NJ Transit aims to start Walter Rand Transportation Center this year, advance Glassboro-Camden rail line plans
South Jersey needs the long-awaited Glassboro-Camden train line to help grow the region's economy and build out an "eds and meds" corridor that connects schools like Rowan University, Rutgers University-Camden, and hospitals to the surrounding communities, NJ Transit's top official said Wednesday.
And despite opposition, he signaled it's likely happening.
President and CEO Kris Kolluri and other local leaders made the case for the train line to decision-makers from around the region as the Southern New Jersey Development Council met at Rowan University in Glassboro.
Plans to break ground could still be years away and a wesbsite for the project currently estimates service to start in 2028. The projected $1.8 billion line would be a "once in a century" investment in the region, Kolluri said.
He also acknowledged the generations that the project has been under discussion.
"I've been hearing about the GCL going back to the days I was at Rutgers-Camden as an undergraduate student – that's going back to the 1990s," Kolluri said. "It isn't just about an 18-mile train line that connects from Camden to Glassboro. It is about making sure that we build out an eds and meds corridor that rivals that of Boston and Philadelphia and other centers of excellence. Transportation is the link, that is the foundation for anything we do in our economy."
Kolluri, who was named to lead NJ Transit with 13 months until Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy's term ends, said to expect further progress on the train line before he's gone.
"I intend to advance pre-construction on GCL this year, not five years from now," he told the crowd.
What is the Glassboro-Camden Line?
The subject of regional planning talks for decades, the Glassboro-Camden Line could establish passenger train travel in several spots in Gloucester County that currently have no passenger rail service, including Mantua, Pitman, Westville and Woodbury. The trains would travel down existing tracks in those communities with the goal of a train arriving at stops every 15 minutes.
The line would terminate in Glassboro, where Rowan University is located, with the other end at Camden's Walter Rand Transportation Center, a hub that connects with Philadelphia and Trenton via PATCO and the River Line.
The project is currently in the "30% design" phase, Kolluri said. According to a website to inform residents about the train line, the project would then move to the design-bid-build phase, something Kolluri said he wants to happen soon.
"As Rowan begins to grow, as Rutgers-Camden begins to grow, as hospital systems in the area begin to grow, as employers begin to migrate here, we are going to need a system that can rival that of North Jersey and that of New York. That's why GCL is important," Kolluri said.
Not every town is on board with the proposal. In the November 2024 elections, Glassboro residents voted in favor of a ballot question asking their preference on having the GCL stop there. That same election, voters in Brooklawn in Camden County preferred not to have the line in their town.
And town councils in Pitman, Mantua, Wenonah and Woodbury Heights have previously passed resolutions against GCL.
"If a town doesn't want it, maybe we don't stop there at all, that is an option," Kolluri said Wednesday. "Let us not fight over what one people or two people or three people say about a project. Let's look at what is in the best interest of a collective. The collective is all the payers of taxes in New Jersey and all the payers of taxes in South Jersey."
He also said there were design alternatives that could alleviate some concerns about the project, like "quiet zone" crossings that would prevent the train from blowing its horn in the middle of a quiet town.
Other speakers at Wednesday's event were all for it.
"We're going to have here in South Jersey a state-of-the-art transportation system that we've longed for and needed for such a long time," said Louis Cappelli, director of the Camden County Board of Commissioners. "We're very excited in Camden County about all that is happening with New Jersey Transit and the DOT."
Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden update
After Murphy earmarked $250 million to fully renovate it, Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden will be getting a major renovation. Renderings from September 2024 showed the possibilities including vendors inside, stores nearby and perhaps even a new hotel.
Currently, the building is outdated and there is a heavy police presence. Residents have expressed concerns about loitering and possible drug use at the site.
"Walter Rand Transportation Center, the jewel of South Jersey not today, but it will be when we build it," Kolluri said Wednesday. "I intend to advance construction of that thing this year. Not two years from now, not five years from now."
