CAMDEN, NJ – STV, a leader in engineering, architectural, planning and program and construction management services, announced today that it has signed a contract with the Glassboro-Camden Line (GCL) Project Team to design an 18-mile light rail transit project that will restore passenger train service between Glassboro and Camden, NJ for the first time since the 1950s.
STV, in joint venture with AECOM, is performing preliminary engineering and design services, including reporting, quality assurance, environmental permitting, risk management and resilience planning and design. The GCL project is managed by the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), with NJ Transit and the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) as project partners.
“The GCL is part of a broader plan to expand regional multimodal transportation, as well as spur additional development and infrastructure enhancements, throughout Southern New Jersey,” said Keith MacKenzie, P.E., vice president, and planning director. “Providing equitable access to transportation and clean energy solutions has emerged as a crucial matter for the region, and we’re proud to be entrusted with this project.”
The GCL will run passenger train service between Glassboro and the Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden for the first time since the 1950s and provide access to the City of Camden’s central business district while connecting to multiple bus routes.
STV’s work within this corridor began in 2003, when DRPA first contracted the firm to perform a feasibility assessment for a prospective new mass transit line. In 2009, a light rail transit system between Glassboro and Camden was selected as the preferred option with overwhelming support from the communities from this assessment. DRPA also selected STV on behalf of NJ Transit to prepare the project’s Environmental Impact Study (EIS) and provide conceptual engineering services for the system, which will run primarily within the existing Conrail freight corridor and serve 26 neighborhoods in Southern New Jersey. STV completed the EIS in February of 2021.
STV has led planning, design and other professional services for extensions and new system start-ups for passenger rail systems throughout the United States including the California High-Speed Rail Burbank to Los Angeles Project Section EIS, the Charlotte Area Transit System Blue Line Extension in North Carolina, and MTA Long Island Rail Road’s Grand Central Madison (formerly East Side Access) in New York.