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NJ Transit advances light rail extension to Bergen County

A pair of NJ Transit light rail vehicles make their way down Essex Street in the Paulus Hook neighborhood of Jersey City. It is called the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line, but to date, it only has stops in Hudson County.

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NJ Transit is one step closer to putting a Bergen in the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail.

Right now, the trolley-type cars run only in Hudson County. But the transit agency approved an environmental study yesterday for a plan to extend the line 10 miles north of its Tonnelle Avenue stop in North Bergen, terminating at Englewood Hospital.

"The Bergen portion of Hudson-Bergen will finally be implemented," said Hasbrouck Heights Mayor Rose Heck, a former assemblywoman and longtime advocate for light rail in Bergen County.

She touted the economic benefits to Bergen County and "barrier-free service to schools, hospitals, universities and commercial centers."

Proposed stations include 91st Street in North Bergen, Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia, Englewood Route 4, Englewood Town Center and Englewood Hospital.

The project was scaled back by a couple of miles due to opposition from officials and residents in Tenafly, where stops had been proposed for Tenafly Town Center and Tenafly North.

NJ Transit’s Board of Directors approved $3 million for Jacobs Engineering of Morristown to finish the final environmental impact statement. It will take about two years for the study to be completed, NJ Transit spokesman John Durso Jr. said

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Funding for the project has not been identified and there is no timetable for when the line will run in Bergen, he said.

But that couldn’t stop Suzanne Mack of NJ Transit’s Advisory Committee from dreaming.

"We’ve always felt bad, really, that we haven’t been able to get on that train and ride it into Bergen County," she said. "On behalf of all the transit riders, we’re happy that the board is going to be able to push forward — finally — a line in Bergen County."

RELATED COVERAGE

• NJ Transit opens Bayonne 8th Street Station, extending Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service

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