Revised January 27, 2001
|
RESTORING M-O-M TRAINS WILL SERVE 100 TRAFFIC GENERATORS |
Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM) will provide passenger train service running from Lakehurst north, via the ex-Central of New Jersey route, to Farmingdale, then running west via the former Pennsylvania Railroad through Freehold and Jamesburg to the Northeast Corridor (NEC) at Monmouth Junction.
Though using existing rail right-of-way, the MOM proposal is a brand new route providing intrastate and intracounty mobility for the region. By realigning the Monmouth Junction connection to face east (or north) toward northern New Jersey, through service can be provided to New Brunswick and Newark before terminating at Hoboken. Connections can be offered by NJ Transit, PATH and ferry to both downtown and midtown Manhattan.
MOM's value is in providing rail service to areas without any form of public transit -- areas in which everyone must drive because there is no alternative. As you peruse the list, note the many trips possible by rail between points north and south of the Raritan River -- points that, at present, must be made by auto and must use the congested lower Raritan crossings. MOM will not only offer mobility to thousands of area residents but can ease congestion at those road pinch points.
| Station | Generator | Customer Profile | Item # |
| Lakehurst | Naval Air Station | employees | 1 |
| visitors | 2 | ||
| retirement homes | guest mobility | 3 | |
| staff | 4 | ||
| Lakewood | Kimball Medical Center | staff | 5 |
| visitors | 6 | ||
| retirement homes | staff | 7 | |
| guest mobility | 8 | ||
| tourism | visitors | 9 | |
| Farmingdale | residents | mobility | 10 |
| End of Route 33 | new location | park-and-ride | 11 |
| Freehold | County court/admin. | jury | 12 |
| staff | 13 | ||
| visitors | 14 | ||
| CentraState Medical Center | staff | 15 | |
| visitors | 16 | ||
| stores/CBD | staff | 17 | |
| shoppers | 18 | ||
| residents | mobility | 19 | |
| Battlefield | State Park | visitors | 20 |
| Englishtown | residents | mobility | 21 |
| Hoffman | new location | park-and-ride | 22 |
| Jamesburg | residents | mobility | 23 |
| restored CBD | shoppers | 24 | |
| State Home | staff | 25 | |
| Dayton/Forsgate | motel/conference | staff | 26 |
| guests/attendees | 27 | ||
| industries nearby | employees | 28 | |
| Monmouth Jct | residents | mobility | 29 |
| New Brunswick | County court | jury | 30 |
| staff | 31 | ||
| visitors | 32 | ||
| County buildings | staff | 33 | |
| visitors | 34 | ||
| Rutgers University | students | 35 | |
| staff | 36 | ||
| faculty | 37 | ||
| visitors | 38 | ||
| team fans | 39 | ||
| Robt W. Johnson Hosp. | staff | 40 | |
| visitors | 41 | ||
| students | 42 | ||
| teaching staff | 43 | ||
| St. Peters Hospital | staff | 44 | |
| visitors | 45 | ||
| students | 46 | ||
| teaching staff | 47 | ||
| CBD stores | staff | 48 | |
| shoppers | 49 | ||
| theatres | staff | 50 | |
| patrons | 51 | ||
| NEC connections | Princeton Jct | employees | 52 |
| visitors | 53 | ||
| Princeton | students | 54 | |
| faculty | 55 | ||
| visitors | 56 | ||
| Trenton | State office staff | 57 | |
| State office visitors | 58 | ||
| State House staff | 59 | ||
| State House visitors | 60 | ||
| Federal Court | 61 | ||
| museums | 62 | ||
| historic district | 63 | ||
| Amtrak to all USA | 64 | ||
| SEPTA to Philadelphia | 65 | ||
| LRT to SW NJ | 66 | ||
| Edison | industry | employees | 67 |
| residents | mobility | 68 | |
| Metropark | office complexes | employees | 69 |
| visitors | 70 | ||
| hotel | staff | 71 | |
| guests | 72 | ||
| Amtrak to New England | passengers | 73 | |
| Rahway | Merck | employees | 74 |
| other industry | employees | 75 | |
| Linden | industry | employees | 76 |
| Elizabeth | County buildings | visitors | 77 |
| industry | employees | 78 | |
| Newark Airport | monorail connector | staff | 79 |
| passengers | 80 | ||
| Newark Penn | offices | employees | 81 |
| visitors | 82 | ||
| hotels | staff | 83 | |
| Rutgers University / NJIT | students | 84 | |
| staff | 85 | ||
| UMDNJ | students | 86 | |
| staff | 87 | ||
| sports venues | fans | 88 | |
| City Subway / buses | transferring | 89 | |
| Newark to PATH | Journal Square | transfers/offices | 90 |
| Grove Street | lower Jersey City | 91 | |
| Exchange Place | office buildings | 92 | |
| HBLRT to Bayonne | 93 | ||
| Pavonia/Newport | mall/offices | 94 | |
| World Trade Center | lower Manhattan | 95 | |
| Hoboken | Hudson waterfront | visitors | 96 |
| HBLRT to north side | transfers | 97 | |
| Stevens Institute | students | 97 | |
| ferry to lower Manhattan | visitors | 99 | |
| Main/Bergen/Pascack | connections | 100 |
None of these 100 origin/destination generators can be served adequately by "enhanced bus," which means the greatest potential markets will remain without transit unless MOM is built. Note that many of these commercial generators will provide employment for the entry level jobs Workfirst NJ will create. It is thus imperative that MOM be designed to provide full service in both directions every day. Most of these trips are not of the basic 9-to-5 nature, if indeed many of those trips remain anywhere. The potential ridershed MOM will open covers at least two million people "on line," and three million more who would use the service in reverse. MOM will help the state achieve air quality in a growth area now best described as textbook sprawl. MOM will give mobility to millions.
"Enhanced bus" is doomed to fail. The Exclusive Bus Lane (XBL) approach to the Lincoln Tunnel is at practical capacity. The eastern spur of the NJ Turnpike which feeds to the Port Authority Bus Terminal is frequently backed up to "fraternity rock," even before the XBL is reached. "Enhanced bus" is not able to address ridership growth, and, more seriously, offers no access to both the intrastate and the lower Manhattan market. The answer for statewide mobility for the 21st century is to build a full MOM as outlined.
 |
 |