What is the Glassboro-Camden Line?
The Glassboro-Camden Line is a proposed passenger rail service that will connect Glassboro to Philadelphia by way of a newly renovated state of the art transfer station in downtown Camden, making stops in Pitman, Sewell, Mantua, Wenonah, Woodbury Heights, Woodbury, Westville, Brooklawn, and Gloucester City.
Connecting growing regional education, healthcare, and private employment centers
The GCL will give South Jerseyans convenient access to the growing education hubs of Rowan University and Rutgers-Camden, the healthcare campus of Cooper University Hospital, the joint Rowan/Rutgers nursing and medical schools, county government offices in Camden and Woodbury, and private employers like Campbell’s, Subaru, and businesses that have recently relocated on the Camden waterfront.
Supporting the vitality of Gloucester County’s historic downtowns
With several stations located right in the middle of things, downtowns like those of Pitman, Glassboro, Woodbury, and Gloucester City stand to benefit from a convenient method of travel for potential shoppers, theater-goers, and restaurant fans. This project will give people going to the shops, restaurants, theaters, and civic institutions an easy and convenient way to spend their money in downtown local communities. Encouraging the vibrancy of these downtowns is essential for the fiscal health of the communities along the GCL corridor.
Helping to grow a greener world
This line will advance an important environmental goal of reducing car trips and their climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions by removing cars from local roads and Route 55. The GCL Project estimates 16,000 riders daily and most of those riders would otherwise have driven cars to make the same journey. A 2010 US Department of Transportation study reports that light rail systems produce 62% fewer greenhouse gas emissions per passenger-mile than an average single-occupancy vehicle.
Quietly humming along
Unlike heavy freight trains, light rail train engines are much less noisy due to their smaller size and modern design. And advancements in rail propulsion technology have produced reliable alternatives utilizing batteries or hydrogen fuel-cell technology that are both more quiet and sustainable, and which project planners have indicated are options for the future.
Supporting the natural environment
The rail line can be built with almost no disturbance to the natural environment. The Final Environmental Impact Statement found no significant deviation from accepted standards regarding environmental impacts associated with the GCL project.