(The following story by Daniel Howley appeared on the Atlanticville website on April 10.)
EATONTOWN, N.J. — Members of the Borough Council are awaiting the results of an environmental impact study commissioned by NJ Transit that will help determine if Eatontown will host a section of the proposed Monmouth-Ocean- Middlesex (MOM) passenger rail line route.
Proposed plans call for the MOM passenger rail line to travel through one of three possible routes throughout Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties.
One of the proposed routes, the Red Bank Alignment passenger rail line, would travel from Lakehurst through Eatontown and into Red Bank, where it would meet up with NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line, according to Eatontown Councilman Carl Sohl.
“[The rail line] wouldn’t affect many of our [residents],” Sohl said, explaining that the line travels past the Sun Eagle Golf Course and would affect some 20 residents in the borough.
“I think they are looking in our direction because of the three [proposed lines], this is probably the least expensive because all the rails are already there,” Sohl said.
“It’s pretty well set up,” he added.
The results of NJ Transit’s environmental impact study will help determine if the Red Bank Alignment passenger rail line will be chosen as the route for the new rail line, making Eatontown a throughway for the rail line, according to Sohl.
Sohl said the results of the study are expected in 2009.
If the Red Bank line is chosen, passenger trains traveling through Eatontown will operate on the same tracks currently utilized by the Conrail freight line that runs parallel to Route 35 in the borough, according to Sohl.
The proposed project also calls for the construction of a train station and a 700- space parking area near the intersection of Maxwell Road and Lewis Street in the borough, Sohl explained.
“The state is looking at three potential ways of going from Lakehurst to New York City, and one of them would be coming up the existing rail line,” Sohl said at the April 2 council workshop meeting
Approximately 30 passenger trains would operate on the proposed rail line route daily, according to Sohl.
Sohl explained that the current freight lines would be upgraded to allow for electric-powered trains to pass through the area.
“What they would do is electrify [the rail line] back from Red Bank all the way over to Eatontown or just past Eatontown through Tinton Falls,” Sohl said.
The line would be electrified from Eatontown to Red Bank, where it would meet up with NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line, Sohl explained.
The first stop on the proposed route would be in Lakehurst, according to Sohl, who said trains coming from Lakehurst would run on diesel fuel until reaching the Eatontown area.
Then from Eatontown, the line would be electrified, according to Sohl.
The other two proposed rail lines are the Matawan Alignment and the Monmouth Junction Alignment, which, if chosen, will require the construction of new rail lines, Sohl said.
The Matawan Alignment would have passenger trains travel from Lakehurst to Freehold Borough, where they would then be diverted to Matawan and connect to NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line.
The Monmouth Junction Alignment would have trains run from Lakehurst to Freehold Borough and then diverted toward South Brunswick, where they would meet up with NJ Transit’s Northeast Corridor Line.