(The following story by Greg Clary appeared on The Journal News website on May 28.)
HOBOKEN, N.J. — A group of state and local officials got a firsthand look at a light-rail system yesterday in New Jersey, where economic development has boomed in a blighted area since the service began four years ago.
Elected officials, transportation and planning experts wanted a ride on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail because it is similar to one of the options being considered as a public transit solution for the Tappan Zee Bridge corridor.
“It’s important to see how the service really works,” said Orangetown Supervisor Thom Kleiner, who joined Spring Valley Mayor George Darden as the elected officials on the trip. “You can’t get that from looking at a slide show or reading a report.”
The New York State Thruway Authority and Metro-North Railroad are evaluating whether light rail can relieve pressure on the Interstate 287 corridor, a 30-mile stretch from Suffern to Port Chester that faces growing traffic volumes and congestion.
No detailed route possibilities have been created, but if light rail crossed the entire I-287 corridor, it is likely there would be at least a dozen stops spread across the two counties, including at Metro-North stations in Suffern, Spring Valley, Tarrytown, White Plains and Port Chester.
There are 26 light-rail systems nationwide, with 15 approved projects in the pipeline for funding from the Federal Transit Administration. The system is popular with developers because of the opportunities presented by light-rail stations.
A final decision on repairing the Tappan Zee Bridge or replacing it with a new bridge, a tunnel or a combination of the two is expected to be made in December 2005.
As part of that study, officials are considering if the new crossing would carry commuter or light rail, dedicated bus lanes or some other form of public transportation.
The general reaction yesterday was that the gleaming new trains — quieter and smaller than commuter rail — were impressive, but might fit an area ripe for redevelopment like the New Jersey waterfront better than the Thruway’s right of way.
“We’re already fairly built up,” Kleiner said. “This was an area that was open space and dilapidated buildings.”
The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail cost $1.7 billion and includes the latest technology in vehicle maintenance and train control.
It took 42 months to put in the 10 miles of track that serve Hoboken, Jersey City, Bayonne and, by the end of the summer, Weehawken.
Rail officials said the service carries now just under 20,000 passengers a day, at a fee of $1.50 for 90 minutes. Trains run between 20 to 55 mph, with a top speed of about 65 mph.
If it’s used as a round-trip one-day ride to work, it would cost $3, but riders can hop on and off as they wish during their hour and a half to shop or run errands.
Today’s light-rail cars can ride anywhere tracks are laid — in tunnels, on elevated platforms or on the road. Like trolleys and streetcars, the cars run alone or in pairs. Powered by catenary wires that draw electricity from overhead cables, they can climb steeper hills and turn sharper corners than commuter-rail cars.
They can also work in their own right of ways or through an established neighborhood.
Yesterday, Jim Kennedy, an NJ Transit line supervisor, showed about two dozen visitors everything from the 68 seats in a car to the buttons that override at-grade crossing traffic lights.
Kennedy also pointed out buildings where property values have increased by as much as 300 percent, with some lots selling now for $1 million an acre.
“You can see how the development has changed,” said Mark Herbst of the New York State Thruway Authority. “It’s conceivable that this could run in-street in Suffern or Nyack and then back to the Thruway’s right of way.”
Kleiner and others questioned whether the fit would be as good on the Rockland side of the Hudson River as on the Westchester side.
“There is no middle of Route 59,” said Arlene Miller, Rockland’s deputy commissioner of planning. “I also have concerns about the visual impact, with all the wires.”
Cost will also end up as a key factor, though estimates are still preliminary.
To put light rail across the entire corridor would cost $3 billion to $4 billion, and connecting a similar area with commuter rail would be almost twice that, state consultants have said.
“This is the way to go,” said Darden, one of the few local officials who has a train station in his community. “But it’s too much money. I don’t think we have the federal connections to get this. But it would be great to get people out of their cars.”