NEC train arrives Jersey ave.JPG

A southbound Northeast Corridor line train approaches Jersey Avenue station outside of New Brunswick. Plans to build a "micro grid" system to generate electricity in an emergency would keep NJ Transit trains running as far as New Brunswick. (Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

(Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The first steps to building a back-up power system to keep sections of NJ Transit's busiest rail lines running, after a blackout or storm knocks out electricity, were taken by NJ Transit's board Wednesday.



Board members approved a $17 million contract with Jacobs Engineering Group of Morristown to design and do preliminary engineering for what could be the nation's first mass transit micro power grid.

The system, known as NJ Transitgrid, would provide limited rail service even during a blackout of commercial power.



"If there is a blackout, it will allow us to operate some 40 to 50 percent of our train service," said Steve Santoro, assistant executive director capital planning and programming. "It allows us to operate certain levels of service. It won't replace the entire level of service."



NJ Transitgrid would use a natural gas fired power plant in Kearny to generate electricity to run trains on core parts of the Northeast Corridor up to New Brunswick and all of Hudson-Bergen Light Rail.



It would power signals on the Morris and Essex and Main Line up to Newark Penn Station and Secaucus. NJ Transitgrid would also power key facilities such as the Rail Operations Center, Meadowlands Maintenance Complex and some bus facilities. NJ Transitgrid will not replace the problem-plagued overhead wires on the Northeast Corridor which causes delays when it fails.



A transit advocate questioned if NJ Transit's board had enough information to vote.



"In effect you're being told trust us without any verification," said Joseph Clift, a former Long Island Rail Road planning director. "What proof is there that this investment is a good one for taxpayers?"



Santoro said NJ Transitgrid is essentially a power plant, which railroads and transit agencies used to build and operate themselves.



The concept resulted after Hurricane Sandy knocked out electric power, which sidelined NJ Transit rail lines for about a week after the Oct. 2012 storm. NJ Transitgrid is one of several resiliency projects to receive federal funding after Sandy.



The Federal Transit Administration and U.S. Department of Energy allocated $409 million for NJ Transitgrid, which will require $168 million in state funding to match it. Amtrak also will pay into the program, Santoro said.



In addition to building a power plant, NJ Transitgrid would rebuild an Amtrak substation, install solar panels to power certain stations and bus facilities. Design and engineering is scheduled to take 15 months. NJ Transitgrid is expected to be constructed by 2021.



NJ Transitgrid wouldn't sit idle waiting for a problem. The system would be operated day to day, which will save the cost of buying electricity from a third party, Santoro said.



Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.



