Group pushing for light rail transit, rail connections on Staten Island, N.Y.

Officials are looking into light-rail expansion between Alexandria and Quantico.

Progress Rail

Some New Yorkers are being asked to take a pledge. The Staten Island Economic Development Corporation has created a Pledge for the Future of Staten Island and is asking for signatures to support a number of transportation initiatives. Two of those initiatives are the West Shore Light Rail and the Staten Island Gondola.

The West Short Light Rail is a light rail system connecting Staten Island’s South and West Shores to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail in New Jersey. The Staten Island Gondola initiative would take commuters in State Island to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and PATH train in Bayonne. The 2.5-mile gondola line would run between Richmond Avenue and Forest Avenue in Port Richmond to the Eighth Street Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Station.

A third project involves the use of abandoned railroad right-of-way. The Staten Island Skyway project calls for the building of a park on the elevated portion of the North Shore Rail right-of-way, which is no longer in use.

The Staten Island Economic Development Corporation wants to collect 25,000 signatures and present it to candidates running for public office on Staten Island at the city, state and federal levels.

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More on passenger rail.