(The following story by Jennifer Moroz appeared on the Philadelphia Inquirer website on March 2.)
PHILADELPHIA — Jen Hatcher, 23, was struck by the big windows and the bright, open feel. Retiree Don Johnson and his bad knees appreciated the leg room. And high school freshman Brooke Beier was digging the accents in an otherwise nearly all-white decor.
“I like the seats,” she said. “Purple.”
Most people will have to wait until opening day on March 14 to catch a ride on the new Camden-to-Trenton light-rail line. But as participants in a commercial being shot on the train, Hatcher, Johnson and Beier got a sneak preview of the slick new, diesel-powered German railcars over the weekend.
Accompanied by a reporter, they and about 20 other “actors” – mostly local residents – and crew made the 39-minute trip each way, from Riverside to Trenton and back, on Saturday. The primary goal was shooting footage for a television ad for a pub located along the 34-mile line. But participants got the added distinction of being among the first to check out the controversial $1.1 billion operation – the first new mass transit service in South Jersey in more than three decades.
A trouble-free trip
They saw a good side. The River Line, still in testing, ran on schedule. Conspicuously absent were the glitches, including malfunctioning gates at grade crossings, that had plagued the operation in recent weeks and caused officials early last month to delay opening day by another month.
“It feels like Disney World!” said flight attendant Dolly Wille, 50, of Marlton, comparing it to the monorail at the Orlando theme park.
Like Wille, most were surprised at how quiet and smooth their ride was. The train rocked gently from side to side, feeling more like a subway than most of the old-school trains that criss-cross New Jersey.
Ted Scott, a retired customer service representative, thought it would be like many trains: loud.
“I thought it would be clickety-click, clickety-click,” he said. “I was surprised how easy it was to have a conversation with the person next to you. Of course, that might be different if the train is full.”
Right now, the most prominent noises are the blaring of the horn at grade crossings, and a buttery electronic female voice warning passengers over the P.A. system to “Please stand clear of closing doors” and advising them of the next stop.
Bucket and folding seats
Each of the line’s 20 “trains” – two railcar compartments separated by a corridor – is 102 feet long, 10 feet wide, 13 feet high, and has a capacity of 190. Each compartment has 45 seats – 35 high-back bucket seats, and 10 folding seats. The seats snap back against the wall mightily, so beware.
A warning, too, for those who can’t stand to ride backward: Make sure to get a seat in the lead compartment, where most seats face forward.
Besides the train’s color scheme, Beier, 15, appreciated the seats’ comfort. Though rigid by some standards, they were cushy enough for Beier to curl up and catch a catnap during the ride.
Some other features of note: The train is handicapped accessible, with wide aisles and room set aside to park wheelchairs. It is bicycle-friendly, too, with a rack in each compartment that can carry up to three bikes. Each compartment also has overhead storage racks for luggage.
Jon Aneson, general manager of the Madison Pub in Riverside, already was on board with the idea before he stepped into the railcar Saturday. He believes the line will not only boost his business, but also revitalize the downtrodden river towns through which it runs.
That’s why, he said, he and his business partner paid NJ Transit $2,850 to shoot the commercial.
The commercial has a group of young women from various places – Philadelphia, New York and South Jersey – using the line to meet up at the pub for a meal.
“Riverside was a dying blue-collar town,” said Aneson, 53. “We want to be at the vanguard of the 21st century and the River Line will provide that opportunity.”
With so much negative publicity surrounding the line, Aneson said he wanted to show people “what the train is really like.”
Critics have lambasted the project, saying it cost too much and will not take people where they want or need to go. Some living along the line have voiced fears that it will bring in crime from poverty-stricken Camden.
Advocates such as Aneson view the line as an engine for economic development. On Saturday, the train, one of the slickest and most expensive additions this region has seen in decades, swooshed through decaying historic downtowns, past railyards and industrial parks.
Hatcher, who was a waitress at the pub and now is a hospice counselor, said she got to see a side of the line she hadn’t seen before. Until recently, much of what the Riverside resident had heard about the train complaints about the traffic buildups it caused at grade crossings and the sound it made coming through town.
“I wasn’t sure about it before,” she said, “but it’s neat now that I’m on it.”
NJ Transit is hoping others will have a similar reaction. The agency is counting on a $1.10 introductory fare – what transit chief George Warrington last week called “probably the best deal in the Western world” – to get people on board.