Work on the Hoboken Terminal of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail System is proceeding on schedule. According to NJ Transit and 21st Century Rail Corporation, on Friday, Aug. 16, the light rail system’s new "catenary wires" between Newport Station in Jersey City and the Hoboken Terminal, and on a section of track between the Newport viaduct and Grove Street, were energized to prepare for the opening of service to Hoboken.
Ultimately, the new train line will run from Bayonne through Hoboken to Bergen County. The centenary wires are the overhead wires that provide electrical power to the light rail’s vehicles. Each car is powered with 750 volts of electricity.
According to NJ Transit officials, the authority has already conducted a thorough series of tests on the catenary wires and signals. NJ Transit employees are currently testing the light rail vehicles on this new section of track. The Hoboken light rail terminal is scheduled to open this fall.
Now that the tracks are electrified, transit officials are telling residents to use extra care. As construction, installation, and electrification of the overhead wires system continues, the public is reminded to exercise extreme caution around the light rail system.
According to officials, contractors working near the light rail alignment must also comply with the High-Voltage Proximity Act, which requires that all cranes and other construction equipment be kept at least 6 feet away from the high voltage wires.
NJ Transit also released a list of other safety precautions that people walking or driving near the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail tracks should take: