Park service resistance could derail MOM line

An effort to restore rail service between Ocean County and western Middlesex County has been dealt another blow, one that has the potential to stop the proposal dead in its tracks.

Just months after NJ Transit released a study indicating that a rail line from Lakehurst to South Brunswick would cost more and be used less than two other rail alternatives, a federal agency has stepped into the debate with concerns that the trains would irreparably damage a treasured national landmark.

The MOM (Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex) rail line, as it is called, would damage the historical integrity of Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Manalapan, according to a representative of the National Park Service in Washington, D.C., since the tracks that would be used run through a portion of the park.

In a letter to Monmouth County officials, who have for years lobbied for the MOM line, a grant manager for the park service said she believes the level of noise, safety issues and the presence of trains and a nearby station would be an overbearing and unwelcome invasion to those who visit the park, one she considers the “premier flagship” when it comes to telling the story of the Revolutionary War.

Proponents of the rail line appear largely unfazed by the agency’s remarks. Monmouth County officials dispute the idea that trains would be disruptive and note that the tracks are already there and have previously been used intensively. They also argue that the rail service would allow more people to travel to and enjoy the park.

These officials, however, should re-evaluate the matter and take a second look at the other rail alternatives. It is as undesirable to see 40 trains a day run through the battlefield as it is to fight for a train line that a federal agency, and just about anyone in America with an appreciation for history, will be against.

There is no doubt that the MOM line option would ease traffic congestion, particularly in western Monmouth and Middlesex counties, by taking people off the roads while allowing them to get to jobs and other destinations in places like New Brunswick, Trenton and Philadelphia. But it is difficult to support this proposal in its current form with tracks running through Monmouth Battlefield.

It is unfortunate that the National Park Service would wait until 2005 — after government agencies, politicians and residents in central New Jersey have exhausted so much debate, studying and funding on the MOM line proposal — to raise concerns about the battlefield. However, those concerns are quite valid and cannot be dismissed.