As part of the launch, NJ Transit has also changed the name of the line. Until now known by the cumbersome name, Southern New Jersey Light Rail Transit Systems, or SNJLRTS, it will be know simply as "The River Line." NJ Transit officials are also finalizing plans for bus connections to the system, especially to and from the Statehouse and the Trenton Station Complex, according to the agency's executive director, George Warrington.
The project hasn't been without its controversy, mostly relating to cost overruns--the original price tag was under $500 million--as well as elements of its planning and design. Local and state officials, however, anticipate that The River Line will generate economic development along its route.
Conceived during the administration of former Gov. Christie Whitman and built entirely with state funds, construction started in the spring of 2000. A consortium led by the Bechtel Corp., based in San Francisco, and Germany's Adtranz is the contractor.
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