Raritan Valley Line: Difference between revisions

Raritan Valley Line
Train #5439 stops at Dunellen.
Overview
Owner	Amtrak (east of Hunter) CSAO (Hunter to Aldene) New Jersey Transit (Aldene westward)
Locale	Northern New Jersey
Termini	New York Penn Station Newark Penn Station Raritan High Bridge
Stations	20
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	New Jersey Transit Rail Operations
Operator(s)	New Jersey Transit
Depot(s)	Raritan, Sunnyside
Rolling stock	GP40PH-2, PL42AC or ALP-45 locomotives Comet or MultiLevel coaches
Daily ridership	21,800 (FY 2012)[1]
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 12 kV 25 Hz (Newark-New York)
Operating speed	80 mph (130 km/h) (top)
Route map Legend mi CSAO Lehigh Line CNJ Main Line 16.9 15.0 Aldene Connection CSAO Lehigh Line G.S. Parkway 16.1 Cranford 17.3 Garwood 18.5 Westfield Route 28 20.6 Fanwood 21.9 Netherwood 23.1 Plainfield Route 28 23.9 Grant Avenue Clinton Avenue 26.0 Dunellen Middlesex 30.2 Bound Brook to Lehigh Line I-287 31.4 Bridgewater West Trenton Line to West Trenton Chimney Rock Spur 32.9 Finderne 34.7 Somerville CNJ Central Branch to Flemington US 206 35.9 Raritan Raritan Yard US 202 North Branch Raritan River 39.4 North Branch 44.3 White House Rockaway Valley Railroad to Watnong 48.0 Lebanon US 22 I-78 50.4 Annandale South Branch Raritan River 52.2 High Bridge High Bridge Branch to Wharton 55.1 Glen Gardner Route 31 Hampton Branch to Washington 56.6 Hampton 60.0 Ludlow–Asbury NS Central industrial track [2][3] This diagram: view talk edit

The Raritan Valley Line is a commuter rail service operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) which serves passengers in municipalities in Union, Somerset, Middlesex and Hunterdon counties in the Raritan Valley region in central New Jersey, United States. The line's most frequent western terminus is Raritan station in Raritan. Some weekday trains continue farther west and terminate at the High Bridge station, located in High Bridge. Most eastbound trains terminate in Newark; passengers bound for New York make a cross-platform transfer. A limited number of weekday trains continue directly to New York.

Raritan Valley Line trains use three lines owned by three entities. Between High Bridge and the Aldene Connection, east of Cranford, it uses the former Central Railroad of New Jersey Main Line, now owned by New Jersey Transit and also called the Raritan Valley Line. From the Aldene Connection to Hunter it uses Conrail's Lehigh Line, formerly the east end of Lehigh Valley Railroad Main Line. Finally, it uses Amtrak's Northeast Corridor from the Hunter Connection to Newark and New York.

The Raritan Valley Line is colored orange on New Jersey Transit's system map, and its symbol is the Statue of Liberty, an homage to the Central Railroad of New Jersey, whose logo was also the Statue of Liberty.^[4]

Most of the line follows the main line of the former Central Railroad of New Jersey. Historically, CNJ trains ran on this line, as part of its Lehigh-Susquehanna Division, from Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton in eastern Pennsylvania through Elizabeth and Bayonne to Jersey City. In peak years of service the line was the basis for trains such as the Queen of the Valley and the Harrisburg Special, reaching as far west as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Until 1967 CNJ service terminated at the company's Communipaw Terminal in what is today Liberty State Park.^[5] This station, which was also served by Reading Company trains to Philadelphia and B & O service to Washington, D.C., and beyond, had connections by chartered bus or ferry into Manhattan.

At the end of April 1967, the Aldene Connection opened, connecting the CNJ main line to the Lehigh Valley Railroad (now Conrail's Lehigh Line), and trains were re-routed to Newark Penn Station on the Northeast Corridor via Hunter Connection. This allowed CNJ to end the ferry service between Jersey City and Manhattan, which was losing money.^[6]

The former CNJ Main Line was conveyed to Conrail on the former's bankruptcy in 1976. Conrail sold the line to the state of New Jersey in 1978 but continued to operate commuter service under contract.^[7] Service on the line was cut back from Phillipsburg to High Bridge on January 1, 1984.^[8]

Trains initially could not go beyond Newark Penn Station to New York Penn Station because the locomotives were diesel-powered, and diesel locomotives cannot operate in the North River Tunnels. The introduction of ALP-45DP dual-mode locomotives allows for direct service to New York Penn Station.^[9] Limited service to New York Penn Station started as a pilot program on March 3, 2014. Select trains provide one-seat rides to New York. This original "pilot project" schedule has been subsequently expanded to include additional trains, but is limited to off-peak hours due to capacity issues in the Hudson River tunnels.

Unlike the Northeast Corridor, the majority of stations on the Raritan Valley Line are not wheelchair accessible. Newark Penn Station, Union, Cranford, Westfield, Plainfield, and Somerville are accessible high-platform stations. Roselle Park has a high platform but does not have a ramp or elevator to the street.^[10]

In September 2018, all Raritan Valley Line service was truncated to Newark Penn Station to allow for positive train control installation. Direct service to New York resumed on November 4, 2019.^[11]

Since it is not electrified, the Raritan Valley Line requires diesel locomotives. The locomotives originally consisted of the GP40PH-2(A and B) and Alstom PL42AC with a 5- or 6-car set of Comet series coaches. Since late 2008, Bombardier Multilevel Series Coaches were added and displaced most of the Comet coaches. As of late 2013, the trainsets' consist use an ALP-45DP and a 6- to 8-car set of Multilevels. However, some occasional trains use the Comet coaches coupled with a PL42AC or an ALP-45DP. Some GE P40DC locomotives were occasionally used on the line between 2007-2009.

With the initiation of select, direct, service to New York Penn Station on the Raritan Valley Line in March 2014, dual-mode Bombardier ALP-45DP locomotives (combination diesel and electric power) were added to the RVL rolling stock to incorporate the "one seat ride" between Raritan/High Bridge and Penn Station in New York. Switching of modes is performed at Newark.

The line's rolling stock is stored at the Raritan Yard, the line's only rail yard, located just west of the station of the same name. All eastbound trains change crews here and trains are normally stored here overnight. This is also one of two fueling facilities for NJT locomotives (the other is at Hoboken Terminal). All trains terminating in Newark head to the Meadows Maintenance Complex in Kearny, New Jersey to be stored.

In May and June 2018, NJ Transit leased 10 MARC coaches to be exclusively operated on the Raritan Valley Line. These cars have since been sent back to MARC.^[12]

Service beyond High Bridge to Phillipsburg Union Station in Phillipsburg was discontinued in December 1983 because of low ridership.^[13] Then, in November 1989, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJ DOT) severed the rail line between Alpha and Phillipsburg during construction of I-78. This was done in order to avoid having to build an overpass over the out-of-service trackage.^[14]

Since 1984, there have been repeated calls for resumption of service to Phillipsburg to relieve traffic congestion on the parallel I-78 and U.S. Route 22. The Raritan Valley Rail Coalition, formed in 1998 by the late U.S. Congressman Bob Franks, sought cost-effective ways to improve mobility, reduce highway congestion, and increase transit ridership along the Raritan Valley Line. Their study was completed in January 2010.^[15] In addition, real estate developers have touted former industrial hub Phillipsburg as an excellent candidate for restored commuter rail service, saying "P'burg. . .a good candidate for rail service..."^[16]

NJ Transit has been responsive to the idea, and initiated an environmental impact statement. It was determined that service restoration will take approximately four years and cost $90 million.^{[citation needed]}

In 2010, Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. promoted the restoration of rail service to Easton or Phillipsburg and possibly Allentown or Bethlehem.^[17]

In 2021, Amtrak placed service to Allentown via the Raritan Valley Line in their 2035 plan.

Another plan that has been proposed is to restore service on the former Reading Railroad's Jersey City branch track between Ewing and Bound Brook which is the current day CSX Transportation Trenton Subdivision, the NJ Transit rail service on the Trenton Subdivision would be NJ Transit's version of the West Trenton Line, providing a direct link to the SEPTA service of the same name and establishing an additional link to Philadelphia. To date, no funding for the proposal has been secured.^[18]

State	Zone[19]	Location	Station[19]	Miles (km)	Date opened	Date closed	Connections / notes[19]
NY	1	Manhattan	Pennsylvania Station	0.0 (0.0)	1910		Amtrak (long-distance): Cardinal, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star Amtrak (intercity): Acela Express, Adirondack, Carolinian, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, Maple Leaf, Northeast Regional, Pennsylvanian, Vermonter Long Island Rail Road: Babylon, Belmont Park, City Terminal Zone, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Montauk, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Port Washington, Ronkonkoma, West Hempstead branches NJ Transit Rail: Gladstone, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast lines New York City Subway: 1, ​2, and ​3 (at 34th Street – Penn Station (Seventh Avenue)), A, ​C, and ​E (at 34th Street – Penn Station (Eighth Avenue)) New York City Bus: M7, M20, M34 SBS, M34A, Q32 Academy Bus: SIM23, SIM24 Flixbus: Eastern Shuttle Vamoose Bus
NJ		Secaucus	Secaucus Junction	3.5 (5.6)	December 15, 2003[20]		NJ Transit Rail: Bergen County, Gladstone, Main, Meadowlands, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, Pascack Valley, Northeast Corridor, and North Jersey Coast lines Metro-North Railroad: Port Jervis Line NJ Transit Bus: 2, 78, 129, 329, 353
		Newark	Pennsylvania Station	10.0 (16.1)	1935[21][22]		Amtrak (long-distance): Cardinal, Crescent, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star Amtrak (intercity): Acela Express, Carolinian, Keystone Service, Northeast Regional, Pennsylvanian, Vermonter NJ Transit Rail: North Jersey Coast and Northeast Corridor lines PATH: Newark – World Trade Center Newark Light Rail: Grove Street – Newark Penn, Broad Street – Newark Penn NJT Bus: 1, 5, 11, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 34, 39, 40, 41, 62, 67, 70, 71, 72, 73, 76, 78, 79, 108, 308, 319, 361, 375, 378, go25, go28 ONE Bus: 31, 44 Greyhound Lines
			South Street
	5	Union	Union	15.3 (24.6)	April 28, 2003[23]		NJ Transit Bus: 26, 52
	7	Roselle Park	Roselle Park	17.2 (27.7)	February 3, 1891[24]		NJ Transit Bus: 94, 113
		Cranford	Cranford	19.5 (31.4)	January 1, 1839[25]		NJ Transit Bus: 59, 113 Olympia Trails: Westfield Commuter Service
	8	Garwood	Garwood	20.6 (33.2)	August 1892[26][27]
		Westfield	Westfield	21.8 (35.1)	January 1, 1839[25]
			Graceland		c. 1891[28]	by 1912[29]
	9	Fanwood	Fanwood	23.9 (38.5)	January 1, 1839[25]		NJ Transit Bus: 113 Olympia Trails: Westfield Commuter Service
	10	Plainfield	Netherwood	25.1 (40.4)	1874[30]		NJ Transit Bus: 113, 882 Olympia Trails: Westfield Commuter Service
	11		Plainfield	26.3 (42.3)	January 1, 1839[31]		NJ Transit Bus: 59, 65, 66, 113, 114, 819, 822, 896
			Grant Avenue	27.4 (44.1)	1885[32]	April 26, 1986[33]
			Clinton Avenue		1872[32]	April 30, 1967
	12	Dunellen	Dunellen	29.2 (47.0)	January 1, 1840[25]		NJ Transit Bus: 59, 65, 66, 113, 114 Suburban Trails: Dunellen Local
	13	Middlesex	Middlesex		c. 1893[34]
	14	Bound Brook	Bound Brook	33.5 (53.9)	January 1, 1840[25]		Somerset County Transportation: DASH
	15	Bridgewater	Bridgewater				Known as Calco from 1915[35]–1996
		Finderne	Finderne		1851[35]	2006	Closed due to low ridership
	17	Somerville	Somerville	37.9 (61.0)	January 1, 1842[25]		NJ Transit Bus: 65, 114
		Raritan	Raritan	39.1 (62.9)	c. 1851[36]
	18	North Branch	North Branch		September 25, 1848[25][37]
	19	Whitehouse Station	White House		September 25, 1848[25]
	20	Lebanon	Lebanon		July 4, 1852[38]
		Annandale	Annandale
	21	High Bridge	High Bridge		1852[39]
		Glen Gardner	Glen Gardner		July 4, 1852[38][40]	January 1, 1984[8]	The station was known as Clarkville from 1852–November 1864 and Spruce Run until the early 1870s.[40]
		Hampton	Hampton
		Bethlehem Township	Ludlow–Asbury		c. 1852-1854[41]	1967
		Bloomsbury	Bloomsbury		July 4, 1852[38][42]
		Phillipsburg	Union Station		July 4, 1852[38][43]	January 1, 1984[8]

• Bernhart, Benjamin L. (2004). Historic Journeys By Rail: Central Railroad of New Jersey Stations, Structures & Marine Equipment. Outer Station Project. ISBN 1891402072.

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