The Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line (MOM) is a passenger rail project in the US state of New Jersey, proposed by

NJ Transit Rail Operations NJ Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of NJ Transit. It operates commuter rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered on transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark. NJ Transit also operates rail service ...

(NJT) to serve the Central New Jersey counties of Monmouth,

Ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

, and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. The line would originate/terminate around Lakehurst at its southern end. It would junction with either the

Northeast Corridor Line The Northeast Corridor Line is a commuter rail service operated by NJ Transit between the Trenton Transit Center and New York Penn Station on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor in the United States. The service is the successor to Pennsylvania Railroad ...

North Jersey Coast Line The North Jersey Coast Line is a commuter rail line running from Rahway to Bay Head, New Jersey, traversing through the Jersey Shore region. Operated by New Jersey Transit, the line is electrified as far south as Long Branch. On rail system m ...

to provide service north to

Newark Penn Station Pennsylvania Station (also known as Newark Penn Station) is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, ...

, with potential connecting or continuing service to

Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by nine NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, one Metr ...

New York Penn Station Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station, is the main intercity railroad station in New York City and the busiest transportation facility in the Western Hemisphere, serving more than 600,000 passengers ...

New Jersey Counties by metro area labeled

The region is fast-growing, densely-populated and home to the fifth and eighth most populated municipalities in the state, Lakewood and Toms River, neither of which is served by passenger rail. Bus service is provided on NJ Transit bus routes 130-139 and from

Lakewood Bus Terminal Lakewood Terminal is a regional bus terminal owned and operated by NJ Transit (NJT) at 1st & Lexington Avenues in Lakewood, New Jersey. Bus service includes routes to Atlantic City, Hudson County, New York, Philadelphia, and points at the Jersey S ...

on the

U.S. Route 9 U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, between ...

corridor, which suffers from traffic congestion and safety issues. NJT completed a draft

Major Investment Study Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

distributed in 1996 identifying the need for new rail service for the counties and enhancement of U.S. Route 9 bus service. The

Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...

(FTA) authorized the creation of a draft environmental impact statement in 2002, conducted by

SYSTRA SYSTRA is a multinational engineering and consulting group in the mobility sector, whose fields of activity include rail and public transport. In 2019, it employed a staff of about 7,300 people, and is a limited company which shareholders includ ...

, which identified three build alternatives in scoping documents. A draft alternatives analysis report was released in 2010. The baseline (no-build) alternative to expand the Route 9 BBS (bus bypass shoulder lanes) also remains under study. The line is included in the

Regional Plan Association The Regional Plan Association is an independent, not-for-profit regional planning organization, founded in 1922, that focuses on recommendations to improve the quality of life and economic competitiveness of a 31-county New York–New Jersey– ...

's Fourth Regional Plan. The advancement of project beyond studies (commissioned by NJT or the

North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) is the federally authorized metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the 13-county northern New Jersey region, one of three MPOs in the state. NJTPA's annual budget is more than $2&nb ...

) has lagged due to lack of funding and political wherewithal.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

's projects along the Northeast Corridor, including the New Brunswick-Trenton high-speed upgrade and

Gateway Program The Gateway Program is a C$3.0 billion regional transportation project for Metro Vancouver that is being managed by the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation. The ministry introduced the Gateway Program on January 31, 2006, as a means to ...

, will have an effect on future developments of the MOM rail line. Midway Interlocking, South Brunswick, NJ

Alternative alignments

The line would travel north to provide diesel commuter rail service from Lakehurst/

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

to Farmingdale passing through Toms River (Dover),

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, Lakewood, in Ocean and

Howell Howell may refer to: Places In the United Kingdom *Howell, Lincolnshire, England In the United States *Howell, Georgia * Howell, Evansville, a neighborhood of Evansville, Indiana *Howell, Michigan * Howell, Missouri *Howell, Utah * Howell C ...

in Monmouth. Stations would be located at Manchester-Lakehurst, Jackson, and Howell-Oak Glen Road. All alternatives include a rail yard at Lakehurst Maxfield Field. From a junction in Farmingdale three possible alignments are under consideration in Monmouth and Middlesex counties. One alternative would use an existing rail corridor that runs from to Lakehurst along the Jamesburg Branch, the Freehold Secondary, and the Southern Secondary (Southern Branch) and would join the

Monmouth Junction Monmouth Junction is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) located within South Brunswick Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.North Jersey Coast Line The North Jersey Coast Line is a commuter rail line running from Rahway to Bay Head, New Jersey, traversing through the Jersey Shore region. Operated by New Jersey Transit, the line is electrified as far south as Long Branch. On rail system m ...

at Red Bank station. Another would use the abandoned Freehold Branch, Freehold Secondary, and the Southern Secondary from Matawan and join the North Jersey Coast at Aberdeen-Matawan station. Service would continue north to

(with connecting or continuing service to

). The following candidate stations were identified in 2005:

Historical ROWs

New Jersey Southern RR map showing the right of ways under consideration for MOM The project would make use of the

rights-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

(ROW) of former branches of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and the

Central Railroad of New Jersey The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...

(CNJ), some originally developed by

New Jersey Southern Railroad image:New Jersey Southern Railroad.svg, New Jersey Southern RR and connections The New Jersey Southern Railroad was a railroad that started in 1854. It would continue under this name until the 1870s as a separate company and the lines that it had c ...

, including CNJ's ''

Blue Comet The ''Blue Comet'' was a named passenger train operated by Central Railroad of New Jersey from 1929 to 1941 between the New York metropolitan area and Atlantic City. Designed by Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) president R.B. White in 192 ...

'' route to Atlantic City. The ROWs of the

Southern Secondary The Southern Secondary is a rail line in New Jersey, operated by Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) from South Amboy to Red Bank, and the Delaware and Raritan River Railroad (DRR), a subsidiary of Chesapeake and Delaware, LLC, between Red Ban ...

(CNJ), largely owned by

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

(NJT), and the

Freehold Secondary The Freehold Secondary (also called the Freehold Industrial Track) is a partially active rail line in New Jersey, the active portion of which is owned by Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) and operated by the Delaware and Raritan River Railr ...

(PRR) are partially in use for freight service by Conrail's (CRCX) North Jersey Shared Assets Operations (CSAO). The property for the inland sections of the

Henry Hudson Trail The Henry Hudson Trail is a rail trail in western and northern Monmouth County, New Jersey. The trail is named for Henry Hudson, who explored the harbor at Atlantic Highlands and the Raritan Bayshore coastline in the early 1600s. The trail is no ...

is currently

railbanked A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

by NJT, which leases the line for a rail trail to the Monmouth County Park System. The former CNJ ROW is leased through 2020 unlike most rail trails, was never officially abandoned. NJT reserves the right to reinstitute rail service. According to the Sierra Club, should NJT opt to restore service it would be the first instance in U.S history where a rail trail reverted to railway usage.

Monmouth Battlefield State Park Monmouth Battlefield State Park is a New Jersey state park located on the border of Manalapan and Freehold Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. This park preserves the historical battlefield on which the American Revolutio ...

is traversed by the ROW used by the PRR's

Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad The Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad was a shortline railroad that traversed via central New Jersey. The railroad was formed under a special law of New Jersey, on April 3, 1867. On May 21, 1879, it was one of three railroads consolidated to f ...

/ Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad.

References

{{New Jersey Transit Rail NJ Transit Rail Operations Proposed railway lines in New Jersey Transportation in Ocean County, New Jersey Transportation in Monmouth County, New Jersey Transportation in Middlesex County, New Jersey

Alternative alignments

Historical ROWs

See also

References