Light rail in New Jersey offers a way for residents in densely-populated areas without access to high-speed rail to travel to busy transit hubs.

New Jersey Transit supports expanding that service with large projects in both north and south Jersey. But actually opening the new lines has proven to be a long-term challenge.

Light rail in North Jersey is called the Hudson-Bergen line. But, much to the chagrin of Bergen County officials, the line ends on Tonnelle Avenue in Hudson County - meaning there’s no service in Bergen County. There's been a 25-year push to expand that service, but it's been easier said than done.

"How is it that the largest county [by population] in the state of New Jersey, that contributes more money to the state, doesn't have a rail system to be able to move tens of thousands of people a day?” asks Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco. “It's just unconscionable."

The proposed extension would bring light rail to the parts of eastern Bergen County currently served by bus. Stations would include Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia and Englewood.

"You've got the environmental impact, right?” Tedesco said. “We take cars and pollution off the road. People's quality of life, their mental health - they're not sitting in traffic. Regardless of what they say, there are still more people going across the George Washington Bridge. You put light rail in, now people don't have to pay congestion pricing."

Tedesco says the holdup now is a new environmental impact study required by the federal government. Construction didn't begin after a previous study due to a lack of funding.

More than 100 miles south, the Delaware River Port Authority and New Jersey Transit are designing a similar light rail expansion - an 18-mile Glassboro-Camden Line using an existing rail corridor. It would extend NJ Transit's light rail from the River Line in Trenton all the way to Glassboro, with both lines ending in Camden.

Service is estimated to begin in 2028, but public opinion has been mixed.

Several communities have or will be voting on the project. Voters said yes in Glassboro, but no in Mantua, Brooklawn and Woodbury Heights. Opponents point to tax and noise concerns and prefer moving forward with electric buses to ease their toll of commuting.

Glassboro-Camden Line leadership says it will boost economic competitiveness, creating jobs and connecting more parts of the state into Philadelphia.