Morristown Line
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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. Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound 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 if necessary.
The line east of Dover Station is electrified, using 25kV AC overhead catenary wire (formerly 3kV DC). 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, 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 portions of 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 rails, and rehabilitation of select road overpasses.
Peak trains arrive on weekdays in Hoboken between 7:00 am and 9:15 am, and in New York between 7:13 am and 9:29 am; peak trains leave Hoboken on weekdays between 4:36 pm and 7:06 pm and New York on weekdays between 4:09 pm and 6:54 pm. [1]
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[edit] Route guide
The Morristown Line begins at Hoboken Terminal. Morristown line trains departing for points west of Dover, NJ require diesel locomotives. Trains that terminate at Dover utilize electric powered 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 Meadows 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 access Hoboken from the Northeast Corridor Line.
After following Interstate 280, the line crosses over a swing bridge spanning the Passaic River into Newark into the newly 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 an elevated viaduct. Brick Church and Orange follow, also elevated stations. The line curves south, over Interstate 280 and stops at 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 similar arrangement, after which 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 high platforms. There are two platforms, and the station building above the tracks. A glass crossover is located 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 elevated embankment with two side platforms. Madison, on an elevated viaduct is similar, with a recently refurbished 1916 station house on the eastbound side.
The line reaches its first grade crossing at Convent Station, located on the College of Saint Elizabeth campus. This station has two side platforms. After this station, there are several grade crossings.
Crossing Interstate 287, the line enters Morristown. The Morristown station has two low side platforms and a large station building, and is the focal point of a new transit village development. 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. 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 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.
Dover, the final stop in electric territory, is next, and has a high center platform. All electric Midtown Direct and Hoboken service terminates here. Some weekday trains continue to Hackettstown (see Montclair-Boonton Line). However there are plans (currently unfunded)to extend the electric service to Lake Hopatcong as the Dover Yard is at capacity.
[edit] 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-44/ALP-46 locomotives and Comet cars on most trains, and Mulitlevel vehicles on select trains. Through service west of Dover from Hoboken uses GP40PH-2, F40PH-2CAT or PL42AC diesels with Comet cars.
[edit] Station listing
| Milepost | City | Station | Oper | Connections |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Hoboken | Hoboken Terminal | NJT | PATH and New York Waterways to New York City, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to local points, NJT 22, 23, 64, 68, 85, 87, 89, 126 buses |
| Meadows Maintenance Complex | NJT | Main Overhaul and Maintenance Shop, employee stop | ||
| Midtown Direct trains join | ||||
| 5 | Kearny | Kearny Junction | Midtown Direct trains from New York Penn Station and Secaucus Junction join the line via the Kearny Connection | |
| 7.8 | Newark | Newark Broad Street | NJT | Newark Light Rail service, NJT 11, 13, 27, 28, 29, 39, 41, 43, 72, 76, 78, 108 buses, Ticket Vending Machines |
| Roseville Avenue | NJT Montclair-Boonton Line splits, abandoned station | |||
| East Orange | Grove Street | abandoned | ||
| 10 | East Orange | NJT | NJT 21, 71, 73, 79, 94, 97 buses | |
| 10.6 | Brick Church | NJT | NJT 21, 71, 73, 79, 94 buses | |
| 11.5 | Orange | Orange | NJT | NJT 21, 41, 71, 73, 79, 92 buses, Orange and West Orange Jitneys |
| 12.2 | Highland Avenue | NJT | NJT 92 bus | |
| 13.1 | South Orange | Mountain Station | NJT | NJT 92 bus |
| 13.9 | South Orange | NJT | NJT 92, 107 buses, West Orange Jitney | |
| 15.2 | Maplewood | Maplewood | NJT | Maplewood Jitney |
| 16.8 | Millburn | Millburn | NJT | NJT 70 bus |
| 17.8 | Short Hills | NJT | Springfield Jitney | |
| 20.1 | Summit | Summit | NJT | NJT Gladstone Branch splits, NJT 70 bus, NJT WHEELS 986 bus, Ticket Vending Machines |
| 23.5 | Chatham | Chatham | NJT | MCM 3 bus |
| 25.5 | Madison | Madison | NJT | MCM 3 bus |
| 27.7 | Morris | Convent Station | NJT | MCM 3 bus |
| 29.8 | Morristown | Morristown | NJT | MCM 1, 2, 3 10 buses |
| 32 | Morris Plains | Morris Plains | NJT | MCM 2, 10 buses, Ticket Vending Machines on eastbound side |
| 35.7 | Parsippany-Troy Hills | Mount Tabor | NJT | MCM 10 bus |
| 36.7 | Denville | Denville | NJT | NJT Montclair-Boonton Line joins, MCM 10 bus |
| 40.5 | Dover | Dover | NJT | MCM 2, 10 buses. Only diesel trains are permitted beyond this point. Train Storage Yard |
| Mount Arlington | Mount Arlington | NJT | Lakeland Route 80 bus | |
| 45.9 | Roxbury | Lake Hopatcong | NJT | |
| 46 | Port Morris | NJT | Diesel Train Storage Yard and future Lackawanna Cutoff split | |
| 48.4 | Netcong | Netcong | NJT | |
| 50.1 | Mount Olive | Mount Olive | NJT | International Trade Center |
| 57.4 | Hackettstown | Hackettstown | NJT | NJT 973 bus |
| Midtown Direct service | ||||
| 0 | New York City | New York Penn Station | NJT | Long Island Rail Road, Amtrak, New York City Subway, New York City Bus, MTA Bus |
| Secaucus | Secaucus Junction | NJT | All NJT Rail lines except the Atlantic City Line and Raritan Valley Line, NJT 2, 129, 772 buses | |
[edit] References
- ^ a b NJ Transit celebrates 10-year anniversary of MidTOWN Direct service New Jersey Transit Retrieved 2007-09-08
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