The 70 elected leaders, railroad officials, port operators, state and county transportation officials, planners and advocates attending a Tri-State Campaign symposium in Trenton last week agreed that an extensive public education campaign will be needed if an expanded railroad system is to help reduce the explosive growth of truck traffic in New Jersey.

Interestingly, the group asserted that independent voices would be the most likely to succeed, since the public would view the freight industry with skepticism and "government doesn’t have the credibility" on major investments in more sustainable freight systems. Assemblyman Joseph Malone said those in the room would be needed to help elected officials move the voters. Others said NIMBY reactions to rail projects, such as those slowing track work on the Lehigh Valley Line or fighting short line expansion in Union County are the "biggest hurdle" to expanded freight rail service. Ann Strauss-Wieder, a public relations consultant, said the public perception of freight is that "trucks are bad and trains are worse."

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) projects that New Jersey’s freight tonnage will grow 67 percent over the next several decades, and that, transportation policies remaining as they are, trucks will move an even greater share of freight than they do now. As a result, New Jersey is expected to see truck traffic grow by a staggering 80 percent by the year 2020. This flood of trucks will make the state’s roads more dangerous and much more congested, add greatly to the wear and tear on the state’s roads and bridges (at an estimated cost to the state of $3.7 billion by 2020), and worsen the state’s air pollution problem.

Some speakers presented possible solutions or at least some degree of relief from this bleak scenario. Most significantly, there is a critical need for greater private and public investment in New Jersey’s freight rail infrastructure. Assembly Transportation Committee Chair John Wisniewski (D-19) noted that while freight rail currently receives $10 million annually from NJ’s Transportation Trust Fund, needs are at least three times greater (a level confirmed last year by NJ’s blue ribbon transportation commission). He indicated that a fuel tax or other revenue increase is needed soon to support transportation construction projects, and said he would support a greater public commitment to rail freight.

Port operators like Maher Terminals’ Sam Crane proposed innovations such as shuttle trains to bring goods from the ports to major distribution centers such as the Turnpike Exit 8a area, Bethlehem, PA and the I-87/I-84 junction in Newburgh, NY. These trains would help reduce trucks and would be feasible over the short distance because of the large freight volumes involved. Though some suggested that terminal costs would drive such services into the red, others said that supporting them would be a good role for public funding aimed at truck relief. However, Class I railroads present appeared cautious, seeking progress in more immediate time-frame and on the pragmatic level of getting smaller capacity projects started and finished.

Cross-Hudson rail opportunities were discussed, with most attendees agreeing that New Jersey has a strong stake in them, but unsurprisingly there was little consensus on how best to pursue them.

Describing the Campaign’s symposium as "an essential first step" in addressing the coming freight crunch, Voorhees Transportation Center Director Martin Robins called on Acting Governor Richard Codey to establish a statewide goods movement policy board, and hoped that the governors of New Jersey and its neighbors would take the issue up together in the near future.

The event at least seemed to answer the call for greater public education regarding massive truck increases and rail’s role in easing the trend — its discussion was covered in Thursday’s editions of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Trenton Times, and the central New Jersey Courier-News.

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