PHILADELPHIA — New Jersey’s commissioner of transportation said yesterday that the controversial South Jersey light-rail line exists only because scrapping it would be too expensive, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Speaking to reporters at a special legislative hearing, Jamie Fox said he had sought to halt the 34-mile project when appointed in February — but that by then it had already been too far along.
“It would cost as much money to stop the project as it would to complete the project,” he said.
Fox and other transportation officials testified before a joint meeting of the Senate and Assembly Light Rail Panel at the Keegan Center in Burlington City, less than a mile from one of the planned stops on the Camden-to-Trenton line.
Billed as a fact-finding session, the discussion was restricted by a lawsuit that builders of the light rail have filed, seeking more than $100 million in cost overruns.
That left limited room to debate the future of the Southern New Jersey Light Rail Transit System — and plenty for second-guessing.
Fox called the project “ill-advised and poorly planned,” and criticized former Gov. Christie Whitman for conceiving a rail line designed to promote economic growth rather than building where commuters needs are greatest.
“Whether it’s E-ZPass, DMV, or the South Jersey light rail, it is this administration’s responsibility to fix them,” Fox said, referring to two other troubled Whitman-era projects.
Republicans on the panel defended the project, saying Whitman could not have acted without the support of the legislature.
“Be wary of transit people,” Assemblywoman Rose Marie Heck (R., Bergen) said. “My feeling is we have to keep an open mind, believe in progress, and make it work.”
The light-rail line, scheduled to begin service next summer, will cost at least $604 million, not counting what the lawsuit might cost.
Fox said the project was the only light rail in the country that had not received federal funding — money that could have saved the state millions.
For instance, the Federal Transit Administration will pay for 60 percent of the $992 million first phase of the Hudson-Bergen light-rail line, which will pass through Weehawken, Hoboken and Jersey City.
Had the Whitman administration presented a plan that would attract more commuters, it might have qualified for federal funding, transportation officials said. The line is expected to draw 9,300 riders a day.
George Warrington, a former Amtrak president tapped to head NJ Transit, noted that early plans for the line had called for stops in Glassboro, Woodbury and Mount Holly.
Another concern is that, because it shares track with freight trains, the light rail will have to shut down at 10 p.m. That means concert-goers at the Tweeter Center in Camden, billed as a top destination for the train, probably will not be able to take the train home.
“Although the South Jersey light-rail project may not be the best for South Jersey, we are where we are,” Warrington said.
He said NJ Transit would soon try to attract riders with an aggressive plan that includes focusing on Rugters University-Camden students, selling PATCO and light-rail tickets together, and offering free bus transfers.
That the project has become a political stepchild bothers some commuter advocates, who say that while the plan is not perfect, it deserves support.
“It is disappointing to hear the executive director of NJ Transit say we are stuck with this turkey,” said Jim Ciacciarelli, director of the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers.