Hudson Bergen Light Rail

Hudson–Bergen Light Rail
Passing trains near Exchange Place.
Overview
Type	Light rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Hudson County, New Jersey
Termini	Tonnelle Avenue Hoboken Terminal 8th Street West Side Avenue
Stations	24
Services	3
Daily ridership	54,434 (FY2014)
Operation
Opened	April 2000
Owner	New Jersey Transit
Operator(s)	Twenty-First Century Rail (AECOM and Kinkisharyo)
Character	Surface and elevated
Technical
Line length	17 mi (27.4 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	750 V DC overhead lines
Route map Northern Branch Tonnelle Avenue Bergenline Avenue Port Imperial Lincoln Harbor 9th Street-Congress Street 2nd Street New Jersey Transit & Metro-North Hoboken Terminal Pavonia-Newport Harsimus Cove Harborside Financial Center Exchange Place Essex Street Marin Boulevard Jersey Avenue Liberty State Park Garfield Avenue Martin Luther King Drive West Side Avenue HBLR Yard Richard Street Danforth Avenue 45th Street 34th Street 22nd Street 8th Street This diagram:

The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit (NJT) and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City (at the city line with West New York), and North Bergen.

The system began operating its first segment in April 2000, expanded in phases during the next decade, and was completed with the opening of its southern terminus on January 31, 2011. The line generally runs parallel to the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay, while its northern end and its western branch travel through the lower Hudson Palisades. HBLR has twenty-four stations along a total track length of just over 34 miles (55 km) and serves over 54,000 weekday passengers. There are plans for expansion through extensions and additional stations.

The project was financed by a mixture of state and federal funding. With an eventual overall cost of approximately $2.2 billion to complete its initial operating segments, the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail was one of the largest public works projects ever in New Jersey. The system is a component of the state's smart growth strategy to reduce auto-ridership and to revitalize older urban and suburban areas through transit-oriented development.

Hudson is the 6th most densely populated county in the U.S. and has one of America's highest percentages of public transportation use. During the 1980s and early 1990s, planners and government officials realized that alternative transportation systems needed to be put in place to relieve increasing congestion along the Hudson Waterfront, particularly in the vicinity of the Hudson River crossings. After extensive studies, it was decided that the most efficient and cost-effective system to meet the growing demands of the area would be a light rail system, constructed in several phases.