Could Atlantic City's airport get a train station?

Will travelers flying into, and out of, Atlantic City someday be able to take a train directly to the airport?  And, will Philadelphians be able to hop on board from 30th Street Station?

That could be in flyers' future, if a bill that cleared an Assembly committee this week advances.

The measure would direct the state Department of Transportation and N.J. Transit to build a rail station at Atlantic City International Airport in Egg Harbor Township. The station would connect the Atlantic City Rail Line to the airport.

New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Rail Line currently runs from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia to the main rail terminal in Atlantic City ($10.75 one-way for adults). It stops in Pennsauken, Cherry Hill and Egg Harbor as it heads east.

"While travelers who arrive at Newark Airport have the convenience of using the train to get to their final destination, those who fly into or out of South Jersey are not afforded a similar option," Assemblyman Tim Eustace, a Democrat from North Jersey and the bill's sponsor, said in a statement. "An NJ Transit station stop at the Atlantic City airport would provide a means of transportation that is less expensive, more convenient and more environmentally-friendly than some of the other choices."

No cost for the project is included in the bill. Similar proposals have been estimated to cost $25 to $30 million, the Press of Atlantic City reported.

The measure was approved Monday by the Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee.

The proposal comes amid other discussion about the Atlantic City line's untapped potential and the possibility of linking the rail line to an airport. A South Jersey transportation activist generated some attention earlier this spring with a piece proposing that the route could be beefed up with stops on the Route 30 corridor and at Philadelphia International Airport.