The project had been well-received by the FTA, earning a rare "highly recommended" overall rating in FTA's "New Starts" program FY 2001 funds allocation proposal. The proposal explains the Newark-Elizabeth Link scores well for its "strong cost-effectiveness and transit supportive land use." The first segment will be a mile-long addition to the existing 4.3 mile Newark City Subway that will link Newark's northern Broad Street Station, served by Morris & Essex commuter rail line, with bustling Penn Station along the Northeast Corridor.

The Link adds 5 east-side stations, including one at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, a popular visitor destination, and will provide easier transit access from Newark's north side and suburbs to the office complexes and academic institutions around Penn Station. A downtown Newark master plan shows the city set to accompany the project with traffic calming and pedestrian corridors around the Penn Station, Broad Street, and Washington Park stops. The new branch is expected eventually to accommodate 13,300 weekday boardings and draw 6,400 new riders to the system.

The second operating segment, also one mile, would extend the light rail from Penn Station to Camp St. in downtown Newark where the envisioned third segment would begin, continuing 7 miles further to downtown Elizabeth with stops at Newark Airport, Elizabeth's waterfront and the Jersey Gardens Mall. NJTransit estimates that daily ridership for the completed project could top 25,000 by 2015.