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<\/a><\/p>\nBy Dan Israel\/Hudson County View<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a focus of attention that is in people\u2019s minds. The planners are very interested in that,\u201d NJ Transit Government and External Affairs Chief Paul Wycoff said in an interview with HCV at the North Jersey Transit Forum<\/a> in Jersey City on Saturday.<\/p>\n While the HBLR ends at the 8th Street Station in Bayonne, an old Conrail line runs parallel to the station, continuing south along Route 440, over John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Avenue A, before ending directly in front of the under construction, 58-acre 1888 Studios at Avenue A and First Street.<\/p>\n The underutilized rail tracks have been seen by local officials for years as a potential way \u2013 although a long-shot \u2013 to extend the light rail once more in Bayonne, this time to the very tip of the city, at the foot of the Bayonne Bridge.<\/p>\n The light rail previously ended at 22nd Street Station in Bayonne before it was extended to 8th Street Station, which opened in 2011.<\/p>\n The notion is that the added transportation would further benefit the city as it prepares to grow in population and economy amid an ongoing redevelopment boom and the opening of 1888 Studios on the former Texaco property.<\/p>\n Wycoff said the Bayonne studio \u2013 to be occupied in part by Paramount<\/a> \u2013 is part of the burgeoning film industry<\/a> taking shape in New Jersey.<\/p>\n He called a this a \u201cgrowing potential economic machine\u201d as other film giants plan studios across the state, including Netflix in Fort Monmouth and Lionsgate in Newark.<\/p>\n And while the idea for a light rail extension to coincide with that growth is being toyed around with by some planners among others at the state and beyond, finding funding remains a major obstacle.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that\u2019s something that we\u2019ve put in the hopper to look at. As you heard some of the panelists say, and the commissioner, the challenge is always funding. The challenge is always resources,\u201d Wycoff acknowledged.<\/p>\n