Transit agency seeks land for train safe haven amid flooding

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – New Jersey Transit wants to buy 25 acres (10 hectares) to serve as a safe haven for trains after more than 300 were flooded during Superstorm Sandy.

NJ.com reports agency officials plan to vote Thursday on a proposal to buy the land in Middlesex County.

Plans include building five new tracks at County Yard in New Brunswick and an additional 5-mile (8-kilometre) track at Delco Lead in North Brunswick. The estimated cost for the projects is $368 million.

Transit officials say the state would pay $185 million while a Federal Transit Administration grant would cover the rest.

If approved, the project would be completed by the end of 2021.

Superstorm Sandy was spawned in October 2012, when Hurricane Sandy merged with two other weather systems. It devastated the New Jersey coastline and is the state’s worst natural disaster.