Timeline:

 

The Past:

 

  • 1909 - Electric passenger train service between Camden and Millville begins
  • 1926 - The Delaware River Joint Commission begins rapid transit service accross the Ben Franklin Bridge. 
  • 1949 - Electric passenger train service between Camden and Millville ends, replaced by diesel powered trains.
  • 1963 - The Delaware River Port Authority authorizes the initial segment of a proposed three-branch PATCO system.
  • 1969 - PATCO service begins between Philadelphia and Lindenwold.
  • 1970 - Passenger rail service between Camden and Millville ends.
  • 1975 & onward - Multiple PATCO expansion studies are conducted by the Delaware River Port Authority and NJ Transit.
  • 1993 - NJ Transit releases a study entitled "Burlington-Gloucester Corridor Assesment".
  • 1996 - NJ Transit releases the Burlington-Gloucester Major Investment Study.
  • 1996 - Local and regional poltical leaders in Gloucester County capitulate to anti-passenger rail NIMBY's (Not In My Back Yard).
  • 1996 - NJ Transit moves the proposed passenger rail project from Gloucester County to Burlington County
  • 2004 - The RiverLine begins service between Camden and Trenton.

 

The Present:

 

Gloucester County is the only county within the jurisdiction of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission that is not served by a passenger rail system.  As a result, the percentage of trips utilizing transit is the least among all counties in the Delaware Valley region.

 

Gloucester County has experienced one of the highest population growth rates in the northeastern United States since 1990.  Cumberland County and Salem County, located to the south of Gloucester County, have also experienced population growth.

 

Road congestion on the limited access highways leading to Philadelphia has increased substantially, despite a major capacity improvement project completed in 1998 along NJ State Highway Route 42.  Any new capacity enhancements would be prohibitively expensive.

 

The Future:

 

The population of Gloucester County, Cumberland County and Salem County will continue to increase.  If no action is taken, this larger population will generate even greater traffic congestion and a diminished quality of life. 

 

The solution to address the issue of reduced mobility is a passenger rail system.  A PATCO Light Rail system can provide the most attractive service and the most cost-efficient use of capital resources. 

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At Right: Computer generated image of proposed PATCO Light Rail station in Woodbury (Parsons-Brinckerhoff)