The "River Line," the newly renamed light rail system that has been under construction in South Jersey for the past four years, will begin operating Feb. 15, NJ Transit said Wednesday.

If all goes well, passengers will at last be able to board at one of 20 stops from Camden to Trenton and ride anywhere on the 34-mile line for $1.10, well below the rate NJ Transit would charge if it followed its normal policy of charging by distance.

While the opening has been postponed at least four times, NJ Transit Executive Director George Warrington expressed confidence that the new date - a Sunday sandwiched between Valentine's and Presidents Days - is doable.

"I believe this is a prudent and reasonable schedule," Warrington told NJ Transit's governing board.

From now until January, contractors will continue to test the cars, the tracks and signal systems, as they have been doing for more than a year now. Warrington described the testing to date as "90 percent complete."

On Jan. 4, the contractors - a coalition consisting of megabuilder Bechtel and train maker Bombardier - will begin simulating actual service. They'll run multiple trains in succession, first with 30-minute "headways," or time between trains.

That will entail switching traffic signals in Palmyra and Riverton from flashing to full operation.

By late January, the contractors expect to be ready for a full dress rehearsal, with headways reduced to 15 minutes during rush hours and trains running on the same schedules they will follow once revenue service begins.

The goal is to run at least a week of consecutive service without glitches before starting to operate the system for real, said Richard Sarles, an assistant executive director at NJ Transit.

The line was originally scheduled to open by the end of 2002.

Construction costs, originally pegged at $450 million, are now estimated at just under $1 billion, due in part to financing costs necessitated by the lack of federal aid for the project.

Sarles said he did not consider the amount of time spent testing the line excessive, given the scope of the project.

"It's a brand new system, it's 34 miles long, there are 70 grade crossings, it will be running in the street in some places, and running with freight in others," Sarles said.

"We want to get it right," added Lynn Bowersox, an NJ Transit spokeswoman.

The River Line will share tracks, but not operating time, with Conrail. The River Line will run from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with freight traffic running from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

No passenger train can leave from Camden or Trenton after 9 p.m. in order to clear the tracks in time, a restriction that limits the light rail's utility in serving nighttime entertainment venues in the two cities.

Reaction to the announcement of a startup date was generally subdued in the riverfront towns, as residents along the route expressed more curiosity than anticipation.

"Whenever someone spends a billion dollars, I'm interested," said Fred Mirsky, 47, who runs a sales business in Burlington City.

Absent other changes that would draw people to the city, Mirsky said, he does not see the line helping that much.

"Will it benefit the city on the day of the Wood Street Fair?" he said. "Maybe. But on a daily basis? I don't know."

Charlene McMillan, 31, a teacher from Burlington Township, said she probably would use it if she worked in Trenton or Philadelphia, accessible via a $1.70 transfer to the PATCO Hi-Speedline.

As it is, she said, she plans to "at least try it."

"We're all curious," added Jim Brown, 74, a retiree who lives in Palmyra. "It's here. We've got to accept it. We hope it's going to be workable."