Morristown Line

Morristown Line
New Jersey Transit trains in Summit.
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	New Jersey Transit
Locale	Northern New Jersey
Termini	NY Penn Station or Hoboken Terminal (eastern end) Dover (western end full-time) or Hackettstown (weekdays only)
Stations	26
Daily ridership	50,000[1] (13.5 million annually)[1]
Operation
Opened	November 19, 1836 (Newark-Orange) January 1, 1838 (Orange-Morristown) July 31, 1838 (Morristown-Dover) January 1854 (Dover-Hackettstown) June 10, 1996 (New York-Newark via Kearny Connection/Midtown Direct)
Owner	Amtrak (New York Penn Station to Kearny Connection) New Jersey Transit (all other trackage)
Operator(s)	New Jersey Transit
Rolling stock	Midtown Direct: ALP-46 locomotives, Comet II-V Multi-level Via Lake Hopatcong: GP40PH-2/F40PH-2CAT/PL42AC locomotives/ALP-45DP locomotives, Comet II-V Hoboken-Dover: Same as Lake Hopatcong service, plus Arrow III MUs
Technical
Track length	92.3 kilometres (57.4 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25kV 60 Hz AC
Route map Legend NS Washington Secondary to Phillipsburg Hackettstown US 46 Musconetcong River Mount Olive I‑80 Netcong former DL&W Sussex Branch to Branchville Port Morris Yard Lackawanna Cut-Off towards Columbia Lake Hopatcong Morris Canal I‑80 Mount Arlington ME Chester Branch to Succasunna ME Dover & Rockaway Branch to Rockaway end of electrification US 46 Morris Canal Dover Dover Yard original alignment Rockaway Montclair-Boonton Line diverges Denville to Newark via Montclair Mount Tabor Route 10 US 202 Morris Plains ME Main Line to Roseland Morristown I‑287 Convent Station Madison Chatham Passaic River Gladstone Branch joins Summit former Rahway Valley Railroad to Roselle Park Route 24 Short Hills Rahway River Millburn Maplewood South Orange Mountain Station Highland Avenue I‑280 Orange Brick Church East Orange Garden State Parkway Grove Street Montclair-Boonton Line rejoins Roseville Avenue I‑280 Newark Light Rail Newark Broad Street Passaic River Harrison Northeast Corridor Kearny Connection Hackensack River Meadows Maintenance Complex Secaucus Junction (Main Line) Hoboken Yard Hoboken Terminal North River Tunnels Hudson River, NJ NY Penn Station New York East River East River Tunnels Sunnyside Yard Northeast Corridor/LIRR

The Morristown Line is one of New Jersey Transit's commuter lines and is one of two branches that run along the Morris and Essex Lines.^[2] Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound Midtown Direct trains (about 45%) use the Kearny Connection (opened June 10, 1996) to Secaucus Junction and New York Penn Station; the rest go to Hoboken Terminal. Passengers can transfer at Newark Broad Street or Summit to reach the other destination.

There is frequent service weekdays, with hourly service to/from New York (none going beyond Dover) on weekends. Until August 13, 2006, there was also hourly service to Hoboken. On that date, service between Hoboken and Summit was cut back to once every two hours on weekends. On May 11, 2008, off-peak weekday Hoboken-Dover trains (600 Series) were cut. In addition, weekend Gladstone trains were cut back to Summit, and a shuttle trains is operated every two hours between Newark Broad Street and Hoboken Terminal.

Recently the line between Millburn and Summit underwent extensive rehabilitation. This included the replacement of the creosote crossties on both tracks with concrete crossties, the replacement of all crossties on the double trestle over Short Hills Avenue, and the replacement of several sections of rail. More recently work has been progressing briskly on rehabilitating both tracks between Summit and Dover with concrete crossties and new welded rail, and rehabilitation of select road overpasses.

Hurricane Sandy inflicted severe damage on the Morristown Line on October 29–30, 2012, as fallen trees brought down catenary and signal wires and washed out sections of track, most notably through the New Jersey Meadowlands on both the main line and the Kearny Connection. Midtown Direct service was restored from Dover to New York on November 12, 2012;^[3][4] service to Hoboken and west of Dover resumed on November 19.^[5]

Description

The Morristown Line begins at the Hoboken Terminal or at New York Penn Station. Morristown line trains departing for points west of Dover, NJ require diesel locomotives. Immediately after leaving Hoboken, the route passes the coach and diesel yards before entering the 1908 Bergen Tunnel under the New Jersey Palisades just past the East End interlocking. At the west portal of the Bergen Tunnel is West End interlocking, where the Main Line, Bergen County Line and Pascack Valley Line branch off to the north. The Morristown Line then crosses over Lower Hack Lift, a vertical lift bridge built in 1927 over the Hackensack River. The line crosses under Route 7 and then passes NJ Transit's Meadowlands Maintenance Complex (MMC).

Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and the New Jersey Turnpike cross overhead. The Midtown Direct trains join the Morristown line from New York at Kearny Jct. just past this overpass. The Morristown Line parallels the Amtrak Northeast Corridor and PATH lines and Interstate 280 for a short distance here. The Waterfront Connection is just prior to the overpass at Meadows interlocking. It allows selected North Jersey Coast Line and Raritan Valley Line trains to reach Hoboken from the Northeast Corridor Line.

Passaic River bridge. The swing bridge is to the right of the I-280 lift bridge in background.

After following Interstate 280, the line crosses a 2-track swing bridge, the Morristown Line Bridge over the Passaic River into the renovated Newark Broad Street station with two high platforms serving all three tracks. After Newark Broad Street Station, within the city limits the line runs in a cut and crosses under many streets, Interstate 280 and the Newark City Subway, and at the abandoned Roseville Avenue station, now the location of Roseville interlocking, the Montclair-Boonton Line splits off to the right.

After passing an abandoned station at Grove Street (now the location of Green interlocking) and over the Garden State Parkway, East Orange is the next stop, on a viaduct. Brick Church and Orange follow, also elevated stations. The line curves south over Interstate 280 past Highland Avenue and Mountain Station. South Orange is next, an elevated station with two platforms and three tracks. Seton Hall University is located here. Maplewood follows, with a side platform and a center platform serving all westbound and some eastbound trains. After Maplewood the line narrows to two tracks at Millburn interlocking. Millburn and Short Hills have two side platforms, with two tracks.

Summit, a major station is next with two high platforms and the station building above the tracks. A glass crossover passes above the platforms. Some weekday locals terminate and originate here. Many of the area's private schools are located in Summit and commuting high school students are a major source of traffic for this station. Schedules are timed for most Morristown trains to have a convenient transfer to a Gladstone branch train across the platform.

Just west of Summit the Gladstone Branch separates and the line crosses over the Passaic River (the second time) into Chatham. Chatham station is on an embankment with two side platforms. Madison on a viaduct is similar, with a recently refurbished 1916 station house on the eastbound side.

The line passes its first grade crossing at Convent Station at the College of Saint Elizabeth. This station has two side platforms with the station building on the eastbound side and a brick waiting house on the westbound track. An old freight station is on the eastbound side. After this station there are two more grade crossings.

Crossing Interstate 287 the line enters Morristown. The Morristown station has two low side platforms and a large station building open 7 days, and is the focal point of a new transit village development. Mini-high level platform ramps for ADA access at both ends. An abandoned freight station is at the west end. West of the station, the Morristown & Erie Railway's main office are located. The Morristown & Erie's main line diverges at this point.

The next station on the line is Morris Plains, with a 1915 brick station. A local model railroad club is located in the freight house just north of the station. After Morris Plains the line curves through wooded areas, under Route 10, and past several crossings before stopping at Mount Tabor, a small stop in Denville near the community of the same name in Parsippany located at a grade crossing. This stop is served by selected weekday and limited weekend trains and lacks an eastbound platform.

Denville station is a short distance from Mount Tabor. The Morristown Line rejoins the Montclair-Boonton Line just past this station.

The line passes over Estling Lake and alongside the Rockaway River into Dover. Dover, the final stop in electric territory, is next. The 1905 station was recently renovated in the mid-1990s and has a single high platform. No electric Midtown Direct trains and most Hoboken service continues on past here towards Hackettstown. The Morristown Line catenary wires ends about a half-mile west of the station near the US Route 46 overpass. However, there are plans (currently unfunded) to extend the electric service to Lake Hopatcong as the Dover Yard is at capacity, and the substation at Wharton to supply this extension has been in service since 1984.

Two tracks continue west over the Rockaway River and past D&R Junction in Wharton where the Morristown & Erie Railway's Dover-Rockaway Branch splits off. Chester (Lake) Junction is on the left and provides the connection to the Morristown & Erie Railway's Chester and High Bridge Branch. Mount Arlington park/ride station is next, with two high platforms and 285 parking spaces near Exit 30 on Interstate 80.

After passing under Interstate 80, Lake Hopatcong station is next. The connection to the Lackawanna Cutoff is on the right as the train approaches Port Morris Yard, where the Montclair-Boonton and Morristown line's diesel fleet is based. Netcong station has a brick house on the low platform. Until late 1994, this was the endpoint of the line. Crossing under Interstate 80, the line enters the Mount Olive International Trade Center, where a station is located at Waterloo Valley Road.

The route passes through Allamuchy Mountain State Park and along the Musconetcong River to Hackettstown. A spur to the M&M/Mars plant is on the right, before the line crosses US Route 46 in downtown. The Hackettstown station is shortly ahead, with one low platform and a mini-high ADA ramp. Trackage south of Hackettstown is owned and operated by Norfolk Southern as part of the Lackawanna Washington Secondary to Phillipsburg.

The Morristown line is the main line of the historic Lackawanna Railroad. Until 1970, passenger service continued beyond Dover, to the Poconos, Scranton, Binghamton and Buffalo via the Lackawanna Cut-Off. Service on the Cut-Off as far as Andover is slated to begin again in 2016, with future plans to possibly extend rail service into northeastern Pennsylvania, perhaps as far as Scranton.

Electrification

The Morristown Line east of Dover Station is electrified, using 25 kV, 60 Hz AC overhead catenary wire. The line was electrifed in 1930 at 3kV DC, but was re-electrified in 1984 at the contemporary standard of 25 kV, 60 Hz. The connecting Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Line were also re-electrified at this time.

Morristown Line Electrification

Name	Coordinates	Comments
Hoboken	40°44′09″N 74°02′36″W / 40.7358°N 74.0433°W
West End Junction	40°44′30″N 74°04′02″W / 40.7416°N 74.0673°W
Meadowlands Substation	40°44′44″N 74°06′09″W / 40.7455°N 74.1026°W
Newark Broad	40°44′53″N 74°10′30″W / 40.7480°N 74.1749°W
Orange	40°46′17″N 74°14′07″W / 40.7713°N 74.2354°W
South Orange (Disused)	40°44′32″N 74°15′46″W / 40.7421°N 74.2628°W
South Orange / Maplewood	40°44′17″N 74°16′02″W / 40.7381°N 74.2673°W
Milburn	40°43′33″N 74°18′24″W / 40.7257°N 74.3068°W
Summit Substation	40°43′29″N 74°23′18″W / 40.7248°N 74.3883°W
Convent Tie Station	40°46′49″N 74°26′45″W / 40.7804°N 74.4457°W
Morristown (Lake Pocahontas)	40°48′27″N 74°28′43″W / 40.8076°N 74.4787°W
Denville	40°53′02″N 74°29′02″W / 40.8840°N 74.4840°W
Dover	40°52′59″N 74°33′00″W / 40.8831°N 74.5500°W
West Wharton Substation	40°54′22″N 74°35′52″W / 40.9062°N 74.5979°W	Beyond end of catenary; 25 kV feed runs on wooden pole line

Rolling stock

Weekday local service between Hoboken and Dover now is mainly diesel, but was formerly Arrow III electric MU cars. All Midtown Direct service is push-pull, utilizing electric ALP-46 locomotives and Comet cars on most trains, and Multilevel vehicles on select trains. Through service west of Dover from Hoboken uses GP40PH-2, F40PH-2CAT, PL42AC, or ALP-45DP diesels with Comet cars.

Stations

Zone [6]	Station[6]	Miles (km) from NYP	Date opened	Date closed	Connections / notes[6]
Northeast Corridor and City Terminal Zone continue east
1	New York – Penn Station	0.0 (0.0)	1910		Amtrak: Acela Express, Adirondack, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf, Northeast Regional, Pennsylvanian, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Vermonter LIRR: Babylon, Belmont Park, City Terminal Zone, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Montauk, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Port Washington, Ronkonkoma, and West Hempstead Branches NJ Transit: Gladstone, Montclair-Boonton, Northeast Corridor, Raritan Valley, and North Jersey Coast Lines NYC Subway: (at 34th Street – Penn Station (Seventh Avenue)) (at 34th Street – Penn Station (Eighth Avenue)) NYCT Bus: M4, M7, M20, M34 / M34A SBS, Q32 Academy Bus: X23, X24 Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach: New York Airport Service Greyhound Lines: BoltBus, NeOn Megabus: M21, M22, M23, M24, M27 Eastern Shuttle Vamoose Bus
	New York / Hudson county line
	Secaucus Junction	3.5 (5.6)	2003		NJ Transit: Gladstone, Main, Meadowlands, Montclair-Boonton, Northeast Corridor, Pascack Valley, Raritan Valley, and North Jersey Coast Lines Metro-North: Port Jervis Line NJT Bus: 2, 78, 129, 329, 353
	Hoboken Terminal	0.0 (0.0)	1903		NJ Transit: Bergen County, Gladstone, Main, Meadowlands, Montclair-Boonton, Pascack Valley, Raritan Valley, and North Jersey Coast Lines Metro-North: Port Jervis Line Hudson-Bergen Light Rail: 8th Street-Hoboken, Hoboken-Tonnelle PATH: HOB-WTC, HOB-33, JSQ-33 (via HOB) NJT Bus: 22, 22X, 23, 54, 68, 85, 87, 89, 126 New York Waterway to Battery Park City
2
	Harrison	7.13 (11.5)	1937	1984[7]
	Hudson / Essex county line
	Northeast Corridor (Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Lines) diverge at Kearny Connection Morristown Line service to Hoboken converges
	Newark – Broad Street	10.4 (16.7)	1836		NJ Transit: Montclair-Boonton Line and Gladstone Branch Newark Light Rail: Broad Street – Newark Penn NJT Bus: 11, 13, 27, 28, go28, 29, 39, 41, 43, 72, 76, 78, 108
Montclair-Boonton Line diverges
4
	Roseville Avenue	11.6 (18.7)	1905	1984[7]
	Grove Street	12.2 (19.6)		1991[8]
	East Orange	12.6 (20.3)			NJ Transit: Gladstone Branch NJT Bus: 21, 71, 73, 79, 94 Community Coach: 77
	Brick Church	13.2 (21.2)	1836		NJ Transit: Gladstone Branch NJT Bus: 21, 71, 73, 79, 94, 97 Community Coach: 77 ONE Bus: 24
	Orange	14.1 (22.7)	1918		NJ Transit: Gladstone Branch NJT Bus: 21, 41, 71, 73, 92 Community Coach: 77 ONE Bus: 24, 44 West Orange Community Shuttle
5	Highland Avenue	14.8 (23.8)			NJ Transit: Gladstone Branch NJT Bus: 92 ONE Bus: 44
	Mountain Station	15.7 (25.3)	1915		NJ Transit: Gladstone Branch NJT Bus: 92
	South Orange	16.5 (26.6)	1916		NJ Transit: Gladstone Branch NJT Bus: 92, 107 ONE Bus: 31 South Orange Community Shuttle West Orange Community Shuttle
6
	Maplewood	17.8 (28.6)			NJ Transit: Gladstone Branch Maplewood Community Shuttle
	Wyoming
7	Millburn	19.4 (32.2)	1837		NJ Transit: Gladstone Branch NJT Bus: 70
	Short Hills	20.4 (32.8)	1838		NJ Transit: Gladstone Branch NJT Bus: Springfield Community Shuttle
Essex / Union county line
9	Summit	22.7 (36.5)	1905		NJ Transit: Gladstone Branch NJT Bus: 70, 986 Lakeland Bus: 78
Gladstone Branch diverges
Union / Morris county line
10	Chatham	26.1 (42.0)	1838		NJT Bus: 873
11	Madison	28.1 (45.2)	1916		NJT Bus: 873
12	Convent Station	30.3 (48.8)			NJT Bus: 873, 878, 879
14	Morristown	32.5 (52.0)	1913		NJT Bus: 871, 872, 873, 874, 880 Community Coach: 77
16	Morris Plains	34.6 (55.7)	1915		NJT Bus: 872, 880
	Mount Tabor (limited service)	38.3 (61.6)	1881		NJT Bus: 880
	Montclair-Boonton Line converges
	Denville	39.3 (63.2)			NJ Transit: Montclair-Boonton Line NJT Bus: 880
17	Dover	43.1 (69.4)	1848		NJ Transit: Montclair-Boonton Line NJT Bus: 872, 875, 880 Terminus of electrification, transfer point between trains to New York/Hoboken and Dover
19	Mount Arlington		2008		NJ Transit: Montclair-Boonton Line Lakeland Bus: 80 Also known as Howard Boulevard Park and Ride
	Lake Hopatcong	48.5 (78.1)	1854		NJ Transit: Montclair-Boonton Line Lakeland Bus: 80
	Lackawanna Cut-Off (future service) diverges at Port Morris Junction
	Netcong	51.0 (82.1)	1901		NJ Transit: Montclair-Boonton Line Former western terminus, originally Netcong-Stanhope
	Mount Olive	52.7 (84.8)	1854		NJ Transit: Montclair-Boonton Line Lakeland Bus: 46, 80 Waterloo Village, International Trade Center Originally Waterloo
	Morris / Warren county line
	Hackettstown	60.0 (96.6)	1868 1994	c. 1960	NJ Transit: Montclair-Boonton Line
Washington Secondary continues west

References

1. NJ Transit celebrates 10-year anniversary of MidTOWN Direct service New Jersey Transit Retrieved 2007-09-08
2. The other is the Gladstone Branch.
3. "NEW FERRY OPTION TO MIDTOWN MANHATTAN FROM HOBOKEN: EFFECTIVE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12". NJ Transit Customer Notices: Post-Hurricane Service Updates and Travel Options. NJTransit.com. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
4. "Midtown Direct Will Resume Limited Service Monday". Millburn-Short Hills Patch. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
5. "All But One NJ TRANSIT Rail Lines Fully or Partially Restored Starting Monday, November 19". njtransit.com. New Jersey Transit. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
6. "Morris & Essex Line Timetable" (PDF). New York, New York: New Jersey Transit. November 19, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
7. Morris & Essex Lines Timetable (September 16, 1984 ed.). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. 1984.
8. Morris & Essex Lines Timetable (April 7, 1991 ed.). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. 1991.

External links

• Morris & Essex Line Timetable