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Northern Branch Corridor Project

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Northern Branch
Corridor Project
Legend
CSX Northern Branch
 Englewood Hospital
Englewood Town Center
Englewood Route 4
Leonia
Palisades Park
Ridgefield
CSX River Subdivision
New York, Susquehanna
& Western Railway
NYS&W Edgewater Branch
 91st Street
85th Street Viaduct
69th Street
(
proposed
PBHT station
)
CSX North Bergen Yard
Conrail Northern Branch and
New York, Susquehanna & Western
 Tonnelle Avenue
Hudson–Bergen Light Rail

The Northern Branch Corridor Project is a proposed extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) from its northern terminus into eastern Bergen County, New Jersey, initially proposed in 2001. If built, the new service would use the right-of-way of the Northern Branch on which the Erie Lackawanna Railroad ran passenger service until October 3, 1966,[1][2] and is currently a lightly used, stub-ended freight rail line owned by CSX Transportation. The Northern Branch Corridor is at the foot of the west side of the Hudson Palisades in the Hackensack River valley, running for much of its length parallel to Overpeck Creek. After mixed reactions and extensive community input to a draft environmental impact statement (EIS), it was decided in 2013 to terminate the line at the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.[3] In March 2017 the Supplementary Draft Environmental Impact Statement was approved by the Federal Transit Administration allowing for a period of public reaction.[4] A separately-conceived and funded bridge at 69th Street in North Bergen, necessary for operation of the system, has been completed. In 2017 NJ Transit estimated that the line would open in 2029.[5]

Hudson-Bergen Light Rail

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The current terminus is a park-and-ride on Tonnelle Avenue
Northern Branch ROW in Fairview

Original proposals for the HBLR called for a terminus at the New Jersey Turnpike Vince Lombardi Park-and-Ride in Ridgefield, in Bergen County.[6] Despite its name, it currently operates only in Hudson County. Service began its initial operating segment in April 2000, expanded in phases during the next decade and was completed with the opening of its southern terminus on January 31, 2011. The line generally runs parallel to the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay, while its western branch and northern end travel through the lower Hudson Palisades. HBLR has twenty-four stations along a total trackage length of just over 21 miles (34 km) and serves over 40,000 weekday passengers. From its southern terminus at 8th Street in Bayonne the HBLR travels through Jersey City, Hoboken and North Hudson to its current northern terminus at Tonnelle Avenue. The balloon loop allowing for reversal of direction is immediately adjacent to the proposed right-of-way at North Bergen Yard.

Passenger and freight service

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Site of the proposed 91st Street station looking east at Bergenwood
Site of the proposed Ridgefield station looking south at the Northern Branch tracks

The region along the corridor was known as the English Neighborhood during the post-colonial era and was largely developed after the introduction of rail service in the mid-19th century.[7] Until the 1960s, the area and neighboring communities in the valley were served by regular passenger rail service[2] to intermodal terminals on the Hudson River, where passengers were able to transfer to ferries to a variety of slips on the West Side of Manhattan. The West Shore Line to Weehawken Terminal was discontinued in 1959.[8] Service on the Northern Branch to Pavonia Terminal, and in the 1960s to Hoboken Terminal, ended in 1966.[9]

The stub-ended line is still used to serve industrial facilities along the route. Since Federal Railroad Administration regulations prohibit freight and light rail systems from operating concurrently, the new passenger service would be restricted to running between 5:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m.[10]

A Major Investment Study and environmental impact statement for the corridor project were first authorized by the Federal Transit Administration and New Jersey Transit in 2001 to examine the possibility of extending Hudson-Bergen Light Rail along the right of way of the Northern Branch.[11][12] Transportation advocates supported the idea, since it would provide single-seat access between Bergen and Hudson municipalities along the Hudson River. Because light rail cannot operate concurrently with freight service, these plans would have required installation of additional track or scheduling freight traffic late at night or on weekends. Light rail would also require installation of catenary above the tracks and require substations to feed those wires.

The construction, operational conflicts and cost considerations led NJT to consider using FRA-compliant diesel multiple unit (DMU) vehicles, [2] which would have used the existing trackage and minimized interference with freight service on the line. On February 13, 2006, the agency received $3.6 million in federal funding to conduct engineering and environmental studies. Had it been built, it would have essentially been a separate service, with trains traveling south from Tenafly terminating in North Bergen, at a station providing connecting service to the separate electric-powered HBLR. The DMU alternative was criticized by rail transit advocates, who argued that a system which required an additional transfer for Bergen commuters would be inefficient and that the original light-rail plan be implemented instead.[13] The proposal was dropped when the manufacturer of DMUs, Colorado Railcar, went bankrupt.[14]

Terminal station

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The proposal included two possible options for the northern end of the line.[15] One build option would include stations in North Bergen at the county line near Fairview, Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia and Englewood, [16][17] where a terminal would be built at a park and ride adjacent to New Jersey Route 4. A second build option and the "preferred alternative" put forth by NJT was for an extension through Englewood, with additional stations, and Tenafly to two stations, the last of which would be a terminus at the Cresskill town line.[16][18]

Response to the proposal was met with mixed reactions, with those communities at its southern end generally favorable and those at its northern end much less so.[19] In Englewood, Fairview and Ridgefield, officials see the new stations as a positive addition to their public transportation system.[20] In an extensive survey conducted in 2009, Leonia residents questioned the benefit for the borough and expressed concerns about traffic and the location of the station at Fort Lee Road, believing it could be better-situated to avoid the congestion it might cause.[21] In Tenafly, residents and officials believe that quality of life in the towns will be negatively affected without much additional benefit.[20] While lending support for the new system in their written responses to the DEIS, the governments of Ridgefield, Leonia and Englewood all expressed the concerns about station locations and their parking facilities, suggesting that they would cause congestion.[22]

Opposition had been most vehement in Tenafly,[16][18] where voters had already rejected the plan to re-establish rail service to the town in a non-binding referendum in November 2010.[23][24] Residents and officials rejected plan as described in the DEIS at public hearings in January 2012.[25][26]

Despite local opposition, officials in Bergen County asked the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority to support the proposal to extend light rail service as NJT's "preferred alternative".[27] The New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers also endorsed the longer route.[28] The Record regional newspaper, in an editorial, stated that a terminus in the commercial center of Englewood would be sufficient, since the need to begin building the new line is of utmost importance.[29] According to the town's historic preservation commission, the DEIS does not sufficiently address impact to historic structures along the route.[30]

It was decided in 2013 to terminate the line at the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center[31] after another DEIS was performed.[32]

A Supplemental DEIS was released in March 2017, with a public hearing scheduled for April 24 in Englewood.[33]

EIS, estimated costs, and funding

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The estimated cost of the project is approaching $1 billion.[34] Approximately $40 million has been allocated to the project, which was expected to begin in 2012 and be completed in 2015 and projected to have an estimated 24,000 passengers daily.[14][needs update] Nearly three years after its submission, the Federal Transit Administration authorized the release of a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) in December 2011.[35][36]

A February 2012 review of the DEIS by the Environmental Protection Agency found a "lack of objections" but questioned the implementation of wetlands mitigation banking proposal and the grade separation outline within the document.[37]

In a meeting held in September 2012 with NJT and 13 mayors from the region, NJT said that it had yet to complete review of responses to the DEIS and that no funding for the project had been identified.[38]

With the compromise to build the northern terminus between those originally proposed, the project can be advanced with the completion of a final environmental impact statement.[31][39] Initially, it was undecided whether or not a supplemental draft environmental impact statement (SDEIS) would be required for the Englewood Hospital terminus. State legislators petitioned the Federal Transit Administration to proceed with the existing impact statement to avoid additional delays to the project.[40]

In February 2014, NJ Transit was directed by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to prepare a SDEIS Supplementary Draft Environmental Impact Statement,[34] to be complete in the fall.[41] The FTA approved the SDEIS in March 2017[4] and it was released on March 17, 2017.[42]

The state can apply for federal funding but would have to provide matching state funds, according to Rep. Bill Pascrell's office.[43] It was expected that, with a new gasoline tax passed in 2016, the state's Transportation Trust Fund would provide funding for the line.[44] New Jersey Transit capital improvements budgets included $95 million in funding for environmental remediation for the project during 2018 through 2020.[45]

In August 2023 the FTA announced that it would not act on the 2018 supplement to the EIS, citing “all-encompassing changes” since then and requested more information about the extension. An NJ Transit spokesman estimated this additional work will delay the project by two years.[46]

69th Street

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69th Street construction site in 2013 showing at-grade crossing

While not officially part of the HBLR Northern Branch extension project, the 69th Street Bridge in North Bergen was seen as a significant component in success of its operations. It was funded by NJ Transit.[47] The bridge replaced the earlier grade crossing near the CSX North Bergen Yard and NYSW siding between Tonnelle Avenue and West Side Avenue.[48] Significant delays were caused by long trains-created traffic congestion for those working and shopping in the area.[49] Estimated to cost $67 million in 2005, ground was broken in October, 2008, [49] but construction was delayed for years due to the first construction company's inadequacies and the subsequent cancellation of its contract. It finally opened in February 2019.[50]

Located midway between the current terminus near 49th Street and the first proposed station at 91st Street, the site was at one time planned to be a stop along the route, [51] though current Northern Branch plans do not include one.[48]

The Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project is a project by NJ Transit to reintroduce passenger service on a portion of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) right-of-way in Passaic, Bergen and Hudson counties, using newly-built FRA-compliant diesel multiple unit rail cars. Plans call for a potential station at 69th Street.[52]

Project status

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In March 2014, the mayors of Jersey City, North Hudson and the towns of Bergen County along the route created a commission to promote the construction of the line.[53][54] In July 2014, Englewood hired an engineering consulting firm to review environmental impact statements and exchanges between the municipality and NJT.[55]

In October 2016, state legislators passed a resolution to make the project a top transportation project for the state.[56] In 2020 NJ Transit projected the extension to cost $1.18B USD[57] As of December 2022, the project is still in its design phase, and NJT was given a $600K federal grant to study transit-oriented development along the proposed extension.[58] However the FTA's refusal to review the 2018 EIS supplement is estimated to delay the project into 2025.[46]

References

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  1. ^ "Commuters Lose Bid to Keep Erie Trains". The New York Times. October 2, 1966. p. 58.
  2. ^ a b c "Northern Branch Corridor Project". Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  3. ^ Higgs, Larry (January 17, 2017). "What's delaying extending light rail line into Bergen County?". Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Public hearings set to start on long-promised Bergen Light Rail". NJ.com. March 9, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  5. ^ Dia, Hannington (May 10, 2017). "Light rail on track - NJ Transit holds public hearing for HBLR extension". Hudson Reporter. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  6. ^ Berliner, Harvey L; Campo David, W.; Dickerson, Charl; Mack Glenn. Design and Construction of the Weehawken Tunnel and Bergenline Avenue Station for the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail Transit System (PDF) (Report). Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc. and New Jersey Transit. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  7. ^ "Historic Englewood". City of Englewood. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  8. ^ Sherman, Lauren; Gaulkin, Ellen Robb (February 2009). Weehawken. (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738562681.
  9. ^ Hanley, Robert (July 10, 2001), "Bergen Officials Call for Ambitious Rail Service Expansion", The New York Times, retrieved December 24, 2011
  10. ^ Rouse, Karen (January 23, 2011), "Plan to extend light rail service into eastern Bergen County faces test today", The Record
  11. ^ Federal Transit Administration (June 18, 2001). "Major Investment Study/Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Northern Branch Corridor Project". Federal Register. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  12. ^ "New Jersey Transit". Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  13. ^ Northern Branch HBLR (PowerPoint presentation), New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers, accessed July 7, 2006
  14. ^ a b Rouse, Karen (July 19, 2009). "Going with electric trains". The Record. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
  15. ^ "Northern Branch Corridor DEIS (December 2011)" (PDF). North Branch Corridor Project. New Jersey Transit. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  16. ^ a b c "Abstract" (PDF). Northern Branch Corridor Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Statement in Bergen County and Hudson County, New Jersey. USDOT & NJT. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  17. ^ Frasinelli, Mike (December 13, 2011), "NJ Transit's Hudson-Bergen Light Rail may extend to Bergen stops in near future", The Star-Ledger, retrieved December 19, 2011
  18. ^ a b Noda, Stephanie (December 15, 2011), "Light rail report released; Tenafly preparing response", The Record, retrieved December 19, 2011
  19. ^ Noda, Stephanie (January 19, 2012), "Many agree rail line is needed in northern region", Northern Valley Suburbanite, retrieved January 19, 2012
  20. ^ a b Davis, Tom (December 18, 2009). "North Jersey communities divided over $800M light-rail line". The Record. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
  21. ^ Gordon, Mark W.; Jessica L. Giorgianni (February 7, 2011). "Transit Survey Results Analysis Borough of Leonia Bergen County, New Jersey" (PDF). Urbana Consulting. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  22. ^ Hayes, Melissa (February 22, 2012). "Parking Doubts Shadow Light Rail". Record, The; Bergen County, N.J. American Planning Association. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  23. ^ Sudol, Karen (November 2, 2010), "GOP wins in Tenafly as voters defeat rail line ballot question", The Record, retrieved December 19, 2011
  24. ^ Hall, Douglas E. (February 3, 2011), Still waiting for light rail, retrieved January 19, 2012 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  25. ^ Sullivan, S. P. (December 21, 2011), "As NJ Transit plans light rail for Bergen County, Tenafly officials look to divert the train", NJ.com, retrieved December 21, 2011
  26. ^ Noda, Stephanie (February 2, 2012). "At times contentious, Tenafly states objections to light rail plan at public hearing". NorthJersey.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  27. ^ Rouse, Karen (January 10, 2012). "Light rail pushed for Tenafly". The Record. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
  28. ^ May, Jack (January 31, 2012). "Opinion: We need light rail in Bergen County". NorthJersey.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  29. ^ (Editorial) (February 25, 2012), "Don't Derail", The Record, retrieved February 29, 2012
  30. ^ Wall, David. "Inadequacy of Consideration of the Historic Factors" (PDF). Tenafly Historic Preservation Commission. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  31. ^ a b Rouse, Karen (May 1, 2013). "NJ Transit scraps light rail proposal in Tenafly for potential new alternative". The Record. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  32. ^ Pinto, Fausto Giovanny (January 29, 2017). "Town that derailed Bergen light rail plans reflects on decision to fight". NJ.com. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  33. ^ Cichowski, John (March 22, 2017). "Road Warrior: A tiny step forward for Bergen light rail". The Record. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  34. ^ a b Lueddeke, Kim (March 25, 2014). "NJ Transit proposes new light rail extension plan with Englewood as final stop". The Record. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  35. ^ Davis, Tom (May 7, 2010). "Light Rail Line to Use Electric Cars". The Record. p. L1. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  36. ^ Rouse, Karen (December 13, 2011), "Plan to extend light rail awaits public comment", The Record, retrieved December 21, 2011
  37. ^ EPA February 21, 2012 Archived November 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  38. ^ Simone, Stephanie; Noda, Stephanie (October 4, 2012), "NJ Transit discusses light rail with Northern Valley mayors", Northern Valley Suburbanite, retrieved October 10, 2012
  39. ^ Frasinelli, Mike (May 9, 2013). "NJ Transit studying extension of Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to Englewood Hospital". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  40. ^ Noda, Stephanie (October 10, 2013). "New Jersey state leaders from Bergen County urge faster action on light rail plan in Northern Valley". Northern Valley Suburbanite. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  41. ^ Lueddeke, Kim (March 25, 2014). "NJ Transit proposes new light rail extension plan with Englewood as final stop". The Record. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  42. ^ "Northern Branch Corridor Project". www.NorthernBranchCorridor.com. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  43. ^ Rouse, Karen (April 21, 2014). "Englewood mayor hopes to jump-start Bergen County light rail plan". The Record. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  44. ^ Sullivan, Al (October 16, 2016). "Light rail stops likely to be added in JC, NB, Bergen County". Archive of Hudson Reporter.com. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  45. ^ "FY 2018-2022 Transportation Capital Plan NJ Transit" (PDF). NJ.com. State of New Jersey. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  46. ^ a b "FTA tells NJ Transit to redo environmental report for light rail project". Trains magazine. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Media. August 31, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  47. ^ "Nj Transit".
  48. ^ a b "69th Street Bridge" (PDF). Final Scoping Document Northern Branch Corridor Project. USDOT, FTA, NJT. March 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  49. ^ a b "WORK BEGINS ON 69TH STREET IMPROVEMENTS IN NORTH BERGEN New overpass will enhance safety and relieve traffic congestion" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. October 17, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  50. ^ Elamroussi, Aya (February 7, 2019). "North Bergen's 'Bridge to Nowhere' opens after years of delays". The Jersey Journal. NJ.com. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  51. ^ "Proposed West Shore Map". New Jersey Transit. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  52. ^ "Passaic Bergen Hudson Transit Project". Projects & Reports. NJ Transit. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  53. ^ "Jersey City and Englewood mayors will co-chair light-rail panel to push transit line into Bergen County". The Jersey Journal. March 19, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  54. ^ "Mayors Commission" (Press release). News from Frank Huttle. March 18, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  55. ^ Noda, Stefanie (July 14, 2014). "Englewood is hiring light-rail consultant". The Record. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  56. ^ Pinto, Fausto Giovanny (October 25, 2016). "Extension of light rail to Bergen County seen as priority". NJ.com. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  57. ^ "Capital Project Sheets - Light Rail" (PDF). NJT Plans.com. New Jersey Transit. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  58. ^ Journal, Ron Zeitlinger | The Jersey (December 14, 2022). "NJ Transit awarded $590K grant to study development along possible light rail extension into Bergen". nj. Retrieved March 7, 2023.

Further reading

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