STV/AECOM JV Starts GCL Design Work

South Jersey Transit Partners (SJTP) a joint venture of AECOM and STV Inc., has started work with the Glassboro-Camden Light (GCL) project team to design an 18-mile DLRT (diesel light rail transit) project that will restore passenger rail service between Glassboro and Camden, N.J. that has been absent since the 1950s.

The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), NJ Transit and the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) are GCL project partners. The GCL will operate DLRT passenger train service between Glassboro and the Walter Rand Transportation Center—extending NJT River LINE service—and Camden, and provide access to the City of Camden’s central business district while connecting to multiple bus routes. SJTP is performing preliminary engineering and design services, including reporting, quality assurance, environmental permitting, risk management and resilience planning and design. 

STV’s work within this corridor began in 2003, when DRPA first contracted the firm to perform a feasibility assessment for a prospective new mass transit line. In 2009, a light rail transit system between Glassboro and Camden was selected as the preferred option, with overwhelming support from the communities from this assessment. DRPA also selected STV on behalf of NJ Transit to prepare the project’s Environmental Impact Study (EIS) and provide conceptual engineering services for the system, which will primarily share an existing Conrail Shared Access freight branch line and serve 26 neighborhoods in Southern New Jersey. STV completed the EIS in February 2021.

“The GCL is part of a broader plan to expand regional multimodal transportation, as well as spur additional development and infrastructure enhancements, throughout Southern New Jersey,” said STV Vice President and Planning Director Keith MacKenzie, P.E. “Providing equitable access to transportation and clean energy solutions has emerged as a crucial matter for the region, and we’re proud to be entrusted with this project.”

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