Smaller than its more familiar compatriots, such as Amtrak’s Northeast Regional and NJ Transit’s Northeast Corridor Line, the NJ Transit River Line (stylized River LINE) is a two-car light rail. It begins at the Trenton Transit Center, running one hour seven minutes and 34 miles along the Delaware to the Camden Entertainment Center…
Dr. Michael Lahr, a professor emeritus at Rutgers, used to commute on the River Line daily. In an interview with the ‘Prince,’ he highlighted its convenience due to its high service frequency, and said that he found it easier than driving.
Lahr explained that the inexpensive nature of light rail makes its implementation easier to justify.
“You don’t need the densities that you need on a heavy rail line like the Northeast Corridor,” he said. Lower population density generally corresponds to lower transit ridership in the area, meaning that a smaller and less expensive train is easier to justify as it will bring in less revenue from fewer riders.
According to Lahr, the River Line is also cost-effective. “It’s a much more efficient system,” he said, explaining that highways tend to be more expensive for the amount of passengers given accidents and pollution. “Not to mention the road itself, [and] not including the private costs of driving a car, which is insurance and your automobile,” he added.
Mulumba explained that the choice to use light rail was based on studies done at the time regarding ridership, as well as the operational and cost efficiency to which Lahr referred.
Lahr cited avoiding traffic as part of the reason he commuted on the River Line. “Sometimes my 45-minute commute could be an hour and a half or two hours on a Friday night,” he said, referring to when he would drive instead of taking the train.
Another impact of interurban light rail in New Jersey is on property values in the area. According to a study at Rutgers, properties in the area decreased in value after the line was first announced, presumably due to construction. However, after the line became operational, prices rose again, though not always enough to offset the negative impact of construction.
This impact differed based on area. Almost all properties within a mile of stations are within low-income census tracts, and those properties experienced large increases in property values.
For those living in wealthier areas, however, the study found that although property values decreased after the River Line was announced and became operational, this effect was less pronounced at stations with surface parking lots, presumably due to the fact that wealthier residents are more likely to own cars and drive to the train.
In an interview with the ‘Prince,’ one of the study’s authors, Stephanie DiPetrillo, attested that this depressed economic impact could be fixable. While she explained that the idea of an enormous economic impact is “far-fetched” due to the nature of the line “connecting two weak economic markets,” she also said that towns along the line, as well as Trenton and Camden, could create more desirable developments around transit stations to heighten the line’s economic impact.
“If the area around the Trenton Transit Center … were [more developed], you would find people wanting to be on the River Line in order to be in close proximity to the Trenton Transit Center. And I think the same thing holds true for Camden,” she said.
Part of the problem, according to DiPetrillo, is resistance to development along the line itself in the way that the towns of Burlington or Riverside have developed. Some communities, she said, are uninterested in developing new housing or other projects.
“They’re not interested in people that they don’t think are already part of their communities being there, and they see the River Line as a way that people can come into their communities and be bad actors,” she said.
DiPetrillo noted that in focus groups, some residents said that the line “brings crime.” However, she explained that other residents found the line “incredibly useful” and appreciated their ability to drive less, and this rhetoric was split even amongst residents from similar backgrounds.
City and State PA, October 8, 2024