in the area are largely based in Philadelphia and Camden County. A rail link between there and Rowan University in Glassboro is expected to reduce vehicle traffic and spur growth.
“The federal guidelines for attracting federal funds requires several time-consuming steps,” Nash said. “Even if the state is unable to attract federal funds, the open and transparent process and careful study of environmental concerns mandated by federal requirements makes the time well spent. At the end, the line will be constructed and will operate for generations to come.”
Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@bduhart. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters. ‘Ask Alexa for New Jersey news’