New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) has furthered progress on the extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail into Bergen County, N.J., with the issuing of a request for proposals (RFP) to hire a contractor to create the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS).

The proposed 10-mile extension would provide light-rail service from the current terminus at Tonnelle Ave. in North Bergen up to a currently anticipated terminal at Englewood Hospital. The Northern Branch project, as currently proposed, would extend the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system by 10 miles. The extension would include seven new station stops in five municipalities.  The electric light-rail service would operate on West Side Avenue in North Bergen, then on the existing railroad right-of-way owned by CSX Transportation (CSX) between 91st Street in North Bergen and the northern border of Englewood, and would introduce new station stops in North Bergen, Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia, and Englewood.