River Line

A southbound River Line train struck a minivan at a Riverton railroad crossing Thursday, seriously injuring the vehicle's driver, according to authorities. The minivan, carrying two adults and an infant, was traveling north on River Road, parallel to the tracks, when it turned into the path of the train at Main Street shortly before 11 a.m., NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel said. The crossing gates were down, and red lights were flashing, Stessel said. A red light at the intersection and an illuminated no-right-turn symbol also were activated, he said.

A New Jersey Transit River Line train struck a man lying on the tracks Friday night, according to a spokesman. The 40-year-old was struck by a southbound train about 9:50 p.m. near the Cooperstown Road crossing in Delanco, spokesman Dan Stessel said. He was flown by helicopter to Cooper University Hospital in Camden for treatment. Stessel said Saturday he did not know the condition of the victim, whose name he withheld, and said it was not clear why he was lying on the tracks.

I've ridden the River Line almost since it opened, from Trenton to Camden a lot of days, and I've been listening to what riders say. I've heard this a lot: "It's great. You can ride for two hours anywhere, $1.10. " And more than once I've heard another comment: "They didn't want us to have it. " They refers to white people; us refers to - you can guess. Let's admit two things: One, this perception is exaggerated, and two, there is some truth to it. The NIMBY resistance to the River Line had a large component of class and race.

Dolly DeFreitas, who works the counter at Zena's Patisserie & Cafe in Riverton, is so impressed with customer flow from the new rail line that she plans to open a farmers' market nearby. "I think it's fantastic," DeFreitas says of the River Line, which has been open for a month. "For a Victorian town, you can't get any more nostalgic. There was so much conflict about this before. Neighbor was against neighbor. But it's been a relief that it's been so positive so far. " There are ample signs that the new River Line has brought a sense of life to aging towns that hug the Delaware River.

A $32 million Pennsauken train station to link the Atlantic City Line and the River Line got a boost Wednesday when the NJ Transit board approved construction of the final phase. The board approved a $13.8 million contract with Terminal Construction Corp. of Wood-Ridge, N.J., which will build platforms, a parking lot, drainage improvements, and customer services. The new Pennsauken Transit Center, a two-level station near Derousse Avenue west of River Road, will allow direct transfers between trains on the east-west Atlantic City Line and the north-south River Line.

The NJ Transit Camden-Trenton River Line, up and running for about a year and a half, continues to increase in popularity. Ridership is up 29 percent from last year, with more than 6,000 passengers a day. This is helped in no small part by the line's low fares and the region's ever-increasing gasoline prices. Unsupported fears of the River Line during the 1990s have proved wrong: It is clear that trains are not running over children, tying up traffic, or providing transportation for burglars.

It was a morning soggy with rain, the kind that makes you want to burrow under the covers and stay there. But we had big plans. This was the Tuesday we were to flex our travel muscles and ride the rails on our maiden voyage on the River Line. Our ultimate destination: New York City. Our immediate destination: Riverside. I had last gone to Riverside to meet a friend at a little sandwich shop where the veggie burgers are terrific. That was more than a year ago. My husband mused, as we left Moorestown and drove on Bridgeboro Road, that he couldn't remember the last time he had hit this little river town.

A room at Rutgers University-Camden was transformed yesterday into a market - of sorts. Sellers stood behind tables, talking up their wares to shoppers who meandered by. But the vendors here were municipalities. And instead of fruits and vegetables, they were hawking development opportunities. At this market, NJ Transit brought together communities along its fledgling Camden-to-Trenton River Line with developers from across the state. The event was part of a $150,000 effort to help towns kick-start redevelopment along the former industrial corridor, using the light-rail line as a focal point.

Since March, curiosity-seekers have boarded the area's ultra-modern people-mover, the River Line. They have taken the 60-minute trip from Camden to Trenton, rumbling over city streets and past a patchwork of farms, factories and small villages. The rail line's end points offer an array of places to see. But are any of the destinations in the middle worth visiting? Bordentown, Burlington City and Riverton are easily the prettiest and most intriguing of the 11 in-between towns on the 34-mile line.

The light-rail cars are rolling by every 15 minutes. For now, they're empty. And, for now, that's intentional. With less than a month to go before its scheduled Feb. 15 opening, contractors are conducting final test runs on the controversial 34-mile, Camden-to-Trenton River Line. That means simulating regular service, minus the passengers. The passengers, NJ Transit officials hope, will come over time. The agency needs those riders to justify a $1.1 billion service that critics argue few will use. Even some advocates have defended it not so much as a transportation project but as an economic-development tool they say will revitalize sagging river towns in the next 20 years.

Would you intervene if you witnessed an attack similar to what occurred in a River Line incident seen on YouTube?

An $8.1 million study of a proposed commuter rail line between Glassboro and Camden was approved by the Delaware River Port Authority board on Wednesday, ending a two-year delay. South Jersey political and business leaders turned out in force to champion the 18-mile light-rail line as an engine of economic development and a way to link the campuses of Rowan University and Rutgers-Camden. "This is the commitment that is going to move this project forward," State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester)

An $8.15 million study of a proposed commuter rail line between Glassboro and Camden, delayed for two years, was approved Wednesday by the Delaware River Port Authority board. South Jersey political and business leaders turned out in force to champion the 18-mile light-rail line as an engine of economic development and a way to link the campuses of Rowan and Rutgers-Camden Universities. "This is the commitment that is going to move this project forward," state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester)

After a two-year delay, a study of a proposed commuter rail line between Glassboro and Camden is moving again - with the same contractor and about the same price tag as before. A committee of the Delaware River Port Authority board on Wednesday approved an $8.2 million contract for an environmental impact study of the proposed 18-mile light-rail line. If approved by the full DRPA board, the contract would be paid for by NJ Transit, although the DRPA would oversee the work. The environmental-impact study would be done by STV Inc., an engineering and architectural firm headquartered in Douglassville, Pa. It would take about two years.

After a two-year delay, a study of a proposed commuter rail line between Glassboro and Camden is moving again - with the same contractor and about the same price tag as before. A committee of the Delaware River Port Authority board today approved an $8.2 million contract for an environmental impact study of the proposed 18-mile light-rail line. If approved by the full DRPA board, the contract would be paid for by NJ Transit, although the DRPA would oversee the work. The environmental-impact study would be done by STV Inc., an engineering and architectural firm headquartered in Douglassville, Pa. It would take about two years.

CONGRATULATIONS, Lisa Alyounes, you've won the part of scorned girlfriend consumed with rage. Alyounes, a pint-size wannabe actress from Westville, N.J., is becoming an Internet sensation after an eight-minute video of her punching, slapping, pushing, kicking and spitting in the face of a cowering boyfriend surfaced on YouTube. The beatdown took place on Nov. 29, on the NJ Transit River Line, in Pennsauken. The video, taken by a passenger, begins with Alyounes' slapping the red-haired man in the face and it only gets worse.

Congratulations, Lisa Alyounes, you've won the part of scorned girlfriend consumed with rage. Alyounes, a pint-sized wannabe actress from Westville, N.J., is becoming an Internet sensation after an eight-minute video of her punching, slapping, pushing, kicking and spitting in the face of a cowering boyfriend surfaced on YouTube. The beatdown took place on Nov. 29, on the NJ Transit River Line in Pennsauken. The video, taken by a passenger, begins with Alyounes slapping the red-haired man in the face and it only gets worse.

A man was killed today when he stepped out in front of an NJ Transit River Line light rail train at a station in Trenton, officials said. The fatality disrupted service from 10:15 a.m. until about 1 p.m., NJ Transit said. During that time, no trains operated north of Bordentown and passengers were bused instead. Officials said the man, whose name has not been released, stepped in from of a northbound train at the Cass Street station. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities were reviewing surveillance video on Friday from the River Line's Riverside station, where a man fired at least once at two other men on Thursday, striking a northbound train, a spokeswoman for NJ Transit said. The intended targets were on the platform at the Burlington County station. The shooter was on the street when he fired around 8:16 p.m., Penny Bassett Hackett said. No one was injured. One bullet struck a train window and a shell casing was recovered, she said.