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State May Buy N.J. Rail Cars

Posted on: Friday, 21 April 2006, 00:00 CDT

By Paul Donsky, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Apr. 20--Georgia's first commuter rail line may use passenger cars that until recently were moving riders around northern New Jersey.

State transportation officials say they want to buy 34 used cars from New Jersey Transit and put them on a commuter rail line between downtown Atlanta and Lovejoy in south Clayton County.

It would be the first significant purchase for the long-planned Lovejoy line, signaling that after years of uncertainty the controversial project would in fact be built. The Georgia Rail Passenger Authority plans to meet today to discuss the purchase.

But the deal requires final approval from the state Department of Transportation board, which is bitterly divided over the Lovejoy line.

Some board members call it a waste of money that won't help relieve any of the region's traffic problems. Others say commuter rail is an innovative way of addressing congestion that will spur development and offer people an alternative to highway driving.

The DOT board is expected to discuss commuter rail issues today at its monthly meeting in Thomasville in South Georgia. It's not clear if a vote will be taken.

The passenger authority was created by the state Legislature in 1984 to manage the state's proposed commuter rail system and is independent from the DOT. The DOT is in charge of building the state's commuter rail lines, which will be operated by the passenger authority.

The board gave the Lovejoy line tentative approval last September, voting 7-5 to continue negotiating an operating agreement with freight rail company Norfolk Southern, which owns the tracks. But the board still must vote on the terms of the final contract in addition to the rail car purchase, giving opponents a chance to kill the project. If approval is granted, it would take about two years to build the downtown terminal and start service to Lovejoy.

The rail cars went on the market after New Jersey retired them at the end of last year after 35 years of service. Georgia rail officials inspected the vehicles and determined they were in good condition and would suit the Lovejoy line's needs, said Hal Wilson, the DOT's transit administrator.

"We could actually put most into service without doing anything to them," he said.

Wilson declined to divulge the proposed sale price, though he noted the cars would be far cheaper than new vehicles, which carry a $1 million price tag.

The 26-mile Lovejoy line is the first stretch of a planned route to Macon that would terminate at a new station in downtown Atlanta's railroad gulch area between the Five Points MARTA station and Philips Arena. The state also is exploring a commuter rail line to Athens, connecting Georgia Tech, Atlantic Station, Emory University, Gwinnett County and the University of Georgia.

With a projected 3,000 trips a day by 2009, the Lovejoy line would have less than half the expected ridership of the Athens line. But the state pursued Lovejoy first, in part because the existing freight corridor it would use has far less traffic, making it much easier to start service.

Most important, backers persuaded members of the local congressional delegation to secure federal dollars to cover 80 percent of the project's $106 million cost, which includes track upgrades, park-and-ride lots, rail cars, locomotives and a $23 million terminal in Atlanta.

The Clayton County Commission has agreed to cover the commuter rail line's operating deficit, estimated to be $4 million a year.

The Lovejoy line has ridden a bumpy road in recent months.

Some politicians and residents along the proposed route said local tax money should not be spent on commuter rail projects, spurring the state Legislature to consider a bill that would have required voter approval from all communities along the Lovejoy line. The bill died after several contentious meetings.

Meanwhile, the operating agreement between the state and Norfolk Southern reached an impasse over track upgrades the rail company said were needed in order to accommodate freight and passenger traffic.

The issue apparently resolved itself after Ford's recent decision to close its Hapeville assembly plant. That freed up $3 million to $5 million the state planned to spend on rail upgrades at the plant, said the DOT's Wilson.

The New Jersey rail cars were totally rebuilt in 1986 and 1987, said Dan Stessel, a New Jersey Transit spokesman.

Each car seats about 130 people, with an interior that looks more like an airplane cabin than a MARTA rail car. Three-seat and two-seat sections are separated by a center aisle, with a luggage rack overhead.

Some of the rows may be taken out to provide extra legroom, said Wilson.

"It's a new service, so you want to put your best foot forward," he said.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

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