Work set to start on N.J. train center

Construction will start Monday on a new train station in Pennsauken to connect two of South Jersey's primary passenger rail lines: the Philadelphia-Atlantic City line and the River Line between Camden and Trenton.

NJ Transit chief Richard Sarles announced the start of work at a rare South Jersey meeting of the NJ Transit board, which convened in Camden yesterday for the first time in eight years. The board usually meets in Newark, but ventures to a different location once a year.

Sarles also outlined progress on proposals to add service and stations to the Atlantic City rail line and to create "bus rapid-transit" service on congested highways 55 and 42.

A ceremonial groundbreaking Monday is scheduled to mark the official start of work on the Pennsauken Transit Center, a $40 million project on Derousse Avenue, where the Atlantic City line passes over the River Line. It is expected to open by late 2012.

The project is being funded with money from the federal stimulus program. Sarles authorized the start of work following the recent go-ahead from the Federal Transit Administration, which found the project presented no significant environmental impact.

At the Pennsauken station, riders will be able to board either the north-south River Line or the east-west Atlantic City line and to transfer between the two lines. The station also will be served by NJ Transit buses.

Two 300-foot-long platforms will be built on either side of the Atlantic City line tracks, with stairs and two elevators to provide access to the River Line below.

The work is to be done in two phases. A $2.1 million contract covers River Line elements of the project, including a 200-foot platform with a 60-foot canopy. The contract was awarded to Northeast Remsco Coast Inc. of Farmingdale, N.J., and Arora & Associates of Lawrenceville, N.J.

The second-phase contract has not been awarded yet. It will include the Atlantic City line platforms, a 280-space parking lot, ticket-vending machines, passenger communication equipment, and resurfacing, curbing, and lighting improvements to Derousse Avenue.

On two other projects in South Jersey, NJ Transit is hiring consultants to study the best ways to proceed.

One is expansion of service on the underused Atlantic City rail line. NJ Transit will consider adding stations - at Woodcrest in Cherry Hill and at the Atlantic City airport - and running trains more frequently.

The other is "bus rapid-transit" service on Routes 55 and 42 and Interstate 676, busy commuter highways southeast of Camden. The study will examine the possibility of dedicated lanes and traffic-signal timing to allow buses to travel more quickly.

Sarles declined to predict when either project might be finished. The studies will start early next year.