Issue Position: MOM Rail Line

Issue Position

The Project

Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties together represent a significant region - 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 and longer-distance travel increasingly mean traveling on roadways that are congested for 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. To identify potential capital investments that may be made to address them, NJ TRANSIT is preparing an Alternatives Analysis for this three county region, which examines nine options for restoring passenger rail service to this area, as compared with a baseline alternative. To ensure eligibility for future Federal funding, the MOM study will follow the requirements and procedures prescribed by Federal Transit Administration (FTA). These include: definition of alternative improvements to address unmet transportation needs, identification of their potential social, economic, or environmental impacts, and standardized evaluation of their benefits and costs in relation to a baseline alternative consisting of reasonable low-cost measures that address the same needs (see The Study Process below). Once a Preferred Alternative is selected through a defined screening process tied to the goals and objectives, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be prepared for that alternative.

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