M-O-M Rail Study Moving To Next Phase Public
Public Outreach Effort to Begin in
Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex Counties
(Middletown) – New Jersey Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman Jamie Fox announced today that NJ TRANSIT is preparing to advance the public outreach effort for the Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (M-O-M) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).
The outreach process – scheduled to begin this fall – will include public meetings in Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties, allowing NJ TRANSIT to further study three rail corridors currently included in the DEIS:
- Monmouth Junction to Lakehurst.
- Matawan to Lakehurst.
- Red Bank to Lakehurst.
In addition, other alternatives suggested during the public outreach effort will be considered.
“The M-O-M project is one of several initiatives being pursued around the State that support regional mobility and New Jersey’s economy,” Fox said. “Each comes with its own set of development and travel demand issues to be analyzed. As the study continues we will determine the best solutions to solve Central New Jersey’s commuting and traffic congestion issues.”
“As this study advances, a parallel effort will be taking place to help identify NJ TRANSIT’s capital and operating funding needs – and to reshape transit investment policies with the first priority placed on basic system requirements followed by immediate and long-term capacity needs,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George Warrington.
The three commuter rail alignments currently included in the DEIS are:
- A 40.1-mile freight alignment between Lakehurst and Monmouth Junction, where M-O-M trains would then travel on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) to Newark. Passengers traveling south of Monmouth Junction or to New York on the NEC would to be required to transfer to another NJ TRANSIT train.
- A 27.7-mile freight alignment between Lakehurst and Red Bank, where trains would then operate north on the North Jersey Coast Line and NEC to Newark. Passengers traveling south of Rahway or to New York on the NEC would be required to transfer to another NJ TRANSIT train.
- A 35.8-mile freight alignment (abandoned) between Lakehurst and Matawan, where trains would then operate north on the North Jersey Coast Line and NEC to Newark. Passengers traveling south of Rahway or to New York on the NEC would be required to transfer to another NJ TRANSIT train.
The DEIS work is being performed for NJ TRANSIT by SYSTRA Consulting, Inc. of Bloomfield. SYSTRA will research and analyze ridership projections, potential station and train storage locations, equipment requirements, capital and operating costs, infrastructure improvements and environmental impacts for each proposed alignment.
The DEIS – which is scheduled for completion in 2003 – will be prepared in conformance with federal requirements to ensure that passenger rail projects remain eligible for federal funding. Following completion of the DEIS, the NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors would then consider the project for advancement to the next stage, which would include work on a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and preliminary engineering.
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