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The Bergen Tunnels are a pair of railroad tunnels with open cuts running parallel to each other under Bergen Hill in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. Originally built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W), they are used by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (NJT) trains originating or terminating at Hoboken Terminal. [1]
Prior to construction, the Morris and Essex Railroad, a predecessor of the DL&W, used the Long Dock Tunnel, owned by the Erie Railroad, to pass under the Hudson Palisades. After issues of congestion and competition arose, the DL&W decided to build its own tunnel for what is commonly known as its Morristown Line. [2] [3] Construction of the North Bergen Tunnel began in 1873; it came into service in 1877. [4] The South Bergen Tunnel opened in 1910, [5] soon after a new Hoboken Terminal was inaugurated. Both tunnels are approximately 4,200 ft (1,300 m) long, [6] [7] and have two short segments of open cut as well as ventilation shafts. [8]
In 2001, New Jersey Transit contracted JV Merco-Obayashi for the rehabilitation of the partially brick-lined North Bergen Tunnel. [9] This included the stabilization of the two open cuts. The five ventilation shafts were stabilized and backfilled. Brick was removed so that the tunnel could be enlarged using drill-and-blast methods, following which it was relined with shotcrete. A drained membrane waterproofing system was installed before a final lining of concrete was cast-in-place. [8] In addition to waterproofing ceilings and walls, new electrical, signal and ventilation systems were installed as were new emergency exits. New tracks were affixed directly to a new concrete floor. [10]
The tunnels are part of New Jersey's state historic preservation office historic district, designated the Old Main Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Historic District. [11] They were documented in 2001 for the Historic American Engineering Record. [12]
| Survey No. | Name (as assigned by HAER) | Built | Documented | Carries | Crosses | Location | County | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NJ-136 | D,L&W, North Bergen Tunnel | 1877 | 2001 | NJ Transit Hoboken Division tracks | Bergen Hill | Jersey City | Hudson | 40°44′25″N74°03′45″W / 40.74028°N 74.06250°W |
| NJ-137 | D,L&W, South Bergen Tunnel | 1911 | 2001 | NJ Transit Hoboken Division tracks | Bergen Hill | Jersey City | Hudson | 40°44′24″N74°03′45″W / 40.74000°N 74.06250°W |
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 states of New York and Pennsylvania. It operates buses, 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 2023, the system had a ridership of 209,259,800.
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). The railroad was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1853, and created primarily to provide a means of transport of anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Northeast Pennsylvania to large coal markets in New York City. The railroad gradually expanded both east and west, and eventually linked Buffalo with New York City.
The Main Line is a commuter rail line owned and operated by New Jersey Transit running from Suffern, New York to Hoboken, New Jersey, in the United States. It runs daily commuter service and was once the north–south main line of the Erie Railroad. It is colored yellow on NJ Transit system maps, and its symbol is a water wheel.
Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by eight NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, an NJ Transit event shuttle to Meadowlands Sports Complex, one Metro-North Railroad line, various NJT buses and private bus lines, the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail, the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rapid transit system, and NY Waterway-operated ferries.
NJ Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of NJ Transit. It operates commuter rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered on transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark. NJ Transit also operates rail service in Orange and Rockland counties in New York under contract to Metro-North Railroad. The commuter rail lines saw 57,179,000 riders in 2023, making it the third-busiest commuter railroad in North America and the longest commuter rail system in North America by route length.
The Waterfront Connection allows NJ Transit trains to switch from the former Pennsylvania Railroad main line to the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad main line, now NJ Transit Rail Operations. The connection opened on September 9, 1991, at a cost of $16 million.
For the purposes of this article, the Jersey City area extends North to Edgewater, South to Bayonne and includes Kearny Junction and Harrison but not Newark. Many routes east of Newark are listed here.
The Northern Branch is a railroad line that runs from Jersey City to Northvale in northeastern New Jersey, and formerly extended further into New York State. The line was constructed in 1859 by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey to connect the New York and Erie Railroad's Piermont Branch terminus in Piermont, New York, directly to Erie's primary terminal in Jersey City, initially Exchange Place, later Pavonia Terminal. In 1870 the line was extended to Nyack, New York, and continued to provide passenger service until 1966. After the Erie's unsuccessful merger with the Lackawanna Railroad to form the Erie-Lackawanna, ownership of the line passed into the hands of Conrail upon its formation in 1976 from a number of bankrupt railroads.
The Morris and Essex Railroad was a railroad across northern New Jersey, later part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.
Dover is an active commuter railroad train station in the town of Dover, Morris County, New Jersey. Located at the end of electric service, Dover station serves as a secondary terminal of NJ Transit's Morristown and Montclair-Boonton Lines. Non-electric service continues west to Hackettstown on both lines. The next station to the west is Mount Arlington while the next station to the east is Denville. Dover station consists of a single island platform, accessible for the handicapped.
Hackettstown station is a New Jersey Transit station in Hackettstown, New Jersey. It is the western terminal of the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line, with limited service on both routes. The station has one low-level side platform with a mini-high platform for accessibility.
Boonton is a NJ Transit station in Boonton, Morris County, New Jersey, United States along the Montclair-Boonton Line. It is located on Main Street, near Myrtle Avenue and I-287. The original 1905 station was built by architect Frank J. Nies who built other stations for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. Unlike most of his stations which tended to be massive Renaissance structures, Boonton station was built as a simple Prairie House design. The station house is now a bar, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 13, 1977, two years before the establishment of New Jersey Transit and six years before becoming part of their railroad division.
Bergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson Rivers, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet.
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.
The Binghamton was a ferryboat that transported passengers across the Hudson River between Manhattan and Hoboken from 1905 to 1967. Moored in 1971 at Edgewater, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, the ship was operated as a floating restaurant from 1975 to 2007. In 2017, following ten years of damage that effectively rendered the boat unrestorable, the ferry was dismantled. No structural components were salvaged.
Roseville Tunnel is a 1,000-foot (300 m) two-track railroad tunnel on the Lackawanna Cut-Off in Byram Township, Sussex County, New Jersey. The tunnel is on a straight section of railroad between mileposts 51.6 and 51.8 (83 km), about 6 miles (9.7 km) north by northwest of Port Morris Junction. Operated for freight and passenger service from 1911 to 1979, it is undergoing work intended to return it to passenger service by 2026.
The Newark Drawbridge, also known as the Morristown Line Bridge, is a railroad bridge on the Passaic River between Newark and Harrison, New Jersey. The swing bridge is the 11th bridge from the river's mouth at Newark Bay and is 5.85 miles (9.41 km) upstream from it. Opened in 1903, it is owned and operated by New Jersey Transit.
The Lyndhurst Draw is a railroad bridge crossing the Passaic River between Clifton and Lyndhurst in northeastern New Jersey. Built in 1903, it is owned and operated by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (NJT).
Phillipsburg Union Station is an active railroad station museum, in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, United States, at 178 South Main Street. Opened in 1914, Union Station was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W) and shared with the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) and was situated where the lines merged before the bridge crossing the Delaware River. Designed by Frank J. Nies, the architect who produced many of DL&W stations now listed state and federal registers of historic places, the 2+1⁄2 story, 3 bay brick building is unusual example of a union station and a representation of early 20th century Prairie style architecture. The Phillipsburg Union Signal Tower, or PU Tower, is nearby, also restored to its original form, and available for tours.
{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help){{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)| Hoboken Division |  | |
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| Newark Division | ||
| Connections | ||
| Current rolling stock | ||
| Bridges and tunnels |
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| Stations and yards | ||
| Proposed lines | ||
| Other topics | ||