Passaic–Bergen Rail Line

Hawthorne station would be the terminus and serve as a transfer to the Main Line.

The Passaic-Bergen Passenger Rail Project is a dormant project by New Jersey Transit (NJT) to reintroduce passenger service on a portion of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) right-of-way in Passaic and Bergen counties.[1][2] Plans call for service to run from Hawthorne south to Paterson, then east to Hackensack using newly built, FRA-compliant diesel multiple unit rail cars.[3][4] When announced in the mid-2000s NJT stated construction could begin in early 2009 and last approximately 3 years and estimated the cost of the project to be $156 million.[3] In a memorandum of understanding NJT agreed to pay NYSW more than $20 million for a 75-year easement for trackage rights on its freight line.[5]

NYS&W

The NYS&W ran passenger service until June 30, 1966. The line terminated at Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City until 1961, and until 1966 at Susquehanna Transfer in North Bergen, which had opened on August 1, 1939 to allow transfer to buses through the Lincoln Tunnel.[6] NYSW freight operations terminate at the Landbridge Terminal south of the North Bergen Yard near Secaucus Road.[7] While outside of the scope of the project the railroad and the city of Hackensack replaced a rail trestle to the east of the proposed terminus with a contingency for a future additional track and passenger platform.[8]

Route

The line would run for approximate 8.3 miles in a generally east-west alignment, creating a cross-county corridor running between Hawthorne, where transfer to the Main Line would be available, and Hackensack, about two blocks from the Hackensack Bus Terminal. There would five stations in Paterson, one station in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, and an additional station in Hackensack. It would also cross Saddle Brook, Rochelle Park and Maywood, but would not have any station stops in them.[1]

Passaic-Bergen Rail Line
(proposed)
Legend
NYS&W Main Line freight
Hawthorne
Main Line
6th Avenue
Lafayette Street
Madison Avenue
20th Avenue
Vreeland Avenue
Boulevard
Bergen County Line
American Legion Drive
Pascack Valley Line
State Street
NYS&W Main Line freight

Proposed stations

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "NJ Transit design and engineering services for the Passaic-Bergen Passenger restoration project". Systra Consulting. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  2. ↑ Freemark, Yonah (May 14, 2009). "Making Links in North Jersey". The Transport Politic. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Passaic-Bergen Rail Plan Advances" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. April 1, 2007. Retrieved 2005-05-21.
  4. ↑ Davis, Tom. "NJ Transit to expand passenger train servic". Bergen.com. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  5. ↑ North Jersey.com
  6. ↑ Kaminski, Edward S. (2010), NEW YORK, SUSQUEHANNA & WESTERN RAILROAD IN NEW JERSEY, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7385-7367-0
  7. ↑ NYSW in North Bergen "North Bergen, NJ". New York Susquehanna and Western. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  8. ↑ Boswell Engineering. "River Street Rail Trestle". New Jersey Department of Transportation.

External links