May 2003
Major freight rail PPP planned for New Jersey portsThe New Jersey Department of Transportation is investing $80 million through a public/private partnership (PPP) with three railroads to improve freight rail access to Port Newark/Elizabeth and the Meadowlands "to help slow the increase of truck traffic on the state’s highways and preserve job growth in the competitive shipping industry." The plan, part of the state’s "Smart Growth" initiative, is designed to cope with the 90% growth in freight traffic that is expected to occur over the next 20 years and "keep Port Newark/Elizabeth the busiest container port on the East Coast."
The program includes a $50 million PPP involving the state and Norfolk Southern, CSX, and Conrail Shared Assets to increase rail capacity in the Port Newark/Elizabeth marine terminal complex, Oak Island Yard, and along a 10-mile stretch of the Lehigh Valley Line leading into the port. The state and the railroads will each provide $25 million. Another $30 million will be used to eliminate a grade crossing at Norfolk Southern’s Croxton Yard in Secaucus, N.J., by building a bridge to carry New County Road over the yard. The crossing now acts as a bottleneck and is expected to experience more traffic with the opening of the nearby Secaucus Transfer station later this year.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is funding the New County Road project and the state’s half-share of the $50 million PPP. NJDOT has reached agreements in principle with the Port Authority and the railroads on the funding plan.
The three railroads now carry 25 million tons of freight a year into northern New Jersey terminals, compared with 283 million tons moved annually by truck. The railroads believe a modernized rail system could double their share of intermodal business and increase merchandise carloads by 50%. Much of the work would involve restoring track that had been removed when the rail industry was in decline in the 1970s.
The $50 million PPP would include:
o Adding a second main line track on the Chemical Coast Line serving the port complex to relieve congestion and improve efficiency.
o Providing a second track near Conrail’s Oak Island Yard to improve train movements and eliminate delays.
o Providing a second main line track on the Lehigh Valley Line between Bound Brook and Clark to allow bidirectional train movements, eliminating the need to idle on sidings.
o Acquiring additional property in Oak Island to accommodate additional capacity and eliminate the "mountain" of stored containers that has grown over the years.
NJDOT Commissioner Jack Lettiere said the funding marks the first stage in a multi-year effort to upgrade freight rail infrastructure in northern New Jersey. NJDOT has already worked with the railroads and the city of South Amboy on developing a $12 million project to construct new rail and highway bridges to the city’s waterfront development area. Under a $2 million agreement with the city of Perth Amboy and the railroads, a rail line will be relocated to accommodate the construction of a new municipal complex. And in Hackensack, N.J., agreement has been reached on replacing a rail bridge to relieve a local road bottleneck and accommodate heavy-axle-load railcars.