FOR RELEASE: April 15, 2000
CONTACT: Douglas John Bowen, president, (201) 798-6137

RAIL GROUP CELEBRATES OPENING OF HUDSON-BERGEN LIGHT RAIL LINE

JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 15, 2000 -- The New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers (NJ-ARP) today celebrates the opening of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit (HBLRT) line.

To all the believers, the citizens and grass-roots groups, the appointed and elected officials who dared be different, and dared believe in HBLRT when it was nearly abandoned by the experts: NJ-ARP thanks you.

To those who wavered, early and often, yet now proudly boast of their unstinting support or role as midwives for LRT: NJ-ARP welcomes you.

To all the doubters, and those who actively worked to defeat or obstruct LRT's arrival on the Hudson Waterfront: NJ-ARP forgives you.

Come ride with us beginning April 15, and the many days to follow, and luxuriate in a triumph for public transit in New Jersey -- the first of many more LRT victories to come.

NJ-ARP (http://www.nj-arp.org), founded in 1980, is the leading rail passenger advocacy group in New Jersey. NJ-ARP has been on the forefront in advocating light rail and other public transportation solutions statewide.