Andover station (NJ Transit)

Last updated

Andover
Andover-Station-Cut-Off.JPG
Looking west to the Pequest Fill, the planned Andover Station would serve the restored Lackawanna Cut-Off line.
General information
LocationRoseville Road, Andover Township, New Jersey
Coordinates 40°58′53″N74°43′49″W / 40.98139°N 74.73028°W / 40.98139; -74.73028
Owned byState of New Jersey [1]
Line(s) Lackawanna Cut-Off [2]
Platforms1 side platform (planned)
Tracks0 (1 planned)
Construction
Parking65 spaces (initial opening), 125 spaces (planned) [2]
Other information
Fare zone19
History
Opening2026 (planned) [3]
Future services
Preceding station NJT logo.svg NJ Transit Following station
Terminus Montclair-Boonton Line
Lackawanna Cut-Off [2]
Lake Hopatcong
toward New York Penn Station
Morristown Line
Lackawanna Cut-Off [2]
Blairstown
toward Scranton
Lackawanna Cut-Off
Proposed

Andover is a planned New Jersey Transit passenger railroad station in Andover Township, in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States, providing service on its Lackawanna Cut-Off line. [4] The line remains under construction. [5] The station will be built at a site on Andover's Roseville Road, about 1.1 miles (1.8 km) from U.S. Route 206 and about 0.9 miles (1.4 km) from County Route 517. On the rail line, it will be located about 7.3 miles (11.7 km) west of Port Morris Junction. [3]

Contents

Anticipated construction at the site includes a station and platform between the track and Roseville Road with 65 parking spaces initially, with room to expand to 125 spaces. Preparation to restore trackage between Port Morris and Andover was originally to begin in 2010 but was delayed until early 2011 due to a dispute over the exact location of the Andover Station area. Another delay was caused while environmental permits were sought. [6] [5] In August 2017, an agreement with a local landowner appeared to have cleared the way for the necessary environmental permits. At the time, service was projected to start in 2020, [7] though in March 2020 it was pushed back to 2025, [8] and it has since been delayed to 2026. [3]

The Andover station will be the terminus of the line, but plans exist for extending the Lackawanna Cut-Off line west of Andover as far as Scranton.

History

Early history

From 1908 to 1911, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W) built a level-graded 28.5-mile (45.9 km) railroad line. This route, known as the Lackawanna Cut-Off, ran west from Port Morris Junction in Roxbury Township near the south end of Lake Hopatcong in northwestern New Jersey (about 45 miles (72 km) west-northwest of New York City) and to Slateford Junction near the Delaware Water Gap in northeastern Pennsylvania. With its rural landscape, tall fills, deep rock cuts, and two large viaducts, the line became renowned as a scenic highlight of the railroad's main line between Hoboken, New Jersey, and Buffalo, New York. [9] Through the use of fewer and less-sharp curves, no steep hills, and no grade crossings, the route was faster and 11 miles (18 kilometres) shorter than the Lackawanna Old Road, the rail line it replaced. The DL&W constructed structures on the new line of reinforced concrete, and the roadbed itself required the movement of millions of tons of fill material using techniques similar to those on the Panama Canal. [10]

The Cut-Off route passed through Andover Township in northwestern New Jersey's Sussex County between Greendell Station in Green Township and the Roseville Tunnel in Byram Township. It did not stop in Andover at this time and passed over rail lines operated by the Lehigh & Hudson River Railroad and the Sussex Branch, and over U.S. Route 206 and county roads.

The Lackawanna Cut-Off route opened for passenger service on December 24, 1911, and was operated by the Lackawanna Railroad until October 17, 1960, when the Lackawanna merged with the Erie Railroad. The resulting Erie Lackawanna Railroad (EL) operated the line until April 1, 1976, when the EL was conveyed into Conrail, which would operate it until January 1979. The line was abandoned in 1983 and the track was removed the following year. Conrail sold the right-of-way to two land developers in 1985, and the State of New Jersey acquired it in 2001.

Planning and restoration

The site for the proposed Andover Station in June 2011 New Jersey Transit Lackawanna Cut-Off Andover station site 2011-06-11 Adam Moss flickr photo.jpg
The site for the proposed Andover Station in June 2011

New Jersey Transit's Board of Directors authorized consultant work for conceptual design, completion of the environmental assessment (EA) and preparation of the documentation required by the Federal Transit Administration for new transit lines to open service to northwestern New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania. The State of New Jersey completed the purchase of the Lackawanna Cut-Off right-of-way and property within the state in May 2001.

In May 2008, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) approved funding to rebuild the first segment of track for restored service along the Cut-Off route between Andover and Port Morris Junction. [11] [12] After review of the submitted environmental assessment, the Federal Transit Administration issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the first phase of the project to Andover on September 12, 2008. [1] [13] Preparation to restore trackage between Port Morris and Andover was originally slated to begin in 2010 but was delayed until early 2011 due to environmental concerns and questions over the exact location of the Andover Station area. In September 2011, the first new track was laid at Port Morris; three months later, Norfolk Southern delivered 7.5 miles (12.1 km) of continuously welded rail to Port Morris, enough to re-lay a single track to Andover. [14] As of 2021, much of the right-of-way between Port Morris and Lake Lackawanna had been cleared of trees and debris. A total of 4.25 miles (6.84 km) of track has been laid west of Port Morris Junction in three disconnected sections.

As of 2021, New Jersey Transit intends to resume rail service between Andover and Hoboken, New Jersey and to New York Penn Station via transfer to Midtown Direct service, by connecting to the existing NJT Montclair-Boonton Line and Morris & Essex Lines. [1] Service is projected to start in 2026. Construction began in 2011 to restore passenger service in phases, and the first phase includes opening service along 7.3-mile (11.7 km) of track to Andover. Extension of service via Amtrak has also been proposed, [15] including the potential of restoring service to Blairstown, New Jersey, and stations in Pennsylvania with a proposed terminus in Scranton, Pennsylvania. [1]

On April 13, 2022, the NJ Transit board announced the approval of an approximated $32.5 million contract for completion of repairs to the Roseville Tunnel and construction of the new Andover station. It is anticipated that work will be completed in the latter part of 2026. [16]

Construction

A disagreement over the replacement of a culvert on private property near the proposed station has delayed progress on the resumption of construction. [17] [7] , but as of early August 2017, an agreement has been made to replace the culvert with the property owner and continue building track to Andover. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NJ Transit</span> Public transportation system

New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the state of New York and Pennsylvania. It operates bus, light rail, and commuter rail services throughout the state, connecting to major commercial and employment centers both within the state and in its two adjacent major cities, New York City and Philadelphia. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 175,960,600.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad</span> Former U.S. Class 1 railroad

The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of 395 miles (636 km). Incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1853 primarily for the purpose of providing a connection between the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania's Coal Region and the large markets for coal in New York City. The railroad gradually expanded both East and West, eventually linking Buffalo with New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morristown Line</span> Commuter rail line in New Jersey

The Morristown Line is an NJ Transit commuter rail line connecting Morris and Essex counties to New York City, via either New York Penn Station or Hoboken Terminal. Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound Midtown Direct trains use the Kearny Connection to Penn Station; the rest go to Hoboken. Passengers can transfer at Newark Broad Street or Summit to reach the other destination. On rail system maps the line is colored dark green, and its symbol is a drum, a reference to Morristown's history during the American Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lackawanna Cut-Off</span> Rail line between Port Morris, New Jersey, and Slateford, Pennsylvania

The Lackawanna Cut-Off was a rail line built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). Constructed from 1908 to 1911, the line was part of a 396-mile (637 km) main line between Hoboken, New Jersey, and Buffalo, New York. It ran west for 28.45 miles (45.79 km) from Port Morris Junction in Port Morris, New Jersey, near the south end of Lake Hopatcong about 45 miles (72 km) west-northwest of New York City, to Slateford Junction in Slateford, Pennsylvania near the Delaware Water Gap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Hopatcong station</span> NJ Transit rail station

Lake Hopatcong is a commuter railroad station for New Jersey Transit. The station, located in the community of Landing in Roxbury Township, Morris County, New Jersey, United States, serves trains for the Montclair-Boonton Line and Morristown Line at peak hours and on holiday weekends. Service from Lake Hopatcong provides to/from Hackettstown to New York Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal. The stop is located on the tracks below Landing Road next to the eponymous Lake Hopatcong. The station consists of one active and one abandoned side platform, along with a shelter on the active platform. There is no accessibility for handicapped persons under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roseville Avenue station</span> Former NJ Transit rail station

Roseville Avenue was a transfer station on New Jersey Transit's Morris & Essex Lines in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The station was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1903 as part of a project to lower the tracks below the road surface to eliminate grade crossings. It serviced Newark's Roseville neighborhood. It once had two tracks on the Lackawanna mainline and two low-wall platforms, with an additional platform along the Montclair Branch. The station remained in service during most of the 20th century, until New Jersey Transit closed the station on September 16, 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paulinskill Viaduct</span> Bridge in Hainesburg, New Jersey

The Paulinskill Viaduct, also known as the Hainesburg Viaduct, is a reinforced concrete railroad bridge that crosses the Paulins Kill in Knowlton Township, New Jersey. When completed in 1910, it was the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware River Viaduct</span> Railroad bridge in New Jersey, United States

The Delaware River Viaduct is a reinforced concrete railroad bridge across the Delaware River about two miles (3.2 km) south of the Delaware Water Gap that was built from 1908 to 1910 as part of the Lackawanna Cut-Off rail line. It is the sister to the line's larger Paulinskill Viaduct. The Delaware River Viaduct also crosses Interstate 80 on the east side of the river and Slateford Road and the Lackawanna Railroad's "Old Road" on the west (Pennsylvania) side. Abandoned in 1983, it is part of an Amtrak proposal to introduce passenger service between Scranton, Pennsylvania and New York City, a distance of 135 mi (217 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lackawanna Old Road</span> It was opened in 1856

The Lackawanna Old Road was part of the original mainline of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W). Opened in 1856, it was, for a half-century, a part of the line connecting the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montclair-Boonton Line</span> Commuter rail line in New Jersey

The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations in the United States. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Montclair Branch, which ran from Hoboken Terminal to Bay Street, Montclair; the Erie Railroad's Greenwood Lake Division, which originally ran from the Erie's Jersey City Terminal to Greenwood Lake, NY; and the former Lackawanna Boonton Line, which ran from Hoboken to Hackettstown, New Jersey. The Montclair-Boonton line was formed when the Montclair Connection opened on September 30, 2002. The line serves 28 active rail stations in New Jersey along with New York Pennsylvania Station. It crosses through six counties, serving six stations in the township of Montclair, two in the town of Bloomfield, and one in the city of Newark. Trains along the Montclair-Boonton Line heading eastward usually originate at Hackettstown, Mount Olive, Lake Hopatcong, Dover, or Montclair State University, bound for either Hoboken Terminal or New York Penn Station. On system maps the line is colored maroon and its symbol is a bird, after the state bird, the eastern goldfinch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Stroudsburg station</span>

East Stroudsburg is an historic train station built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1856. The station served as the local stop for both East Stroudsburg and Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. The depot, recently known locally as the Dansbury Depot for the restaurant that used the building, is located on Crystal Street in East Stroudsburg. Service to East Stroudsburg ended on January 6, 1970, when the Erie Lackawanna Railway discontinued the Lake Cities. A proposal is currently in place to extend NJ Transit service to a rebuilt East Stroudsburg station. In spring 2021, Amtrak announced plans for potential New York–Scranton route. It is currently used by some of Steamtown National Historic Site's excursion trains.

Lackawanna Transit Center is the main bus station and a proposed train station in Scranton, Pennsylvania, operated by the County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS).

The North Jersey Rail Commuter Association is a not for profit railroad advocacy organization that was formed and incorporated in the United States in 1980. During its history, the organization and its members have been involved in the successful advocacy of a number of projects involving NJ Transit Rail Operations. NJRCA's headquarters are located in Knowlton Township, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Morris Junction</span>

Port Morris Junction is the railroad connection between NJ Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line and the Lackawanna Cut-Off. Opened in 1911 by the Lackawanna Railroad, it is in the Port Morris, New Jersey section of Roxbury Township, New Jersey, south of Lake Hopatcong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roseville Tunnel</span> Rail tunnel in New Jersey

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pequest Fill</span> Railroad embankment in New Jersey, USA

The Pequest Fill is a large railroad embankment on the Lackawanna Cut-Off in northwestern New Jersey, touted at its 1911 completion as the largest railroad fill in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project</span> American railway infrastructure project

The Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project is a New Jersey Transit and Amtrak effort to restore passenger service to the Lackawanna Cut-Off in northwest New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colby Cut</span> Cut on the Lackawanna Cut-Off railroad line in New Jersey, USA

Colby Cut is one of a number of cuts on the Lackawanna Cut-Off railroad line in northwest New Jersey. Located between approximately mileposts 51.8 and 52.3 in Byram Township, the cut was constructed between 1908 and 1911 by contractor David W. Flickwir. The cut, which was created by removing fill material obtained by blasting with dynamite or other methods, is 0.53 miles (0.85 km) long, has an average depth of 45 feet (14 m), and a maximum depth of 110 feet (34 m). The cut was the result of the removal of 462,342 cubic yards of fill material within this section.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greendell station</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blairstown station</span>

Blairstown was one of the three original Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad stations on the Lackawanna Cut-Off rail line in northwestern New Jersey. Built by contractor Hyde, McFarlan & Burke, the station opened in 1911. Most passenger trains, such as the Lackawanna Limited and, later, the Phoebe Snow, plus the Twilight/Pocono Express and the Westerner/New Yorker stopped at Blairstown, which also sold commuter tickets. It was the only station on the Cut-Off to be open during the Erie Lackawanna years, and remained so until passenger service ended on January 6, 1970 with the discontinuing of the Lake Cities. After 1970, the building housed a radio station, WHCY-FM, until the 1990s. The station building is currently privately owned.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 New Jersey Transit – Department of Capital Planning and Programs. "Capital Improvement Program – System Expansion Projects – Lackawanna Cutoff" (October 2009). Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "New Jersey – Pennsylvania Lackawanna Cut-Off Passenger Rail Service Restoration Project Environmental Assessment" (PDF). U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, and New Jersey Transit in cooperation with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Krawczeniuk, Borys (June 29, 2020). "No new money for NYC passenger train in New Jersey plan". The Times-Tribune. Scranton, Pennsylvania.
  4. ↑ Moszczynski, Joe (March 20, 2011). "NJ Transit works to restore rail service along 81-mile Lackawanna Cutoff". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  5. 1 2 Scruton, Bruce A. (December 7, 2015). "Andover train station delayed again". New Jersey Herald. Archived from the original on December 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ Higgs, Larry (September 3, 2015). "When will rail service extend into Sussex County? Ask @CommutingLarry". NJ.com. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 Scruton, Bruce A. (August 10, 2017). "New culvert OK'd to put Andover rail station on track". The New Jersey Herald. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  8. ↑ Krawczeniuk, Borys (March 2, 2020). "New study drops cost of passenger train comeback". The Citizens' Voice. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  9. ↑ Taber, Thomas Townsend; Taber, Thomas Townsend III (1980). The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the Twentieth Century. Vol. 1. Muncy, PA: Privately printed. ISBN   0-9603398-2-5.
  10. ↑ Lowenthal, Larry, and Greenberg, William T., Jr., The Lackawanna Railroad in Northwestern New Jersey (Tri-State Railway Historical Society, Inc., 1987), 10–98, 101. ISBN   978-0-9607444-2-8
  11. ↑ Howard, Frank (May 31, 2008). "Small step for commuter rail eyed". Pocono Record.
  12. ↑ Lockwood, Jim (June 4, 2008). "Plans move forward to revive Lackawanna Cutoff rail line". The Star-Ledger.
  13. ↑ U.S. Department of Transportation – Federal Transit Administration, "Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), Project: New Jersey-Pennsylvania Lackawanna Cut-Off Passenger Rail Service Restoration Project, Minimal Operable Segment (September 12, 2008). Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Ultimate Guide To eCommerce - Ultimate Guide To eCommerce".
  15. ↑ "Vision".
  16. ↑ "NJ Transit awards contract to restore tunnel on Lackawanna Cutoff: Roseville Tunnel subject of $32.5 million rehabilitation project". Trains. April 13, 2022.
  17. ↑ Scruton, Bruce A. (June 14, 2016). "One last permit keeps planned Andover train station off track". New Jersey Herald. Archived from the original on June 15, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
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