The New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) is constructing a 9.6 mile, initial Minimal Operating Segment (MOS-1) of a light rail transit (LRT) line along the Hudson River waterfront in Hudson County. MOS-1 will connect the Hoboken Terminal to 34^th Street Bayonne and Westside Avenue in Jersey City. MOS-1 is expected to cost $992.14 million (escalated dollars) and to carry 31,300 riders per day.

The proposed full rail system is an approximately 21-mile long, 30-station, at-grade LRT line from the Vince Lombardi Park-and-Ride lot in Bergen County to Bayonne. The system will pass through Port Imperial in Weehauken, Hoboken and Jersey City. The outer ends will provide 8,800 park-and-ride spaces. The core of the system will serve the high density commercial and residential centers in Jersey City and Hoboken and connect to ferries, PATH, and NJ Transit commuter rail lines. The full 21-mile system is expected to cost $2.0 billion (escalated dollars) and to carry 94,500 riders per day.

In February 1993, NJ Transit initially selected, as its locally preferred alternative, a 26-station at-grade LRT line from the Vince Lombardi Park-and-Ride lot through Hoboken and Jersey City to Route 440 in Southwest Jersey City. A Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the full project was completed in the summer of 1996. In October 1996, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the full project. In that same month, FTA signed a Full Funding Grant Agreement committing $604.09 million of Section 5309 New Start funds to support the 9.6-mile MOS-1. In January 1997, the Governor of New Jersey, in conjunction with the mayor and the City Council of Hoboken, agreed to alter the alignment in Hoboken to the west side of the city. An Environmental Assessment (EA) was completed on the impacts resulting from this proposed change and submitted to the FTA in August 1998. Public review of the EA is expected to be completed in February 1999. The shift from the East Side Alignment to the West Side Alignment in Hoboken raises the number of stations for the full project from 26 to 30 stations.

The Hudson-Bergen LRT project is one of eight elements eligible for funding as part of the New Jersey Urban Core Project. Through FY 1999, Congress has appropriated $228.31 million in Section 5309 New Starts funds to the Hudson-Bergen MOS-1.

NJ Transit is using a turnkey procurement to implement the project. A design/build/operate/maintain contract was signed in October 1996, and notice to proceed was given to the contractor in November 1996. Project construction began in December 1996. The revenue operation date is scheduled for July 2000.

NOTE: Totals may not add due to rounding.