The Union County Light Rail was a proposed light rail

Light rail

Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...

 system connecting Newark Airport

Newark Liberty International Airport

Newark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...

 to midtown Elizabeth, New Jersey

Elizabeth, New Jersey

Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...

.

Project details and status

The Union County Light Rail was originally proposed as the third "minimum operating segment" (MOS-3) of the Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link

Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link

The Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link was a proposed -long light rail line in New Jersey, USA, which would have connected the downtown areas of Newark and Elizabeth with the Newark Liberty International Airport and been operated by New Jersey Transit...

 (NERL).

The first section of the NERL project became known as the Broad Street Line. This section, which links Broad Street Station in Newark with Penn Station

Pennsylvania Station (Newark)

Pennsylvania Station is a major transportation hub in Newark, New Jersey. Located at Raymond Plaza, between Market Street and Raymond Boulevard, Newark Penn Station is served by the Newark Light Rail, New Jersey Transit commuter rail, Amtrak long distance trains, the PATH rapid transit system, and...

 in Newark, opened in July 2006. The second section would have linked Newark Penn Station and Newark Airport.

The Union County Light Rail, would have had eight or nine stations in Elizabeth, one at Newark Airport and possible future stations in other towns. The line connecting Midtown (Broad Street) Station and Newark Airport would have been 5.8 miles (9.3 km) long, and been built on former Conrail lines (originally the main line of the Central Railroad of New Jersey

Central Railroad of New Jersey

The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...

), now under ownership of the New Jersey Department of Transportation

New Jersey Department of Transportation

The New Jersey Department of Transportation is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey. It is headed by the Commissioner of Transportation...

 (NJDOT) traversing Elizabeth from east to west. Further extension along the right-of-way westward to Cranford

Cranford (NJT station)

Cranford is a New Jersey Transit railroad station on the Raritan Valley Line, in Cranford, New Jersey. The current Cranford station was built in the mid 1930s by the Central Railroad of New Jersey on an embankment as part of a grade crossing elimination project. Three stations preceded the current...

 or points further west on the Raritan Valley Line

Raritan Valley Line

The Raritan Valley Line is a diesel-engine-powered commuter rail service operated by New Jersey Transit , originating out of Pennsylvania Station, located in Newark, New Jersey, with most trains terminating at the Raritan station, located in Raritan, New Jersey.Some weekday trains continue further...

 was also forwarded by citizen groups.

In 2006, NJ Transit removed Union County Light Rail from its list of candidate projects in its Capital Improvement Program, effectively ending the project.

Proposed station list

• AirTrain Newark
  AirTrain Newark
  AirTrain Newark is a 3-mile monorail system connecting Newark Liberty International Airport to the Newark Liberty International Airport train station on the Northeast Corridor rail line of New Jersey Transit and Amtrak...
  
   at parking lot P2
• North Avenue
• Kapkowski Road
• Jersey Gardens
  Jersey Gardens
  Jersey Gardens is a two-level indoor outlet mall in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The mall opened on October 21, 1999, and is the largest outlet mall in New Jersey, and much closer to New York City than its largest outlet mall competitor, Woodbury Common....
  
  
• Ferry Terminal (ferry to New York City)
• Singer Station (possible station)
• Third Street/Elizabethport
• Division Street
• Spring Street (U.S. Route 1/9
  U.S. Route 1/9
  U.S. Route 9 is a U.S. highway in the northeast United States, running from Laurel, Delaware north to the Canadian border near Champlain, New York...
  
  )
• Midtown Station
  Elizabeth (NJT station)
  Elizabeth Station is a New Jersey Transit station 15.4 miles southwest of New York on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast lines in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It is between Broad Street and West Grand Street on an embankment and a viaduct. This station is often called Broad Street Elizabeth to...
  
   - connections with the Northeast Corridor Line
  Northeast Corridor Line
  The Northeast Corridor Line is a commuter rail operation run by New Jersey Transit along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. It is the successor to commuter services provided by the Pennsylvania Railroad along the section between Trenton, New Jersey and New York Penn Station...
  
  

Proposed extension stations

• Elmora
• Lorraine
• Roselle
• Cranford Station
  Cranford (NJT station)
  Cranford is a New Jersey Transit railroad station on the Raritan Valley Line, in Cranford, New Jersey. The current Cranford station was built in the mid 1930s by the Central Railroad of New Jersey on an embankment as part of a grade crossing elimination project. Three stations preceded the current...
  
  

The first three were former CNJ station locations.

External links

• NJTransit Union County Light Rail