NJ TRANSIT TO HOST MEETINGS ON PROPOSED WEST TRENTON RAIL LINE

Public invited to comment on plan at Hillsborough and Ewing

November 20, 2007
Contact: Dan Stessel (973) 491-7078

NEWARK, NJ ¿ NJ TRANSIT is inviting the public to meetings in Somerset and Mercer counties to learn about and comment on a proposal to restore passenger rail service on the West Trenton Line.

The proposed 27-mile line would link the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) West Trenton Station in Ewing (Mercer County) to NJ TRANSIT¿s Raritan Valley Line in Bridgewater (Somerset County). Service on the Raritan Valley Line continues to Newark Penn Station.

New stations are proposed in Ewing, Hopewell Township, Hopewell Borough, Montgomery and Hillsborough. The line would provide additional transportation options in central New Jersey and promote Smart Growth planning and land-use principles near the stations, reducing roadway congestion.

The public meetings are scheduled for 4-8 p.m. on November 29 at the Hillsborough Township Municipal Complex, 379 South Branch Road, Hillsborough and December 6 at the Ewing community/Senior Center, the former JCC building, 999 Lower Ferry Road, Ewing.

Comments on the Draft Environmental Assessment will be accepted at the meetings and until January 15, 2008 by mail sent to Thomas Clark, Office of Government and Community Relations, NJ TRANSIT, One Penn Plaza East, Newark, NJ 07105-2245 or by email at [email protected].

Funding has not been identified for the project, estimated to cost $219 million.

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing nearly 865,000 weekday trips on 240 bus routes, three light rail lines and 11 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 162 rail stations, 60 light rail stations and more than 18,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.