Ding-ding! Here comes the light rail -- that's American for what most of the world would call a tram. Today the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail extension from Hoboken to Weehawken opened with an hour of speeches by some of the elected officials who have worked to bring light rail to the waterfront over the past 15 years. The Lincoln Harbor Station is the line's first stop in Weehawken, with more stations scheduled to open in mid-2005. It will be a few more years before it extends farther northward into Bergen County, but at least Bergen is already part of its name.
If you want to ride all the way from Bayonne to Weehawken, you'll have to change trams at Hoboken Terminal.
Rep. Robert Menendez (below left) and Assemblyman/Union City Mayor Brian Stack were among the dignitaries who addressed the crowd of reporters, NJ Transit employees, and a few curious citizens.