The Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex Rail Line

Fast, dependable transportation to work, school, airports and recreation destinations.
Less congestion on the roads.
Higher property values for homes and businesses.
A competitive and viable economy.

What is the background of MOM?
The current MOM rail proposal would reactivate portions of former passenger rail lines. This service concept dates back to the 1970's and has been the subject of several transportation and environmental studies that have examined key issues regarding existing rail rights-of-way in the tri-county region.

Where will the MOM passenger rail line be located?
The proposed passenger rail route would originate in Ocean County and would run along the tracks of the Conrail freight lines and New Jersey Department of Transportation/NJ TRANSIT lines through these municipalities:

Ocean County
Lakehurst Borough
Manchester Township
Jackson Township
Dover Township
Lakewood Township

Monmouth County
Borough of Farmingdale
Howell Township
Freehold Township
Borough of Freehold
Township of Manalapan
Borough of Englishtown

Middlesex County
Monroe Township
Borough of Jamesburg
South Brunswick Township

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The Project
Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties together represent a significant region - as a place to live, work, and engage in recreation. How the transportation system is managed and improved will influence the kinds of benefits as well as the impacts that growth will bring. Will travelers have choices in how they get to work or to recreational venues? Will local as well as longer distance travel increasingly mean traveling on roadways that are congested for longer and longer periods of the day? Will multiple modes of transportation be available to provide convenient travel to and through the region?

Answers to these questions will influence the economic vitality, ease of access and mobility, and the quality of life for the region into the future. NJ TRANSIT is in the process of preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for rail alternatives for this three county region.

The Project Study Area
The primary study area is located approximately 22 to 50 miles south of Newark, NJ. The total population of Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex counties in 2000 was approximately 1,880,000, of which approximately 580,000 live within the designated primary study area.

The service market area covers a broad area in Central New Jersey where the effects of the project will be less direct and from which MOM rail alternative ridership is likely to be attracted. The service market area includes all of Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties, as well as the following communities in Somerset and Mercer counties.

Service Market Area Communities

Somerset County
Franklin Township
Rocky Hill

Mercer County
Princeton Borough
Princeton Township
West Windsor
East Windsor
Hightstown

Project Purpose and Need
During the past three decades, thousands of people residing in the older urban core of the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area have relocated south to Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties. Many of these residents continue, however, to work in the urban areas to the north, placing heavy demands on the existing commuter rail and bus services in the tri-county area, as well as the highways. While rail transportation facilities exist (Northeast Corridor Line, North Jersey Coast Line), they hug the perimeters of the primary study area, leaving a wide area of the counties in between without direct rail service. Using the highway network in place, bus service has continued to evolve, filling in the gaps where it could. However, both the highway network and bus system have reached levels of inefficiency, resulting in the conduct of numerous studies of the Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex transportation problem.

The 1996 MOM Major Investment Study indicated that transportation investment was needed in the primary study area due to the following existing and forecasted reasons:

Growth and development in the region continue at high rates.
Increased travel is causing congestion and stretching transit capacity.
Most municipalities in the primary study area do not have direct access to public transit in their towns. Residents in these municipalities lack rail service and any nearby bus service is often inconvenient and limited.
Delay affects all transit users, but commutes by bus or rail from the southern part of the primary study area generally take at least two hours from door to door.
Air quality is a serious problem.

While transportation investments have been programmed (and some implemented) in the primary study area in the past six years, each of the above reasons for needing a major investment continue to exist.

DEIS Alternatives
The following alternatives are being analyzed as part of the MOM DEIS process:

Baseline Alternative - The baseline alternative will include no-build conditions, plus any low cost and cost-effective transit improvements (Transportation Systems Management) that can be implemented. This alternative therefore serves as a baseline condition against which the other alternatives can be compared. This alternative will aid in understanding what additional benefits and impacts are associated with the proposed new start alternative.

Commuter Rail: Monmouth Junction to Lakehurst - This commuter rail alternative uses an existing 40.1-mile rail corridor that runs from Monmouth Junction, in South Brunswick Township to Lakehurst. This alternative would provide diesel commuter rail service to communities in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties. The line would begin at Monmouth Junction ( South Brunswick ), where the Jamesburg Branch partially joins the Northeast Corridor (NEC). A tunnel connection has been proposed to connect the new service to the NEC. From Monmouth Junction, the line would continue southeast from Monmouth Junction, Jamesburg, Monroe, Englishtown, Manalapan, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell and Farmingdale. A new rail connection would be required in Farmingdale. It would proceed southward from Farmingdale to Lakehurst passing through Howell, Lakewood, Jackson, Dover, and Lakehurst/Manchester. Trains on this line would also operate on the NEC between Monmouth Junction and Newark. Passengers destined for New York would transfer at Newark. Eight new stations and a train storage yard would be constructed. Note: NJ TRANSIT is considering an assessment of this alternative with one-seat ride service to New York Penn Station.

Commuter Rail: Red Bank to Lakehurst - This commuter rail alternative uses the 27.65-mile Southern Secondary (Southern Branch) that runs continuously from Red Bank to Lakehurst. This alternative would provide diesel commuter rail service to communities in Monmouth and Ocean counties. The new line would join NJ TRANSIT's North Jersey Coast Line (NJCL) at the existing Red Bank station with a new at-grade track connection. This commuter rail alternative would establish diesel commuter rail service from Red Bank junction through Shrewsbury, Eatontown, Tinton Falls, Colts Neck, Wall, Howell, Lakewood, Jackson, Dover, and Lakehurst/Manchester. Trains would operate on the NJCL between Red Bank and Rahway and on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) from Rahway to Newark. Passengers destined for New York would transfer at Newark. Six new stations and a train storage yard would be constructed. Note: NJ TRANSIT is considering an assessment of this alternative with one-seat ride service to New York Penn Station.

Commuter Rail: Matawan to Lakehurst - This commuter rail alternative uses an approximately 35.8-mile rail corridor that runs from Matawan to Lakehurst. This alternative would provide diesel commuter rail service to communities in Monmouth and Ocean counties. The line would begin at Matawan, where a new at-grade connection would tie the Freehold Branch to the North Jersey Coast Line (NJCL). It would proceed south from Matawan to Marlboro, Manalapan, Freehold Borough, and Freehold Township. New connections would be required at both Freehold and Farmingdale. It would then continue to proceed southward from Farmingdale to Lakehurst, passing through Howell, Lakewood, Jackson, Dover and Manchester. Trains would operate on the NJCL between Matawan and Rahway and on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) from Rahway to Newark. Passengers destined for New York would transfer at Newark. Seven new stations would be constructed, as well as a train storage yard. In addition, a new junction would be constructed in Matawan to reconnect the Freehold Branch with the NJCL. Also, a new platform in Aberdeen Township on the Freehold Branch would be constructed. Note: NJ TRANSIT is considering an assessment of this alternative with one-seat ride service to New York Penn Station.

The following table summarizes the characteristics of each build alternative being studied in the MOM DEIS:

	Monmouth Junction Alternative*	Red Bank Alternative*	Matawan Alternative*
Lakehurst to network connection	40 miles	28 miles	36 miles
Lakehurst to Newark Penn	71.7 miles	62.2 miles	58.7 miles
Daily Service	44 Trains	44 Trains	44 Trains
Service Type	Diesel*	Diesel*	Diesel*
Proposed New Stations	8	6	7
Proposed Stops on Existing Line	4 (NEC)	5 (NJCL)	3 (NJCL)
All include one off-peak stop at EWR Liberty Airport Station
Average Operating Speed from Lakehurst to Newark Penn (Including Stops)	38.3 mph	37.4 mph	35.5 mph
Number of Grade Crossings (Public only)	57	37	58
Total Travel Time (Lakehurst to Newark Penn)*	1:50:00	1:37:00	1:35:00

*Information in this table will be updated in the future to reflect consideration of direct service to New York Penn Station.

Study Process
A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is a pre-requisite for investing state and federal funding for major capital investments. To ensure eligibility for future federal funding, the MOM DEIS will follow the process and procedures prescribed by both the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Consistent with these requirements, the DEIS includes:

The identification of current and long term, unmet transportation needs.
The identification and review of existing and long term, social, economic, and environmental conditions.
The identification of alternative improvements to address current and long, term unmet transportation needs.
The assessment of impacts on current or long term social, economic and environmental conditions of the recommended alternative(s).