By Albert J. Countryman Jr./ Staff
Palmyra’s big news in 1834 was the Camden and Amboy Railroad’s construction of a train station at Broad Street and Cinnaminson Avenue that brought together individuals and businesses in an area of several large farms and very few people.
Then part of Chester Township, the borough along the Delaware River began as Texas, a small railroad junction. Entrepreneur Joseph Souder figured the railroad would transform the town, so he purchased land and mapped out streets and property lots. In 1849, he and other interested investors renamed the village Palmyra, after the ancient trading center in Syria.
The people came and the town grew quickly, along with others along the railroad, including Riverton, Cinnaminson, Riverside and Delanco.
By the 1960s, only freight trains used the tracks to carry goods to industries from Trenton to Camden, and on weekend nights, “the tracks” became a gathering place for teenagers. Eventually, even the trains stopped running, and the tracks just rusted. But in 1999, NJ Transit announced plans for the River Line to carry passengers from Bordentown to Camden. It opened in 2004, after the building of the new Palmyra train station platform and renovations along the entire route.
Local students from Delran, Cinnaminson, Riverton and Palmyra rode the train to classes at Rutgers-Camden and workers used it to get to their jobs. But in recent years, it has also been used by transients who commit crimes in those towns, then get back on the train. Late and cancelled trains have frustrated passengers.
Then, a quiet, peaceful morning last summer was shattered when Palmyra High three-sport athlete Matthew James Dickinson was struck and killed by a northbound River Line train traveling toward the Cinnaminson Avenue station. The 15-year-old crossed the tracks at Chestnut and Broad streets as he headed to soccer practice at the Legion Fields sports complex.
State Sen. Troy Singleton held a town meeting at the Palmyra Community Center with NJ Transit officials later in the year to address safety issues and problems with the River Line, while the Burlington County Commissioners announced plans for sheriff’s officers to help police patrol the areas around the stations.
At the session, residents asked NJ Transit officials to reduce the speed of the trains through town, change the tone of their horns to reduce complacency, fix the signals and gates that sometimes go on when no train is coming and keep trains from speeding down the track without activated signals.
Several River Line users also asked for a phone app to notify them when trains are postponed or cancelled. As for problems with shoplifting, retail theft and burglaries by transients at the stations from Bordentown to Palmyra, the sheriff’s officers are expected to curb that as well.
“It’s been just over four months since the launch of our special details in River Line communities and we are pleased with the results to date,” Sheriff James Kostoplis noted last week. “Residents, commuters and business owners are seeing our officers in these communities, and so are would-be lawbreakers. Their presence is creating a strong deterrence against property crimes like shoplifting, burglaries and package theft that often increase around the holidays.”
“This unique partnership is addressing concerns we heard about safety and the need for a more visible presence along the River Line,” Singleton pointed out. “The early results from the sheriff’s details are promising and we will continue to collaborate with local law enforcement, Sheriff Kostoplis and NJ Transit to further improve safety in these communities.”
The results have been impressive. During the first three-plus months of patrols, sheriff officers have made three arrests and assisted local police on 34 others, made 395 property arrests and transported seven prisoners to the county detention center in Mount Holly.
“The early numbers are consistent with our objective to provide a visible police presence and cooperate with local police departments to assist them whenever possible,” Kostoplis said.
Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson said the partnership with local police departments is an example for other counties to emulate.
“The sheriff’s office is proving once more how it can be a difference-maker for our residents and communities,” she observed. “In just four months, these officers have had a positive impact on our River Line communities and brought greater peace of mind to commuters and residents.”
