Atlantic City Rail Line Riders Sound-off at NJ Transit Meeting

Several dozen people who depend on the shuttered Atlantic City Rail Line made their voices heard at a meeting with New Jersey Transit officials Thursday night.

The meeting, which took place inside the cavernous Atlantic City Rail Line terminal at the Atlantic City Convention Center, was loud at times -- through no fault of any of the residents as the meeting lacked any type of sound system -- but, giving credit to where credit is due, officials from New Jersey Transit did not shy away from any questions or opinions.

At the end, officials stated that they hope rail service would be restored prior to June 30th of this year.

The line was suspended in September so that NJ Transit could finish installing emergency braking known as positive train control. The line was supposed to reopen after four months. Atlantic County Freeholder John Risley was one of 30 county residents who went to NJ Transit’s board meeting earlier this month to express frustration that the line is still closed. Risley said "staffing issues" and a backlog of locomotive maintenance were blamed by the board for keeping the Atlantic City Line suspended.

"We were not enamored with what we heard," Risley told the Townsquare News Network. "The earliest we think we'll get any kind of service is possibly by the first week of May. And they kept promising us second quarter (of the year). Of course second quarter can mean June 30 or July 1."

With previous reporting from Dan Alexander.