Earle Weapons Station property ideal for rail line The Earle Naval Weapons Station property stretches from Raritan Bay to a couple of miles north of Lakewood and close to Route 9. The tracks cross the Jersey coast commuter line just south of Middletown station. It's unlikely the navy will close Earle as I'm sure they still want this location near New York and its access to transportation the harbor affords them. That doesn't mean the Pentagon has the right to strip our area of Fort Monmouth and the thousands of jobs it will take from us and not give something in return. We're talking billions of dollars out of our local economy every year in the future. They probably could share a commuter rail link across their Earle property to service western Monmouth County and Ocean County. This is important to our communities. We cannot replace the professional jobs that will be lost by the closing of Fort Monmouth. We're in the same situation the navy was in 1943 when they opened Earle. They needed the transportation hub for their shipping needs. We need commuter rail service for western Monmouth County. The jobs that pay are out of our area. The U.S. Government owes us a first-class commuter transportation system to North Jersey and New York. I'm hearing about a new rail tunnel into New York and a terminal 150 feet below street level a decade or more in the future. No, no, no! We bury our people six feet under the earth not 150 feet. There is no way a large station can be safely evacuated in an emergency at this depth. How about a rail line from the big rail terminal in the Meadowlands and across the Hudson River by a rail bridge? This line should cross Manhattan Island to the East River. The station stops should be located across the island rather than one terminal. I'm suggesting placing a single track line running in the same direction as street traffic below it. Over the sidewalk and attached to the buildings with just a simple loop in and out of town. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., they have the skyways. These walkways run throughout the center city where you can walk for blocks and never go outdoors. The building station stops should look like a shopping mall with escalators to street and subway levels. They could use NYC subway trains. They have proven designs - all that has to be done is dust off the drawings and add any updates. We need a system built above ground as soon as possible. This would mean workers can start building at all points across the rail system. The maintenance shops and commuter parking would be in New Jersey. What we don't want is another rail tunnel under the Hudson River and station dug out of bedrock. They've been working on a third water tunnel under Manhattan for over 20 years. Not acceptable! We must solve our commuter problems now! We are likely to face a financial disaster unless the government acts now! No excuses or politics as usual, this is a real emergency. David Hermanson Middletown