Land transfer to address Conrail idling
Local officials hail measure, say it will reduce noise
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer
The Woodbridge Township Council unanimously voted to introduce an ordinance that township officials said is the first step in mitigating what has been described as idling and noise problems caused by trains that travel on the Conrail line behind the Rosewood Lane homes in Port Reading.

The ordinance would authorize the acquisition of a piece of township property, which would be then transferred to Conrail to allow Conrail to move a railway track and a train switch onto the property.

Another piece of property, owned by the county and adjacent to the township's property, is expected to be transferred to the township by the Middlesex County Board of Freeholders, and then transferred to Conrail to allow the company to move a railway track and a train switch onto the property.

"These are [contiguous] small pieces of [undeveloped] land … less than an acre," said Mayor John E. McCormac. "This won't eliminate the problems but will minimize the problems, since trains would no longer need to go behind the homes on Rosewood Lane."

The mayor said problems with the idling and noise of the trains have been going on for as long as he can remember, dating to at least the time when he was the township business administrator in the 1990s.

Ward 3 Councilman Greg Bedard said he and township officials have met with Conrail officials on a monthly basis over the past year, and that the ultimate goal for transferring the land to Conrail is the implementation of the train switch, which he said would be the next step, starting at the end of this year and into early next year.

In the coming weeks, the council will have a second reading of the ordinance and decide whether or not to approve the ordinance.