Passenger Trains > "[Advancement] on Passaic-Bergen [NJT] rail project"

May 14 news blurb from RAILWAY TRACK & STRUCTURES Magazine:
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Agreement advances Passaic-Bergen rail project

A project to provide rail service between the Borough of Hawthorne in Passaic County and the City of Hackensack in Bergen County advanced with the NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors authorizing the agency to enter an agreement with the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway.

The Board approved a Memorandum of Understanding with NYS&W that provides a framework for NJ TRANSIT’s plan to construct and operate the Passaic-Bergen line using the NYS&W main line right-of-way between Hawthorne and Hackensack.

Passaic-Bergen rail service will serve nine new stations along more than eight miles of the NYS&W’s Main Line corridor between Hawthorne and Hackensack. The project’s proposed station in Hawthorne is a short walk from the existing main line station, making it easy for riders to connect to the wider NJ TRANSIT commuter rail system.

Construction could begin as early as the end of this year and take approximately three years to complete.

Also, the NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors approved work to restore the interior of the historic Rutherford Station on the Bergen County Line—a project that will preserve the building as both a transit facility and community landmark.

The Board authorized a $988,000 contract with Collette Contracting, Inc., of Rutherford, N.J., for construction work to refurbish the interior of the main station building, including the ceiling and floors, windows, doors, wood benches, plaster surfaces, and wood frames and moldings. The project also includes the replacement of exterior windows and doors in the taxi stand building.

Listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, Rutherford Station was constructed in 1898 and serves approximately 1,030 customers on a typical weekday.

Construction is expected to begin this summer, with completion anticipated in spring 2010.