Brick City update

Newark's City Subway extension is moving along - albeit slowly (and yes, I am aware that this picture shows something that's clearly above ground - only about a thousand feet of this new line is subterranean). You're looking at the NJPAC station, which is parallel to Rt. 21/McCarter Highway.

You can read about the project here. It'll link up Penn Station and Broad Street Station (map) using trolley-like light rail cars (the same cars that currently run on the existing Newark Subway and the Hudson Bergen Light Rail). Things are moving along, but I doubt they'll be done by this summer - like they originally planned. (The Design Build Operate Manage 'DBOM' method used on the HiBLeR and the RiverLINE seems to be more efficient than NJTransit doing things in-house like they are in this project. Also note that while 'DBOM' is a hip new finance tool, it might not yet have achieved the honor of being pronounced "da bomb.")

When it is finished, I hope it'll breath some life into this part of downtown currently dominated by surface parking lots and underused (but beautifully ornate) office buildings. Maybe some of the unending stream of area master plans will actually be implemented. (And if you're wondering, the proposed Devil's arena would not be served by this - or the currently existing - light rail line. Dumb.)

(If you're interested in seeing important improvements to NJ's passenger rail system progress forward, check out and join NJARP - the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers)