soulcatcher

Maybe try adding buses or passenger rail. I haven't used NAM, but 150 tiles sounds like a lot.

Libraries/museums don't increase it, they keep edu level from dropping off as fast, as your sims age and/or become senile. There's no way to completely prevent that. Also, excess libraries & museums cost money but won't help you (no point having 8 libraries for 500 people). If all your housing is covered by fully-funded schools & colleges (not overcrowded) and adequate libs/museums, the EQ should slowly (over a few generations) climb as high as it can get. Which is as high as it will ever need to be, to attract high-tech etc.

Try seeding the station areas with a variety of zone types, even if it's just a single tile of res or comm, or add a station between them that serves res/comm in its zone. Railroads always seem to work best that way.