The following was posted on New Jersey Railfan. I don't have the link, but here is the text of a recent Star-Ledger story:
Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:24 pm Post subject: New RVRR news- Star Ledger 6/12 Reply with quote
County envisions new life from freight trains
By Gabriel H. Gluck
Star Ledger staff
Restoring rail freight service to central Union County would create
at least 500 new jobs and generate more than $10 million for the towns
along the rail line, according to a new analysis of the project.
The report, prepared by the county's Department of Economic
Development for state consideration, found that a large percentage of
the properties along the 14-mile route between Summit and Linden are
under-used and that providing the rail service would "create an
opportunity for industry and employment growth in the region."
Work stopped over a year ago on the revitalization project, which
called for restoring service on the Staten Island Railroad,from Cranford
to Linden, and the Rahway Valley Line, from Cranford to Summit.
With the change in administrations in Trenton, the project remained
in limbo until March, when state Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri
told county officials he wanted a full review of the costs and benefits of
restoring service to the two lines. There would be no further funding
until the county submitted that report, he said.
Kolluri said his first priority was to assess what was needed to have
the line running between Cranford and Linden.
According to the report, $11.62 million was spent on repairs between
Linden and Union. But officials estimate it will require $8.9 million more
to have that portion operational. The report makes no mention of the
cost of completing the section through Springfield and Summit, where
three bridges are out.
" I believe that we've shown the benefits to at least go out to Union,"
said county Manager George Devanney. "The economics of going to Union
are good for everybody."
Devanney said he expected the state would continue its commitment
to funding the project, but was not sure when the funds would finally be
released. The project " is really moving at a snail's pace," he said.
The report states that nearly 1,000 jobs could be created within five
years if the two freight lines were operational.
The analysis also reported that by using the railroad, nearly 32,000
truck trips a year could be eliminated for businesses along the line,
saving local industries upward of $3 million to transportation costs.
The businesses already in the corridor serve national and international
markets, making them prime candidates to use long-distance rail
service, the report said.
Under the county's contract with the Morristown & Erie Railroad,
which is rehabilitating the track and would run the freight operations,
the county could end up receiving an estimated $200,000 a year, funds
that would be reinvested in economic development projects in the
communities along the rail lines, according to the report.
Devanney said the county did not analyze the Summit/Springfield
portion of the project because it was the last phase and state officials
were more concerned with getting sections, like the Staten Island line,
in operation.
There is also some discussion, he said, of looking for alternative
routes to enable the M&E to make the connection to its Morristown base
without going through Summit and Springfield.
"Where it goes from here is un-certain," Devanney said." There are
other options being looked at, other track rights that would provide the
same connection."
It sounds like there will be concessions made to the NIMBYs in Summit
and Springfield in order to get more funding. Also the expectations for
these lines seem a bit high since you would need to build sidings for
all of these so called businesses that are going to pop up along the
lines.Seems like a lot of wishful thinking is still going on.