MOM line dead?
Panel favors service through Monmouth, not Middlesex
BY MARK ROSMAN Staff Writer
Passenger train service would be limited to inland Monmouth and Ocean counties if NJ Transit administrators follow through on the recommendation of a working group of stakeholders.

On May 27, NJ Transit announced that members of a working group from Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties reached "common ground" on a proposed route for a new rail line that would provide residents of Monmouth and Ocean counties with rail service to Newark and Manhattan. The chosen option is not the Monmouth- Ocean-Middlesex (MOM) line that has long been opposed by officials in the affected Middlesex towns of Monroe, Jamesburg and South Brunswick.

According to the NJ Transit announcement, the panel, with representatives from all three counties, urged NJ Transit to focus on creating a new rail line from Manchester/ Lakehurst in Ocean County to Red Bank in Monmouth County. This would include a spur from Freehold Township to Farmingdale. The line would connect to the North Jersey Coast Line in Red Bank. From Red Bank, the Coast Line runs north to Newark and New York City.

An existing freight line runs through Shrewsbury Borough, Eatontown, Tinton Falls, Colts Neck, Wall Township, Howell, Lakewood, Jackson, Toms River, and Lakehurst/ Manchester, and would become available for passenger service, according to NJ Transit. A NJ Transit spokesman told Greater Media Newspapers that no new train stations have been identified, nor are there projections as to how many patrons would be served by the route.

The working group's "common ground" does not mean that a decision on any passenger train line has been made by NJ Transit administrators, said Joe Dee, a spokesman for the agency. NJ Transit is continuing to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that is examining three passenger rail options. The DEIS study has been in the works for the better part of this decade, but there is no date established for the publication of the report, Dee said.

The train lines under examination in the DEIS include the MOM line, which would run between Lakehurst and South Brunswick in Middlesex County, connecting to the Northeast Corridor with service north to Newark and New York and south to Trenton and Philadelphia. That line would begin in Lakehurst and run through Lakewood, Howell, Farmingdale, Freehold Township, Freehold Borough, Manalapan and Englishtown, Monroe, Jamesburg and South Brunswick. This alternative has been supported by governing bodies in Monmouth and Ocean counties and opposed by governing bodies in Middlesex County.

The third passenger line considered in the DEIS would run between Lakehurst in Ocean County and Matawan-Aberdeen in Monmouth County, connecting with the North Jersey Coast Line at the Matawan-Aberdeen station. Part of that train line would run through Marlboro on a path roughly parallel to Route 79. This line is opposed by officials in Marlboro.

Dee said none of the three options being considered in the DEIS are in a position to compete for federal funding. He said the working group was examining the situation "with fresh eyes."

"We wanted to try to look at these options again with the goals of reducing the cost [of the lines] and maintaining service." He said the Lakehurst to Red Bank line emerged as common ground among the members of the working group.

Asked if the final decision about a passenger rail option rests with NJ Transit, Dee said, "At this stage we are exploring our options, and we are committed to working with the community."

In Middlesex County, officials were pleased to learn of the panel's recommendation. Jamesburg Mayor Tony LaMantia said he thought it was a great decision. "Finally, they made a decision that was worthwhile," he said.

Monroe Mayor Richard Pucci said the fight against the MOM line has been a long ordeal, but was worth it. "The line, as proposed, gave no benefit to Middlesex County or Monroe residents," he said.

Pucci said the MOM idea seems to have had a thousand lives, and he hopes it is finally dead.

"We get near an election, and things surface, and we go on a roller-coaster ride," he said. "Hopefully, this is the final say."

Pucci said he and other mayors met with Gov. Jon Corzine a year ago, and at that time, the governor suggested it may be a "MO line," or simply a Monmouth-Ocean line.

"As long as it remains 'MO,' we're satisfied," Pucci said. "It's one of the few times in our lives we don't like the word MOM."

Likewise, Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik was pleased to learn that the NJ Transit working group sought consideration of the Red Bank line and not the route through Marlboro.

"I, for one, since running for office, have been a strong opponent about running the rail line through Marlboro. I believe it would have to run through too many environmentally sensitive areas. I believe it is a very dangerous situation and would only create more traffic in our area where our roads and corridors can't handle it," Hornik said.

Officials in Red Bank — where there is already a train station on the North Jersey Coast Line and where trains that pass through the borough already cause daily traffic issues — had a completely different point of view.

Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna said, "It is absolutely the height of illogic nature to try to funnel this particular rail line at some distance from where the need is just to save a few dollars and curry political favor in another county. That's the blunt nature of what I'm saying."

Menna said the new rail service would sound a "death knell" for Red Bank and its neighboring municipalities if it goes according to plan.

"Adjacent mayors have told me they will be cooperating with us and giving us all of the resources possible, as this has a great impact on them also," Menna said.

The Lakehurst to Red Bank line does not yet have the support of the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders. Previously, the board has supported the Lakehurst to South Brunswick line. Monmouth County Freeholder John D'Amico said the final decision rests with NJ Transit.

Acknowledging the opposition to every route considered over the past 20 years, D'Amico said a proposal for rapid bus transit on Route 9 and Route 18 — which is planned for Middlesex County and could apparently be extended south to Monmouth County — may be "the best we can do." He said he would discuss that option with the freeholders.

Dee, the NJ Transit spokesman, noted that the rapid bus transit plan is not part of the passenger rail service DEIS.

Staff writer Jane Meggitt contributed to this story.