20 Comments

1. POSTED BY jerseygurl  |  April 28, 2010 @ 11:43 am

   I don’t understand. If the owner of the line doesn’t want to convert it because it is still used once a week, are we talking about buying it from them?
2. POSTED BY Rob  |  April 28, 2010 @ 11:52 am

   I agree a bike trail along that line would be awesome, but when someone says “it’s completely off the table” there’s usually little room for negotiation.
   This isn’t some small time property owner that can be bullied into giving up their ownership in fear of an eminent domain action. It’s a 20+ billion dollar company.
3. POSTED BY Doc  |  April 28, 2010 @ 12:24 pm

   If anyone has any remaining doubt that the people who actually run for and hold local elected office in this state are not complete and total dingbats, this article should help.
   For the council members who are wasting time talking about this, nevermind spending $15,000 on a consultant…. the owner of the property has said, unequivocally, no. Next idea!
   For the guy voting against it because it’s “going to become a drug trail.” Really, dude? Get a grip.
   Rails to trails is something that has been done successfully in dozens of other states. It’s pretty awesome when it is done right. It’s pretty simple… you take a DECOMMISSIONED railway line, tear up the railroad ties and pave it. Thrown down some lane markings and put up some “watch out for bikes” signs at the grade crossings. There. Can I have $15 grand now, please?
   So yes, folks, it’s a nice idea. So now instead of wasting everyone’s time and money on really stupid version of a really good idea, why don’t we start over and try something else?
4. POSTED BY James Riley, Jr.  |  April 28, 2010 @ 12:59 pm

   Honestly, a rail trail here would be a travesty. We’re still trying to get NJ Transit to reactivate that line and allow cheap, quick access between Hoboken Terminal and Montclair, either using light rail expanded from Newark’s system or reintroducing heavy rail (biodiesel or electrical, or even simply diesel trains). Belleville and Kearny are behind this idea, and NS has expressed interest though they cannot make a move without localities and transit agencies giving them the go-ahead.
   http://expandncs.blogspot.com
   Proposal is listed there as well.
5. POSTED BY Rob  |  April 28, 2010 @ 1:09 pm

   How will Norfolk Southern run a freight line if we expand the Newark Subway along their right of way?
6. POSTED BY cncrnd  |  April 28, 2010 @ 1:10 pm

   Sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately I couldn’t pull up the map. If it went all of the way to Hoboken, it would be a real bonus. There is a similar trail that runs from the VA burbs into D.C. that is great to run and bike on. This would be a real quality of life upgrade. In good weather commuters could even ride to Hoboken to catch the Path of ferry. Also it would be a catalyst for business development and benefit property values, as an above poster noted.
   Now, lets not hold our breath. This is still technically an active line. Even when Hartz, ceases operations next year, there is still a long term option value to N&S for maintaining the track. The value can be quantified, but the price would make it unfeasible.”Off the table” is corporatespeak for “you’ll need to pay us an awful lot of money.” Are there alternative freight routes currently in use that would serve the same purpose and could therefore could tilt the balance? Are there potential tax incentives? It is going to require a creative angle.
7. POSTED BY kyle41181  |  April 28, 2010 @ 1:51 pm

   The High Line Rail sat in NYC abandoned for years….
   It is now one of the best Parks in NYC.
   This type of endeavor needs Months if not Years worth of public input, and of course NFS wanting to sell the Property!
8. POSTED BY PAZ  |  April 28, 2010 @ 1:56 pm

   The freight consists couldn’t even cross the river at the end of the bike path in the meadowlands. Check the map, the bridge is out of commission! They are only running to Bloomfield and back…Shame on NSX/CSX….Make it Rails to Trails now!
9. POSTED BY James Riley, Jr.  |  April 28, 2010 @ 1:58 pm

   It’s a matter of scheduling. The NCS can use the line at certain times, and NS can run their trains through during whatever window of time that they want. The route NS uses to get from one point to another involves using active NCS rails – the point just between Branch Brook Park station and Silver Lake station – to get to its final destination. There’s a whole list of procedures the freight trains and light rail trains have to go through, mostly involving routing all light rail traffic away from the freight trains and stopping all light rail trains while the freight trains pass through the area. It can be done, though, and frankly it wouldn’t require much investment on either NJT or NS’s parts. Also, for the holdout councilman, it would keep the area from becoming a “drug haven”.
10. POSTED BY Spiro T. Quayle  |  April 28, 2010 @ 2:14 pm

    Well, Kyle, we finally see something eye to eye. The High Line is super, I agree.
11. POSTED BY State Street Pete  |  April 28, 2010 @ 3:50 pm

    Ruane’s comments about it becoming a drug haven are just silly. The tracks are currently open to anyone and are not patroled. I live on a block near the tracks and I don’t believe it’s a problem area now, and adding pedestrians and bicycles would make activity like that less likely, not more likely.
    I love, love, love, the idea of a Suburban High Line, but I agree that it’s the perfect place for light rail. It would return rail service to Kearny, Belleville and the other parts of Bloomfield. The fact that these two projects are competing for interest is likely a good thing. Either one would be good for the area.
12. POSTED BY State Street Pete  |  April 28, 2010 @ 4:32 pm

    I didn’t realize the Newark City Subway used standard gauge track. I always assumed it was narrow. That means the tracks in place on the Boonton Line would not need much work to make an extension of the light rail work.
13. POSTED BY Nellie  |  April 28, 2010 @ 4:52 pm

    Mayor Bike Boy supports a bike trail…what a surprise…
    This seems like a futile venture since the railroad company is talking about a growth in the freight line…Move on, folks…
14. POSTED BY lockarnr  |  April 28, 2010 @ 5:15 pm

    I would love a bike path to hoboken. Growing up near Washington D.C. it was always easy to bike from the suburbs into the city. I have always wondered why we have a lack of bike paths in NJ. I always assumed that the many townships couldn’t get their act together but maybe that isn’t it.
15. POSTED BY David Wright  |  April 28, 2010 @ 6:15 pm

    It good to see this has a lot of interest. We have been working at converting this old rail line for a couple years and the interest on both an individual and town level has just been increasing. All of the towns along the way are on board.
    Norfolk Southern (NS) has already stopped using the line and NJ Transit did a study when they ended service showing that the cost of maintaining the line (+ bridges) didn’t justify the potential revenue stream. NS has also already started to negotiate with other towns so they are most likely just positioning.
    A rails with trails (this keeps NS rights in tack) would significantly improve all of the people who currently live along the line.
16. POSTED BY Vincent L.  |  April 28, 2010 @ 7:55 pm

    A bike path created from an underused rail line is a fabulous idea!
    I would get much more benefit from a bike / pedestrian path than what a once a week freight train would give me!
    Excited to run and bike the trail
17. POSTED BY Pat Gilleran  |  April 29, 2010 @ 9:39 am

    We can ALL actually use the line- rails to trails doesn’t rule out using the line for light rail or freight. Nothing on the corridor should be reduced to an “either-or” use at this stage in the game.
    Historically, the line served two tracks and contains a number of old sidings and supplemental width. It’s width is greater than the gravel RR ballast. Where the corridor is elevated or runs thru a cut the trail can be located (or relocated) up / down slope to accommodate rail use. This might be advantageous in and of itself, someday.
    The trail makes a great interim neighbor. There are perhaps 40-50 documented “rail-with-trail” projects around the US involving Class I (common carrier), Privately-owned Class II, freight and excursion lines. Quite a few exist on corridors with less width than the subject Boonton / Erie / NY & Greenwood Lake Line.
    Any RR reactivation thru to JC will require substantial engineering and development funding. The cost of electrification, bridge upgrades, stations and adequate parking (!) must be factored into any cost-benefit analysis, ridership study and reactivation plan. NJ transit has said restoring rails service would cost millions – so it’s not very likely that it would happen, but would be great if it did.
    We’ll be announcing an organizational meeting of the Friends of Ice and Iron Trail(the RR was originally built to serve the iron mines in Ringwood and deliver ice to NYC)in the next month or so- and I’ll post our facebook page, google group and blogger page here later.
    If you’re interested – join us. This project will take a whole lot of effort from a whole lot of people in the 5 towns involved on the Essex County side – Belleville, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Montclair and Newark.
18. POSTED BY Pat Gilleran  |  April 29, 2010 @ 3:03 pm

    The link to the map works now. Take a look!
19. POSTED BY jensph  |  April 30, 2010 @ 12:59 pm

    This is a fantastic idea, which I thought had lost steam – glad to see it’s still being discussed.
    But, looking at the map on bikely, it appears to only go as far as the Hackensack River – is this right? It’s useless if it doesn’t get you to the east bank of the Hackensack River.
20. POSTED BY vnc  |  April 30, 2010 @ 1:02 pm

    If the owner isn’t interesting in selling the property, why is the council pursuing this? It seems to me there are plenty of pressing issues in town that require their attention.

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