State's new motto: Going nowhere fast
It will not be the golden spike that joins a railroad in central New Jersey, but it may well be the spike that seals the fate of the Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex (MOM) rail line.

Years of study and millions of dollars in consulting fees have yet to produce a definitive assessment of three potential passenger rail lines for central New Jersey. However, the potential viability of one of those lines - the MOM line that would run from Ocean County through western Monmouth County and into Middlesex County, connecting with the Northeast Corridor at South Brunswick - appears to have taken a serious blow in the form of a May 19, 2008, letter.

That letter from an official with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry, to NJ Transit, which has been conducting a study of the rail service for more than five years, could be all the ammunition that opponents of the MOM line need to permanently mothball the plan.

The letter lists a number of concerns that the Division of Park and Forestry has about the impact of a passenger train line on Monmouth Battlefield State Park. The MOM line, to be built on an existing freight line, would run through the national historic landmark along Route 522 between Wemrock Road in Freehold Township and Tennent Road in Manalapan.

This is not the first time an official has indicated there may be a problem with the MOM line's passage through Monmouth Battlefield State Park, but it may be a staggering blow.

In June 2005, an archeologist with the American Battlefield Protection Program, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, wrote to the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders with concerns about the MOM passenger rail line. Generally, the idea of running 40 or more trains a day through a national landmark was a concern to the National Park Service.

There are multiple sides to this story. Some officials claim an effort is under way to turn Monmouth Battlefield State Park into a top-flight national destination. However, it was only a few weeks ago that Gov. Jon Corzine proposed closing the park in the wake of budget woes.

Coordination among different levels of government? Hardly.

We don't have any reason to believe that anyone is going to turn the park into more than it already is right now: the site of the annual re-enactment of the Battle of Monmouth and a seemingly infrequent destination for Revolutionary War buffs. Further, if the park was so important to this state and nation, it should have been developed as a top-flight destination long ago.

Meanwhile, a passenger rail line in central New Jersey has been talked about for at least 20 years. Few, if any, government officials and agencies have made serious progress on this issue. Resolutions have been passed and studies started, stopped and started again, but the inland region of Ocean and Monmouth counties is no closer to having rail service than it was in 1985.

Why should anyone believe a passenger rail line in central New Jersey will become a reality at any time in the next 25 years? New Jersey can't seem to make progress in any other area, so why should public transportation be any different?

If all of this sounds pessimistic, it is because the evidence all points to a pessimistic outlook on life in the Garden State. New Jersey has been stuck in neutral on public transportation issues for years, and now, with traffic choking its roads and gas at $4 a gallon, there is still no movement toward real long-term progress.

It all points to a new motto for the Garden State - New Jersey: Going nowhere fast.