The Port Authority this week may begin testing its new and renovated light rail vehicles along the 1.4-mile Drake line, which has been inactive since 1999. Port Authority officials advised motorists and pedestrians who cross to treat it as an active line and watch for moving vehicles.

The Port Authority will use the Drake line to conduct extensive testing on 28 new light rail vehicles and 55 remanufactured vehicles.

The Drake line has three at-grade crossings, two on Brookside Boulevard and one on Walther Lane. A stairway connecting Fort Couch Road and the Drake line will be closed during testing, which continues through 2005. Residents should be aware that overhead electrical wires along the Drake line already have been reactivated.

First Published: December 9, 2003, 5:00 a.m.