CONRAIL’S CAST-OFF COMMUTERS: 2 30 YEARS OF NJ TRANSIT
gan operating beyond Lindenwold and over the Delair Bridge into 30th Street Station. Construction of a new station at Pennsauken will allow connections to the new NJT RiverLINE light rail. The new Waterfront Connection was completed in 1991, which provided a physical connection between the Hobo- ken and Newark divisions for the first time. The connection is most often used to allow North Jersey Coast Line and Raritan Valley Line trains to terminate at Hoboken. Service west of Netcong on the Boon- ton Line was extended to Mount Olive and Hackettstown in 1994, the first passenger service since 1966. A num- ber of proposals have since been consid- ered to extend service to Phillipsburg. One of the most significant projects of the 1990s was the construction of the Kearny Connection in 1996, which in- augurated “Midtown Direct” one-seat service from the Morris & Essex Lines directly into New York Penn Station. Today, most trains operating over the ex-Lackawanna electrified route from Dover go into Penn Station instead of Hoboken.
In an effort to create easier travel connections, a new Northeast Corridor station opened at Newark Liberty In- ternational Airport in 2001, connecting to the AirTrain Newark monorail oper- ated by the Port Authority. Planned since the 1920s, the new Montclair Connection was completed in 2002, which allowed Midtown Direct service to begin on the Montclair-Boon- ton Line (renamed once the Montclair Branch was connected to the Boonton Line). The lower portion of the Boonton Line was abandoned, allowing NJT to close three stations and two draw bridges.
TOP: A Metro-North GP40PH leads a Boonton Line train past the old Port Morris tower in Feb- ruary 2000. This location marks where the Lackawanna Cutoff connected to the main line. Often restricted to the Port Jervis and Pascack Valley Lines, Metro-North equipment is regularly pooled with NJT. LEFT: At Lindenwold, passengers can make connections between NJT’s Atlantic City Line and the PATCO rapid transit line to Camden and Philadelphia.
Valley Line was cut back from Phillips- burg to High Bridge. When Conrail de- cided to abandon the former Erie Main Line route in favor of the Graham Line in 1984, stations on the Port Jervis Line extension in New York State shift- ed to the freight-only line. Service on the portion of the Port Jervis and Pas- cack Valley lines in New York State is funded by the MTA and operated by NJT for Metro-North Railroad. In 1984, the Morris & Essex Lines
were converted to high-voltage a.c., which forced the retirement of the old Lackawanna m.u. cars that had served continuously since 1930. Around the same time, electrification was extended
from South Amboy to Long Branch on the North Jersey Coast Line, eliminat- ing the engine change at South Amboy. After an absence of nearly seven years, service on the Atlantic City Line resumed in 1989, in conjunction with a new train operated by Amtrak colloqui- ally called the Gambler’s Express. Ini- tially, NJT trains terminated on the west end at Lindenwold, where passen- gers transferred to the PATCO High Speed Line to reach Center City Philadelphia (theoretically to avoid competing with Amtrak). When Am- trak pulled out of Atlantic City in 1995, it was feared NJT would eliminate service as well. Instead, NJT trains be-
Construction of the Secaucus Junc-
tion transfer station was completed in 2003 where the ex-Pennsy Northeast Corridor passes over the ex-Erie into Hoboken. Passengers from the Main Line, Pascack Valley Line, and Bergen County Line trains can transfer here for trains headed to New York Penn Sta- tion, allowing for easier connections. The latest service expansion com- pleted is the new rail spur to the Mead- owlands Sports Complex, home of Met Life Stadium. Special event service for football games and concerts help re- duce highway traffic in and out of the complex. A new regional service was in- augurated with Metro-North that runs between New Haven, Conn, and the Meadowlands for all home football games. Trains operate with NJT equip- ment and Metro-North crews via Penn Station and Hell Gate Bridge to con- nect with the New Haven Line.
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