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 45,838,200 riders in 2022, making it the third-busiest commuter railroad in North America and the longest commuter rail system in North America by route length.
The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central, Jersey Central Lines or New Jersey Central, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States.
Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail, an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Areas, where it serves as a contract local carrier and switching company for its owners, CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway. When most of the former Conrail's track was split between these two railroads, the three shared assets areas were kept separate to avoid giving one railroad an advantage in those areas. The company operates using its own employees and infrastructure but owns no equipment outside MOW equipment.
The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (UNJ&CC) was a United States-based railroad company established in 1872. It was formed by the consolidation of three existing companies: the Camden and Amboy Railroad, Delaware and Raritan Canal Company, and New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company. The Camden and Amboy and New Jersey Rail Road were among the earliest North American railroads. The Pennsylvania Railroad leased the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company in 1872.
The New York and Long Branch Railroad was a railroad in central New Jersey, running from Bay Head Junction in Bay Head to Perth Amboy, where it connected to the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad. The railroad was jointly owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey and became property of Conrail in 1976. It is now part of New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line.
The Raritan River Rail Road was a 12-mile (19 km) shortline railroad in Middlesex County, New Jersey U.S., Founded in 1888, it was based in South Amboy, from which it ran west as far as New Brunswick. It served both passengers and freight in its heyday and operated profitably throughout much of its existence. The Raritan River was absorbed into Conrail in 1980, becoming a branch line of Conrail Shared Assets Operations. It terminates at U.S. Route 1 in North Brunswick.
The Belvidere-Delaware Railroad was a railroad running along the eastern shore of the Delaware River from Trenton, New Jersey north via Phillipsburg, New Jersey to the small village of Manunka Chunk, New Jersey. It became an important feeder line for the Lehigh Valley Railroad's join to the Central Railroad of New Jersey, which was constructed into Phillipsburg, NJ at about the same time. This connected Philadelphia and Trenton, NJ at one end of the shortline railroad to the rapidly growing lower Wyoming Valley region, and via the Morris Canal or the CNJ, a slow or fast connection to New York City ferries crossing New York Harbor from Jersey City, NJ. In 1871 the CNJ leased various railroads in Pennsylvania, most from the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company allowing the CNJ to penetrate to the upper Wyoming Valley, over some stretches, competing directly with the Lehigh Valley Railroad and with the Lehigh Canal and the trunk road connection of the Belvidere Delaware Railroad to New York became less profitable since Philadelphia connected more easily to Northeastern Pennsylvania thereafter without needing a double-crossing of the Delaware River; a general revenue decline ensued, leading to the Pennsylvania Railroad acquiring the rights, where it served as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) system, carrying mainly anthracite coal and iron ore from northeastern Pennsylvania to population centers along the coast.
The Port Reading Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1890 and completed its main line in 1892. It was controlled throughout its corporate life by the Reading Company. The Port Reading Railroad's line was conveyed to Conrail in 1976, and is today the Port Reading Secondary.
The Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad was a shortline railroad that traversed via central New Jersey. The railroad was formed under a special law of New Jersey, on April 3, 1867. On May 21, 1879, it was one of three railroads consolidated to form the Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad Company. Its former right-of-way, along with a portion of the Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad's right-of-way, has become the Edgar Felix Bikeway.
County Route 524 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends 39.90 miles (64.21 km) from the White Horse Circle in Hamilton Township to Route 71 in Spring Lake Heights.
The Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad was a short-line railroad in New Jersey. The railroad traversed through the communities of Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Manalapan Township, Englishtown Borough, Monroe Township, and Jamesburg Borough, en route to Monmouth Junction in South Brunswick Township. Its former right-of-way, along with a portion of the Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad's right-of-way, has become the Edgar Felix Bikeway and the Freehold right-of-way between Route 537 and Big Brook Park in Marlboro Township has become the Henry Hudson Trail. The section of right of way from Route 537 parallel to Jackson Street and behind the former Karagheusian Rug Mill to the former Central Railroad of New Jersey depot on Jackson Street at Mechanic Street in Freehold Borough has not as of yet been improved to be part of the trail. It is not clear whether this part of the right of way is still owned by New Jersey Transit which owns the rest of the line north into Matawan. The latter has been ‘railbanked’ which means it can be reactivated
The Southern Railroad of New Jersey is a small short-line railroad company based in Winslow Township, New Jersey. The railroad operates freight trains in two areas in Southern New Jersey. In the Winslow area, trains operate between Winslow Junction and Pleasantville, and between Winslow Junction and the Winslow Hot Mix asphalt plant in Winslow Township. In Gloucester County, the company operates on the Salem Branch between Swedesboro, New Jersey and Woodbury.
The New Jersey Southern Railroad was a railroad that started in 1854. It would continue under this name until the 1870s as a separate company and the lines that it had constructed or run continued to be run in the New Jersey Southern name until the early 2000s.
East Penn Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates a number of mostly-unconnected lines in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Except for two industrial park switching operations, all are former Pennsylvania Railroad or Reading Company lines, abandoned or sold by Conrail or its predecessors.
The Robbinsville Industrial Track is a short freight line that runs between Bordentown, New Jersey to the Yardville section of Hamilton Township, New Jersey. The line was originally part of the Camden and Amboy Railroad and later served as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Penn Central Transportation and then Conrail. It is currently operated by Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO).
The Southern Secondary is a rail line in New Jersey, operated by Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) from South Amboy to Red Bank, and the Delaware and Raritan River Railroad (DRR), a subsidiary of Chesapeake and Delaware, LLC, between Red Bank and Lakewood. The entire active portion of the line is owned by NJ Transit. The active portion of the line runs from South Amboy to the current end of track at Lakewood. The line is owned by NJ Transit, but the southern portion, is not shared with passenger trains. Beyond Lakewood, the tracks are owned by CSAO as far as Lakehurst, but are inactive between Lakewood and Lakehurst.
The Lehigh Line is a railroad line in Central New Jersey, Northeastern Pennsylvania, and the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway. The line runs west from the vicinity of the Port of New York and New Jersey in Manville, New Jersey via Conrail's Lehigh Line to the southern end of Wyoming Valley's Coal Region in Lehigh Township, Pennsylvania.
The Hightstown Industrial Track is a rail line in New Jersey, owned and operated by Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO). The line runs from Jamesburg, New Jersey to the current end of track at Cranbury, New Jersey. The line was built by the Camden & Amboy Railroad (C&A) one of the first railroads in the country. It has been operated by C&A, the Pennsylvania Railroad, Penn Central, and finally, Conrail.
The Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line (MOM) is a passenger rail project in the US state of New Jersey, proposed by NJ Transit Rail Operations (NJT) to serve the Central New Jersey counties of Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex. The line would originate/terminate around Lakehurst at its southern end. It would junction with either the Northeast Corridor Line or North Jersey Coast Line to provide service north to Newark Penn Station, with potential connecting or continuing service to Hoboken Terminal or New York Penn Station.
The Delaware and Raritan River Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates two lines in the central part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The Southern Secondary runs from an interchange with Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) in Red Bank south to Lakewood. The Freehold Secondary runs from an interchange with CSAO in Jamesburg southeast to Farmingdale, New Jersey.. The Delaware and Raritan River Railroad is a subsidiary of Chesapeake and Delaware, LLC. In 2022, Chesapeake and Delaware, LLC filed to take over rail service from CSAO on the Southern Secondary and Freehold Secondary, portions of which are owned by CSAO and NJ Transit. The Delaware and Raritan River Railroad began operations on July 1, 2022. As a result of this new operation & its aggressive management plans to increase traffic, the 5-mile stretch of previously dormant track between Freehold & Farmingdale was completely replaced with 25,000 feet of new rail, 12,500 ties and 6 road crossings between January 16, 2023, and September 15, 2023. A test train ran on the restored line September 15, and following a last spike-driven ceremony in Farmingdale on October 13, 2023, the line was officially opened for freight train service. This effort will allow train service to efficiently run from Jamesburg to Lakewood directly, the current end of active service. A final but important project on the line is currently underway in Farmingdale. A long-abandoned wye is almost completely replaced, with the road crossing on Railroad Ave. to be installed the week of Dec. 4th, 2023. This last puzzle piece will allow direct service from Jamesburg to Lakewood in the south without the need to reverse the train upon arrival in Farmingdale. Currently, the one leg of the wye heads north to Red Bank, facing opposite the Lakewood route. The result of this track restoration is to enable one train to serve the entire line, rather than two trains on two separate routes. Also, the track's northernmost customers allow for exempt track to be in place from their location in Howell to Red Bank. Additionally, NJ Transit no longer needs to co-ordinate the D&RR freight trains around their busy commuter operations from NYC to Bay Head, NJ
