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(The following article by Daniel Sforza was published in the January 10 issue of the Bergen Record.)

PASSAIC COUNTY, N.J. — It’s hard to make a buck by moving people on trains.

Amtrak knows that. NJ Transit knows that.

And so does Jimmy Wilson, the owner of a short line freight railroad that runs between Passaic and Garfield.

But that isn’t stopping Wilson from trying to start the state’s – and possibly the nation’s – first privately owned commuter railroad in decades.

“We are the only ones trying to get back into the passenger business since the 1970s,” Wilson said. “I don’t think we would make a profit. I would just want to break even.”

Wilson wants to restore service to three stations on the old Boonton line that lost commuter rail when the Montclair Connection opened in September. That connection allows NJ Transit to provide direct service to midtown Manhattan on a recast Montclair-Boonton Line.

Wilson’s New York & Greenwood Lake Railway has five diesel engines and 100 freight cars. He purchased the Passaic-Garfield line from Conrail in 1997 and began using a locomotive and box cars to haul paper products from a Passaic warehouse, down the middle of a Garfield street, to a rail siding. It’s the only heavy rail line known to stop at traffic lights.

The 52-year-old lifelong railroader now sees another opportunity to do something unique: provide a private passenger service to nearly 800 commuters who lost their railroad stations to progress.

With the closing of stations in Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, and Kearny, those commuters have had to find another way to work. Some now take a shuttle bus to another train station; others drive to work and pay to park. They refer to themselves in a self-deprecating manner as “WORMS” or West of Royal Montclair Service, Wilson said.

Wilson says NJ Transit has denied his requests to restart the service to the Benson Street, Rowe Street, and Arlington stops.

So the jovial Wilson changed tactics, and demeanor, and with the towns of Boonton and Kearny took the agency to court, alleging NJ Transit abandoned the service without holding the required public hearings.

NJ Transit then responded by saying that the shuttle bus replaced the service at those stations and therefore service was not abandoned. NJ Transit officials declined to comment for this story, citing the litigation.

A hearing is set for today before Superior Court Judge Thomas Oliveri in Hudson County. Wilson has asked for summary judgment, NJ Transit for a dismissal.

Wilson, the towns, and the displaced commuters believe that the first step to restoring service is to get NJ Transit to hold hearings. Then, they believe that public pressure will force the agency to restore the service or allow Wilson to run it.

“We want [NJ Transit officials] to listen to everything the public has to say,” said Wilson’s attorney, John Fiorilla. “We can’t force them to change their mind, but we can force them to have public hearings and let people have their say.”

Wilson knows it’s a long shot. For starters, the stations have already been torn down, leaving just the platforms. Still, he has trouble concealing his zest for doing something that most say can’t be done.

“The passengers came to me and said ‘Jimmy, can you help us?'” Wilson said. “It’s horrible for the people in these three communities. The quality of life has gone down.”

Hard to make money

But running a commuter railroad is tricky business. Freight rail lines gave up on commuters 30 years ago because a profit couldn’t be made. Now, passenger rail is heavily funded nationwide by state and federal governments.

Passenger lines still hemorrhage money. NJ Transit faces a projected $3.1 billion shortfall to fund capital projects over the next five years and Amtrak required a $1 billion cash infusion last year to keep operating even after it mortgaged most of its equipment, including New York Penn Station.

Even a small line, such as this, would be a challenge because tracks, bridges, and equipment need to be maintained at costs that will far exceed the take from the fare box.

Just getting the go-ahead from several companies and agencies will be tough. Norfolk Southern owns a portion of the 11-mile stretch into Hoboken and has so far been silent on the matter, Fiorilla said. NJ Transit and the Federal Railroad Administration will also have to sign off.

NJ Transit may be the toughest hurdle for Wilson.

“They are the state’s sole transit operator,” said William Vantuono, editor of RailwayAge magazine, based in Manhattan. “They need every transportation dollar they can get. I don’t think they would want another railroad operator coming in and competing for dollars that they would otherwise get.”

Wilson said if he is allowed to provide the service, he would try to get federal funds to repair the line and keep his trains running. He would also try to run some limited freight on the line, a much more profitable venture, to make up any difference.

Wilson proposes using a diesel locomotive to pull four coach cars, including the restored 1949 Pullman Laurel Hill club car. Four runs would be made in the morning, six in the evening.

Fares would be comparable to NJ Transit rates and the trip would take about 25 minutes each way, Wilson said.

“There is some resentment that we could do something at a lesser cost as well, if not better, than NJ Transit,” Wilson said. “I think the support is there and the need is there. There is no excuse for shutting down one inch of passenger rail in the state.”

NJ Transit, in a statement on their Web site, said Wilson has “not demonstrated the financial capability to operate rail passenger service.” Further, the agency states that the New York & Greenwood Lake Railway has not received federal approval.

Before buying his own railroad, Wilson worked for Erie Lackawanna, Conrail, and NJ Transit – mostly as a conductor.

And he has faced battles before. When he first began his short line service in 1998, the city of Garfield tried to shut him down, citing safety concerns.

Wilson’s locomotives and box cars run about 5 mph along the two-mile route, hauling the paper products to Garfield, where they are picked up by a freight train headed to Mexico.

‘Nation is watching us’

Garfield officials had hoped the line would close when Conrail decided to abandon it, but Wilson bought it for an undisclosed price.

Then he won the approval of the Federal Railroad Administration, which signed off on the safety of the tracks, essentially quashing Garfield’s objections.

Wilson expects this outcome to be similar. And he thinks if he is successful, other short-line freight railroads across the nation might consider adding passenger service.

“It is pretty unique,” Wilson said. “The nation is watching us right now to see what happens. This could start something.”