(erielack) Rail plan meets critics in Sussex

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Rail plan meets critics in Sussex 
Cost, cargo draw interest at second forum 
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 
BY JIM LOCKWOOD 
Star-Ledger Staff 
Garbage, noise, development and money dominated a public forum in Byram 
yesterday on a $350 million plan to revive passenger rail service between Hoboken 
and Scranton, Pa., via the defunct Lackawanna Cutoff. 
Residents questioned whether trash would ever be hauled on the rail line 
through northwest New Jersey to landfills in Pennsylvania. 

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They were concerned about whether the noise from the trains would disrupt 
rural neighborhoods and whether a railroad would encourage more development. 
And the cost was a factor. The project's price tag has soared from $200 
million in 1996 to $350 million today. Because NJ Transit estimates the line would 
accommodate 2,800 people a day and remove 800 cars daily from Route 80 by 
2025, some wondered whether the project would be worth all the money. 
"I'm very skeptical. Just start with the costs," Byram Councilman Earl Riley 
said. "They're projecting 800 fewer cars. I think that's an insignificant 
number. At what cost? How much is that per car?" 
Of the 2,800 riders, 2,700 would come from Pennsylvania and the other 100 
from New Jersey, according to NJ Transit estimates. 
"It's primarily a rail service for people in Pennsylvania," Riley said. 
Rail proponents argued NJ Transit's estimates are low. For example, the 
agency estimates that stations in Andover Township and Blairstown each would have 
only 30 eastbound riders a day by 2025. 
"Some of the estimates seem to be on the low side," said Sussex County 
Transportation Planner Tom Drabic. He said he finds it hard to believe only 30 
people in Sussex would ride the rails by 2025 because there are already some 3,000 
commuters living near the proposed Andover station that travel southeast to 
jobs. 
Sussex County Chamber of Commerce President Tammie Horsfield said many 
commuters would likely "see the train as a benefit, to get some work done instead of 
fighting traffic. We need transportation options. Think of 800 cars off the 
road." 
The study calls for an initial eight trains daily and stations in Andover and 
Blairstown in New Jersey, and in Delaware Water Gap, East Stroudsburg, 
Analomink, Mount Pocono, Tobyhanna and Scranton in Pennsylvania. 
Geri Anglum, who lives in Byram's Forest Lakes neighborhood, said, "Our 
biggest fear is it's not going to only be passengers, it will be garbage and God 
only knows what other kinds of waste products" carted on the railroad. 
Anglum and Riley said that when they posed the question of garbage to NJ 
Transit officials, they would not rule it out. 
"They're not telling us it's not going to happen," Anglum said. "They never 
addressed it." 
Drabic said he never heard any discussions about garbage. 
"You can't guarantee anything with freight. But all the plans since 1986 
never mentioned freight, let alone garbage," he said. "I'd be curious to see where 
that garbage rumor came from." 
The 10 officials and consultants from NJ Transit who were on hand to answer 
questions said none of them were allowed to talk to the media. They referred 
questions to superiors who were not present. A spokesman who had attended the 
forum left around 5:30 p.m., and requests for comment made by telephone to NJ 
Transit headquarters were not returned last night. 
The public forum held at the Adam Todd restaurant was the second of three on 
the rail project. The first forum was Monday at Delaware Water Gap, Pa., and 
the third one is being held today in Scranton. 
The rail plan's environmental assessment, which is due for completion this 
fall, is one of the preliminary stages imposed by the Federal Transit 
Administration before a project can be considered as a possible candidate for funding 
and before engineering can begin. 
Agreements also are needed between New Jersey and Pennsylvania to divide the 
cost of the project

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