(Philadelphia Business Journal – by Athena D. Merritt Staff Writer)
Pennsauken train station on the way
Ever since New Jersey Transit launched the RiverLine light rail in 2004, there’s been talk of adding a station in Pennsauken to connect it to the Atlantic City Line.
The new station is among 13 transit projects that will get started this year with $299 million in federal stimulus funds that arrived this month, NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel said.
The investments are projected to create more than 2,000 jobs, including 280 from the construction of the new station, Stessel said. Those projects that are not already under way will be by this winter at the latest, he said. “In some cases we were able to use state money to get them under way before the federal money even arrived, now we are replenishing the state money using federal stimulus money.”
NJ Transit was allocated $423 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, $299 million of which U.S. Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood delivered Aug. 14. ARRA funds will be used in South Jersey to upgrade the signal system of the RiverLine ($24 million) and construct the Pennsauken Transit Center ($40 million). The region will also benefit from funding being used statewide for bus shelters ($2.5 million) and to rehabilitate buses ($35 million), Stessel said. “As with all of the stimulus projects, these projects were selected because they are shovel-ready. These were projects that had gone through design and were ready to go. In all cases we will have shovels in the ground by this winter at the latest.”
Of the $299 million that arrived this month, $2 million will be used for preliminary engineering for the Pennsauken Transit Center. The remaining $38 million for the project will be arriving from the federal government shortly, Stessel said.
“Right now the Atlantic City rail line crosses over the RiverLine and there is no station there and no opportunity for customers to transfer,” Stessel said. “This is a very important project because of the travel options it opens up for South Jersey customers.”
The new station will mean fewer transfers and never having to leave NJ Transit’s system for some trips. For example, a trip from Burlington City to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station is now a “three-seat ride,” a portion of which must be done on PATCO, Stessel said.
After the station is built it will be a “two-seat ride,” with riders taking the RiverLine from Burlington to the new station and then transferring to the Atlantic City Line, which goes to 30th Street Station, Stessel explained. The new station will also enable those along the Atlantic City line to connect to the RiverLine to get to the Trenton station, he said.
The Pennsauken station is expected to open in 2013 and draw 1,140 passenger trips (570 customers) per weekday by 2015. It will have 283 parking spaces and will be built in two phases, the first of which will include construction of the RiverLine platform, Stessel said.
“It’s been contemplated., really, since the RiverLine opened,” Stessel said. “It was not part of the original plan of the RiverLine, but it was something we wanted to do and now have the opportunity to do because of the stimulus.”
NJ Transit is also applying for an additional $225 million to $250 million in competitive grants available under the federal stimulus. The funds would be used for solar panels, dual-powered locomotives, portal bridge replacement under high-speed rail, and for a third track on the Raritan Valley line .