The construction of the controversial Glassboro-Camden Light Rail line took recently two significant steps forward as public agencies started bridge construction and approved a plan to buy property.
The line would connect Gloucester County to a rail network in Camden County that intersects with NJ Transit’s RiverLine to Trenton. It would also link to trains to Atlantic City and the Delaware River Port Authority’s rail line from Lindenwold to Philadelphia.
On Dec. 10, NJ Transit’s board approved purchasing or using eminent domain to acquire property at 525 Martin Luther King Boulevard in Camden. The tract would be used both for the light rail line and as a construction staging area for the $250 million redevelopment of the Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden.
The Camden property is the first of 216 properties needed in 14 towns for the light rail line.
The land could ultimately be used for right-of-way for the proposed light rail line, which is also known as the South Jersey regional light rail line, NJ Transit documents said.
The $2 billion plan calls for the light rail line to run largely along existing Conrail freight rail line separated by about 25 feet from existing freight lines. That is similar to how the RiverLine between Camden and Trenton operates.
A related Glassboro-Camden light rail project is also being advanced by the Delaware River Port Authority.
That agency is set to award a contract to rebuild a bridge in Mantua that carries Mantua Boulevard over the Conrail line that the proposed light rail trains would use. Three construction companies have been short-listed in response to a request for proposals in July.
NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said the steps were taken because the project has the support of both Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration and incoming Gov. Mikie Sherrill.
“When I started in January, one of the first things I said was we are going to keep moving this project forward,” Kolluri said. “Acquiring properties is part of it, without property we’re not going to be able to build it.”
“There is a commitment to do GCL and our job is to keep it moving,” he added.
The project would be funded with state funds, Kolluri said.
That could hit some speed bumps from opponents who formed a grassroots group that have successfully petitioned to have referendum questions placed on the ballot asking residents of various towns if they want the rail line.
The towns of Mantua, Pitman and Woodbury Heights, all in Gloucester County, passed resolutions in 2022 and 2023 opposing the rail line.
Five of the 14 towns with proposed light rail stops have either passed resolutions opposing it or voters approved non-binding referendums against the light rail line, said Charles Hughes, co-founder of Stop the GCL group.
“We knocked on doors,” he said. “If you ask anyone who live a quarter mile from the tracks if want it, they say no because of the noise, it runs every seven minutes and traffic.”
He cited the cost to build and operate the light rail and whether ridership would justify the expense to build it.
Hughes, a retired aerospace engineer, lives in Woodbury, a town that would have a light rail station.
Opponents plan to have petition drives in Gloucester City, Woodbury and Westville to put a referendum question on the ballot, he said. They are also trying to get the state Assembly to hold hearings.
A better, more cost effective alternative to a light rail line is micro transit ride share programs similar to those operated in Jersey City and Camden under contract with VIA, said Hughes.
“This system takes you where you want to go, a system like this would revolutionize transportation,” Hughes said. “If we had a system like this, we wouldn’t need the light rail.”
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission estimates Gloucester County’s population and employment will grow by 29% through 2045. It’s among the highest projected growth rates in the state.
Studies for the proposed light rail line began in 2003 when the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission initiated a study completed two years later. A more involved environmental study was completed in 2020.
The corridor has older, densely-populated communities, including Glassboro, Woodbury and Pitman, that developed along an existing freight rail line.
The rail line could serve colleges, medical centers and other businesses, largely based in Camden and Gloucester counties and Philadelphia, which contribute to the regional economy, supporters said.
