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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.
Started in 2011, Phase 1 of the project is extending NJ Transit's commuter rail service 7.3 miles (11.7 km) from Port Morris Junction in Morris County to Andover in Sussex County, with the latter seeing its first passenger trains for the first time in more than half a century. Service from Andover to Hoboken Terminal and New York Penn Station is expected to begin in 2026. [1] Service to the latter will require electro-diesel locomotives (such as NJ Transit's Bombardier ALP-45DP locomotives) because the North River Tunnels cannot accommodate diesel engines. [2]
Initial steps have been taken on more phases that would rebuild the remainder of the Cut-Off to Northeastern Pennsylvania and begin train service between New York City and Scranton. In 2020, Amtrak included the route in its 15-year expansion vision. In December 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration accepted the route into its Corridor Identification and Development Program, which allocates money for planning and prioritizes the project for future funding.
Built between 1908 and 1911 by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W) to speed service between Hoboken, New Jersey, and Buffalo, New York, the 28.45-mile (45.79 km) Lackawanna Cut-Off was the last main line built in New Jersey. The line was considered an engineering marvel—a "super-railroad", in the vernacular of the day—with deep cuts, tall fills, and two large viaducts that allowed a mostly straight route through the mountains of the state's northwest region. Although the DL&W was profitable during its corporate life, competition from trucks and other economic pressures after World War II forced it to merge with competitor Erie Railroad, forming the Erie Lackawanna Railroad (EL) in 1960.
The EL initially shifted most freight traffic away from the Cut-Off, though it continued to run passenger trains over the line. The railroad's flagship passenger train, the Phoebe Snow , traveled via the Cut-Off until it was discontinued in November 1966, and the last regularly scheduled passenger train, the Lake Cities , ran over the line on January 5-6, 1970. After May 8, 1974, freight traffic was revived on the line after the closure of a key junction with the Penn Central in Maybrook, New York, caused by fire damage to the ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Poughkeepsie Bridge. The conveyance of EL into Conrail on April 1, 1976, gave Conrail excess east–west trackage, however, and service on the Cut-Off ended in January 1979. (Conrail officials later said they might not have abandoned the Scranton Route, including the Cut-Off, if the EL had not severed a section of the Boonton Branch near Paterson, New Jersey, in the early 1960s for the construction of Interstate 80.) [3]
Efforts to preserve the Cut-Off began almost immediately upon the route's closing. In November 1979, Amtrak operated an inspection train between Hoboken and Scranton to investigate intercity rail service between the two cities. Dubbed the "Pocono Mountain Special", the train left Hoboken and ran west on the Morristown Line on November 13, 1979, reaching Port Morris shortly after 9 a.m. With the main line severed at Port Morris Junction, the special train detoured through Port Morris Yard, ran over Port Morris Wye, and then rolled onto the Cut-Off. The train ran to Scranton, where it was met by a group of political dignitaries. It was the last passenger train in the twentieth century—and the only Amtrak train—to operate over the entire route. [3] The idea of Hoboken–Scranton service faded as Amtrak faced funding shortfalls and the need for significant track and station repairs in order to run passenger service on the line.
The 133-mile (214 km) inspection trip marked the end of one era, and the beginning of another: a 40-plus-year effort to save and then reactivate the Cut-Off. In the beginning, finding an operator for the line was less pressing than preserving the track and right-of-way itself. Several attempts were made to purchase the line from Conrail, which was concerned that a competitor might try to restore freight service on the route. The Sussex County Freeholder Board in New Jersey pursued such a purchase.
The Monroe County Railroad Authority in Pennsylvania was also involved, and nearly reached a deal to buy the 88-mile (142 km) section of track between Port Morris and Scranton for $6.5 million. The railroad authority would have borrowed $4.1 million from the federal government at 3.25 percent per annum and issued bonds to cover the rest of the purchase price plus additional unspecified costs to restore the line. The deal would have allowed Conrail to remove about 40 miles (64 km) of track with an option for Pennsylvania, through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), to purchase the second track to Moscow, Pennsylvania, for operations out of Scranton's Steamtown National Historic Site. The agreement stipulated that the railroad operator would repay the loan from operational revenue. [4]
In spite of initial optimism, the deal began to fall apart, and on August 10, 1983, the U.S. Department of Transportation informed Monroe County officials that the federal loan guarantee had been revoked and would instead go to the financially ailing Detroit & Mackinac Railway in Michigan. Monroe County officials continued to press their case, hoping that Congress would provide financial support; the railroad authority invited 16 potential operators to submit proposals, and seven did so on August 26, 1983. [3] Meanwhile, the federal regulations surrounding the abandonment of railroad lines changed; instead of a lengthy regulatory process that had discouraged railroads from abandoning unwanted routes, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) would be allowed to approve the abandonment of any track if it were not in service and had no originating or terminating shipments for two years, and was not required to serve any other track. [5] This allowed Conrail to abandon the Cut-Off almost immediately. Atlantic City gambling interests also opposed restoring rail service over the Cut-Off, fearing renewed passenger service would provide a "Gambler's Express" to not-as-yet-built casinos in the Poconos that might compete with the nascent casinos of the Jersey Shore. A New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) priority list of rail projects at the time listed the Cut-Off as Number 26 in a list of unfunded capital projects. [3] [6]
The Monroe County Railroad Authority continued to fight Conrail, with support from PennDOT and the use of a privately owned World War II tank to block any Conrail rail-removal train. Conrail eventually relented and agreed not to sever the line between Slateford and Scranton. [3]
With all regulatory and political hurdles removed in New Jersey, however, Conrail began lifting track on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River Viaduct on June 8, 1984. [7] Even as this was taking place, Morris County Transportation Department director Frank Reilly made last-ditch attempts to delay track removal in New Jersey. In addition, the dismantling was hampered by saboteurs who replaced railroad spikes removed by the crew. These efforts proved to be in vain as the last mainline trackage was removed from the Cut-Off at Port Morris on October 5, 1984. [8] Wooden ties and rock ballast were left in place, which was unusual since Conrail's standard abandonment practice involved removing all components (rails, wooden ties, signals, poles, rock ballast) when dismantling a railroad. [3]
With track removal complete, the 27 miles (43 km) of right-of-way west of County Road 602 (Brooklyn-Stanhope Road) in Hopatcong, New Jersey, was sold to Jerry Turco, a developer based in Kearny, New Jersey. Turco said that he originally had no intention of purchasing the Cut-Off, but rather had learned of its availability from Conrail after he inquired about a 1,000-foot (300 m) section of the Lehigh & Hudson River Railway (L&HR) in Andover, an abandoned line that Conrail also owned. Turco said he wanted to acquire the short section so that he could expand a nursing home operation that abutted the roadbed. Conrail refused to sell the isolated Andover parcel, but offered to sell it if Turco would acquire all of the L&HR right-of-way from Sparta to Belvidere, a total of 32 miles (51 km). Turco said that it was during this time that Conrail offered the Cut-Off, which crosses the L&HR on the Pequest Fill near Tranquility, New Jersey, to create a package deal.
Turco eventually accepted the deal to purchase both rail lines, acquiring nearly 60 miles (97 km) of right-of-way for roughly $2 million. [3] Shortly thereafter, Conrail sold the remaining 1+1⁄2-mile (2.4 km) parcel east of Sussex County Road 602 to developer Burton Goldmeier of Hopatcong, who reportedly wanted to use that section of the Cut-Off as an access road to a proposed housing development. (Conrail would remove the tracks from the L&HR in 1988.)
The removal of the rails and the sale of the right-of-way to private developers made restoration of the Cut-Off more challenging. Then they got worse when Turco announced plans[ when? ] to remove fill material from the Pequest Fill and other large Cut-Off fills for the Westway Project in New York City and to dump garbage and construction materials into the large cuts. [9] The Westway Project was abandoned in September 1985, but there were other projects that Turco could have supplied fill material to, but as time went on Turco apparently saw greater opportunity elsewhere. As such, it was never entirely clear how serious Turco was about his proposed Rebar Landfill or if this was simply a ploy to stir up public opposition and force the New Jersey state government to step in and acquire the Cut-Off by condemnation. In any case, the proposal helped galvanize support for preserving the Cut-Off.
In November 1989, New Jersey citizens voted on a $25 million state bond issue for acquiring abandoned railroad rights-of-way. After they approved it overwhelmingly, NJDOT instituted eminent domain proceedings against the corporations that Turco and Goldmeier had established in New Jersey for the Cut-Off. [10]
For liability purposes, Turco had established separate corporations for the parcels of right-of-way in each municipality that his section of the Cut-Off ran through: Knowlton, Blairstown and Frelinghuysen townships in Warren County; Green, Byram, and Andover townships and Stanhope townships and Andover borough in Sussex County. In addition, separate corporations had been set up for the Paulinskill Viaduct and the Delaware River Viaduct, as well as for the 1.4 miles (2.3 km) of right-of-way in Pennsylvania, which was later acquired by Pennsylvania's Monroe County Railroad Authority. In addition to these corporations, Turco created holding companies to oversee these other corporations: Sussex & Warren Holding Company, Inc. and OLC, Inc., (OLC, Old Lackawanna Cut-Off). [9] On the other hand, Goldmeier's 1+1⁄2-mile (2.4 km) section of right-of-way, which passed through short sections of Roxbury Township (Port Morris and Landing) in Morris County and Hopatcong Borough and Byram Township in Sussex County, was held as one parcel.
By 2001, New Jersey and Pennsylvania had acquired their respective portions of the Cut-Off for a total of $21 million. [11]
In 2003, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) secured initial funding for the restoration of passenger rail service between Scranton and New York City. [12]
In July 2006, the final environmental review was submitted to the Federal Transit Administration for review and approval. The following February, the Lackawanna County and Monroe County Railroad Authorities were merged to form the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority. One of the objectives of the new rail authority was to help expedite the effort to restore passenger service on the Scranton Corridor—that is, the tracks in Pennsylvania from the former Lackawanna Cut-Off to Scranton.
In May 2008, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) approved funding for Phase 1—also known as the Lackawanna Cut-Off MOS Trackbed Restoration Project, or Minimal Operating Segment, MOS—of the New Jersey Transit proposal to rebuild the first 7.3 miles (11.7 km) of the Cut-Off between Port Morris Junction and Andover. [13] [14] [11]
Phase 1 would reopen one track on the once-abandoned line with a speed limit as high as 80 mph (130 km/h) for trains made up of existing NJ Transit diesel locomotives and coaches. Eight eastbound and eight westbound trains to and from Hoboken Terminal and/or New York Penn Station would run on weekdays. No weekend service is planned. Additional non-revenue trains (deadhead moves) would run in each direction to move equipment to and from Port Morris Yard.
The project would build a station on Roseville Road in Andover Township with 55 parking spaces and a 200-foot (61 m) high-level platform. Located about 1.1 miles (1.8 km) from U.S. Route 206 and about 0.9 miles (1.4 km) from Sussex County Route 517, the station site is the area's only land parcel of sufficient size that is at grade with the Cut-Off and near a major highway. No DL&W station has previously existed at Andover.
It would also include work on the Roseville Tunnel, which has seen ice buildup within and drainage problems and rockslides just west of the tunnel bore, in Colby Cut. [15] On April 13, 2022, the New Jersey Transit Board of Directors approved a $32.5 million plan to rehabilitate the tunnel and right-of-way to its east and west. [16]
The 2008 approval made the project eligible for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding for engineering and design work. By 2009, the environmental assessment for the remainder of the project to Scranton was completed, with a "Finding of No Significant Impact" (FONSI) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). [17]
Full funding for the $61.6-million Phase 1 was reiterated by the New Jersey Transit Board of Directors on July 21, 2021: a federal earmark grant of $18.1 million plus funds from FTA and the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund (NJTTF). [18]
Brush removal and general preparation to restore trackage between Port Morris and Andover began in early 2011 after being delayed by a disagreement between the NJ-DEP and NJ Transit over the proposed location for Andover Station. Separately, a small area of wetlands was found near County Route 605 in Stanhope where a stream passes along the north side of the right-of-way. Federal regulations governing projects that receive federal funding forbid tree and brush removal from April 1 to October 31 due to the mating season of the endangered Indiana bat. [11]
The laying of track began from Port Morris in September 2011. By December 2011, about 1 mile (1.6 km) of track had been installed west of Port Morris Junction, at which time a Norfolk Southern train delivered the remaining continuously welded rail to the Cut-Off at Port Morris, which will be used to ultimately reach Andover.
Environmental permits were issued for the non-Roseville parts of the project in April 2015, and NJ Transit acquired 3.53 acres of wetlands mitigation credits to compensate for the loss of wetlands in building Andover Station. No further permits are required, although NJDEP officials, citing computer models, determined that a theoretical 100-year flood required the replacement of a 219-foot (67 m) section of underground pipe that fed water from a wetlands area into Andover Junction Brook about 500 feet (150 m) upstream from Andover Station. The pipe crossed land owned by the private Hudson Farm (which is owned by IAT Reinsurance Ltd.), which had initially refused to allow the work. This stalled Phase 1. [19] However, on August 9, 2017, it was announced that a deal had been reached to move the culvert away from the property, and that the plan had been ratified by the New Jersey Transit Board of Directors. [2] On April 9, 2018, the Andover Township Committee announced that it had reached a tentative agreement with Hudson Farm to buy the land on which the original culvert is located. [20] On June 25, 2018, the Andover Township Committee agreed to pay Hudson Farm $115,000 for the land. [21]
As of 2022 [update] , about 4 miles (6.4 km) of rail has been laid in three discontinuous sections (described in the table below) between Port Morris and Lake Lackawanna. Most of the right-of-way between Port Morris Junction and the lake has been cleared of trees and debris. Since 2013, NJ Transit has been storing retired locomotives on a short section of the Cut-Off near Port Morris Junction.
From 2020 to 2022, NJ Transit qualified bidders for the Roseville Tunnel Rehabilitation Project, then awarded a $32.5 million contract to Secaucus-based Schiavone Construction on April 13, 2022. NJ Transit issued a Notice to Proceed on September 8, 2022, and work began that month. [22] Work on Roseville Tunnel followed the culvert work. [23]
NJ Transit service to Andover is projected to begin in 2026. [24]
Section | Milepost | to Milepost | Track installed? | Remaining work (estimated completion date) | Photo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Port Morris Junction | 45.8 | -- | Yes* | Install prefabricated #12 switch at junction to replace temporary switch; install Positive Train Control (PTC) and signal system on Cut-Off; lay more track into Port Morris Yard (PMY) from Morristown Line (2025). [*Note – Currently, a temporary connection at the junction, within Port Morris Yard limits, is installed.] | ![]() |
1a. Port Morris Wye Track | PMY | 46.4 | No | Complete grading of cleared wye trackbed; more roadbed work within Port Morris Yard; lay track and reinstall signals to connect yard and mainline. (2025). | ![]() |
2. Port Morris Junction to Route 602 | 45.8 | 47.0 | Yes | Connect wye track to mainline (2025); align track, superelevate curve (2025). | ![]() |
3. Route 602 grade crossing | 47.0 | 47.0 | No | Raise utility wires that cross the railroad right-of-way; adjust height of roadway and/or Cut-Off roadbed; install tracks across roadway with quad gates (2025). This will be a "quiet zone": trains will not sound their horns when approaching. [25] | |
4. Curve at and west of Route 602 grade crossing | 47.0 | 47.1 | No* | Minor right-of-way clearing; lay ballast and track [*Note – temporary track was installed on wooden ties with no ballast and later removed] (2025). | |
5. Tangent track west of Route 602 grade crossing (continues to start of 2nd curve west of Port Morris) | 47.1 | 47.6 | Yes | Add ballast; align track (2025). | ![]() |
6. 2nd curve west of Port Morris (includes new and old Route 605 overhead bridges) | 47.6 | 48.0 | No | Clear right-of-way; lay ballast and track; remediate adjacent stream (2025). | ![]() |
7. Section east of Lake Lackawanna (includes tangent track and 3rd and 4th curves west of Port Morris) | 48.0 | 50.0 | Yes | Track ends at Lake Lackawanna. Add ballast; align track and superelevate curves (2025). | ![]() |
8. Lake Lackawanna to Roseville Tunnel (tangent track) | 50.0 | 51.6 | No | Clear right-of-way and re-lay track; rehabilitate Roseville Road underpass just east of tunnel, C-18 (2025). | ![]() |
9. Roseville Tunnel (tangent track) | 51.6 | 51.8 | No | Lower tunnel floor; waterproof tunnel ceiling with membrane liner; deepen drainage ditches; install lighting in tunnel; perform clearing and rockslide abatement for 1700 feet (600 m) west and 200 feet (70 m) east of tunnel; install radio system in tunnel (2024). [26] | ![]() |
10. Roseville Tunnel to Andover Station (on 5th curve west of Port Morris) | 51.8 | 52.9 | No | Clear right-of-way; improve drainage immediately west of tunnel; scale back rock wall and place rockslide protection west of tunnel; replace Roseville Road overhead bridge, C-17 (new bridge opened in 2018; other aspects 2024). | ![]() |
11. Andover Station | 52.9 | 53.1 | No | Replace culvert 500 feet (150 m) upstream from station on private land (2022); clear station area of trees and regrade; build parking lot and connect to nearby Roseville Road; build station building and platform; west of the station, install about 1,000 feet (300 m) of track and a switch to a siding of about the same length; install end-of-track devices; install signs at station and directional signs at nearby roads (2022–2026). | |
No phases have been defined beyond Phase 1 (Port Morris Junction–Andover). Proposed future phases would extend the line west of Andover to Delaware Water Gap, Scranton (88 miles (142 km) west of Port Morris), and possibly Binghamton, New York, based on funding availability.
A 2020 Amtrak service expansion map, updated in May 2021, included restored service between New York and Scranton. The proposal did include a stop at Delaware Water Gap. [27] [28]
On March 22, 2023, Amtrak published a study of its proposal to operate passenger trains between New York Penn Station and Scranton, Pennsylvania. The service would initially provide three round-trip trains per day, estimating a 136-mile (219 km) trip time of 2 hours 50 minutes. The most significant capital costs for the project would be related to the upgrading of track in Pennsylvania; reactivating the Lackawanna Cut-Off between Andover station in Andover Township, New Jersey and Slateford Junction, Pennsylvania; and the cost of purchasing two or three Airo trainsets for Amtrak. The study noted that federal funding agencies were still choosing among various proposed rail projects but suggested that service could begin as early as 2028. [29]
This study was initiated in July 2021 when Amtrak entered into an agreement to formally assess the infrastructure, ridership, and revenue of the route in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority, with an approximate $400,000 cost. [30] [31] At that time, U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright, who represents Pennsylvania's 8th District, announced the formation of a congressional Lackawanna Cut-Off Rail Restoration Caucus focused on completing the project. The founding members were Cartwright, Susan Wild of Pennsylvania's 7th District, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey's 11th District, and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey's 5th District. [32]
In October 2022, Pennsylvania awarded $3.7 million to the Monroe County Industrial Development Authority for replacing 43,000 railroad ties on 40 miles (64 km) of the line west from the Delaware Water Gap past Tobyhanna. The funds are half the required amount and allow the authority to apply for the remaining dollars from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The replacement is part of track upgrades needed to allow passenger trains to travel up to 80 miles per hour (130 km/h). [33]
In December 2023, the FRA accepted New York–Scranton into its Corridor Identification and Development Program established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The move allocates money for planning and prioritizes the route for future funding. [34]
In 2007, the estimated cost of a full build-out to Scranton was $516 million ($758,200,000 today [35] ) with an annual operating cost of $26 million. This would include track, stations, signals, and bridgework on the Cut-Off; additional stations and signals in Pennsylvania; and additional locomotives and passenger cars dedicated to the route. No estimates for building and operating any intermediate phases were made at the time. [36]
This full build-out to Scranton would include:
All stations would have high-level platforms and would comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. Service would be scheduled to Hoboken and New York City. By 2030, it is estimated that NJ Transit commuter service could transport 6,000 passengers a day to jobs in northern New Jersey and New York City. Amtrak is expected to perform its own ridership estimates which would be based on both commuter and non-commuter (recreational and tourist) passenger volumes.
In October 2015, a study to update the 2007 data was requested by the FTA as a prerequisite for project funding west of Andover. [37] The Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration – Commuter Rail Study, released in December 2019, found that the capital costs for reactivating the railroad from Andover to a new station at Delaware Water Gap would be about $288.93 million. The figure, which included the cost of reinstalling about 21 miles of tracks, upgrading two major bridges, and other related work, is roughly half the 2006 estimate of $551 million, largely because it excludes building the new stations, maintenance facilities, and other upgrades included in the earlier study that involved work on the additional 55 miles (88.7 km) of railroad between the Delaware Water Gap and Scranton not covered within the scope of the study. [38]
The 2019 study cost about $1 million, funded by local, state, and federal grants assembled by the office of U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright. [1] It was prepared by Greenman-Pederson, Inc. of Scranton, PA (supported by sub-consultant Gannett-Fleming, Inc.) for the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority and the Lackawanna County Department of Planning and Economic Development. [38]
The scope of work included: assessments of the condition of the Paulinskill and Delaware River Viaducts; conceptual evaluation of a rail station and parking garage layout at Delaware Water Gap; a desk-top assessment of track geometry and rail operating speeds along the corridor; desk-top assessment of signaling and Positive Train Control needs in the corridor; assessments of the existing track, drainage and railroad bed condition in the corridor; conceptual layout of a bridge to carry Slateford Road over the restored passenger line; underwater inspection of the three river piers of the Delaware River Viaduct; and conceptual and updated cost estimates for the anticipated improvements. [38]
The total conceptual construction costs for the project were preliminarily estimated to be $288,930,000. The individual cost elements were broken down as follows: Water Gap Rail Station ($32,630,000); right-of-way acquisition at the Delaware Water Gap Station ($1,500,000); Slateford Road Overhead Bridge construction and nearby culvert repairs ($3,320,000); signals and Positive Train Control ($8,190,000); track restoration in Pennsylvania (Delaware River Viaduct to Slateford Junction) ($16,610,000); track Restoration in New Jersey (Andover to Delaware River Viaduct) ($112,600,000); Delaware River Viaduct Rehabilitation ($54,000,000); Paulinskill Viaduct Rehabilitation ($16,000,000); and design, environmental and engineering costs ($44,080,000). [38] The source of the funding for this scenario has not yet been identified.
In December 2008, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, sent a letter to Amtrak president Joseph Boardman, expressing his support for Amtrak service between Scranton and Binghamton, New York. In April 2009, U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey, Jr., Democrats of Pennsylvania, sent a joint letter to President Barack Obama, seeking support for Amtrak service between the two cities. They also cited an Amtrak feasibility study on the subject. [39]
mi* (km) | Town | Station/Landmark | Coordinates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
45.8 (73.7) | Roxbury Township | Port Morris Junction | 40°54′28″N74°40′11″W / 40.907820°N 74.669852°W | Junction between Lackawanna Cut-Off and Montclair-Boonton Line to Hoboken Terminal and Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan (via Midtown Direct service). Nearest station: Lake Hopatcong, milepost 45.5. NJT's Port Morris railyard is also here. (Morris Canal passed under the Cut-Off just west of yard tower until it was filled in by the mid-1920s). |
51.6 (83.0) | Byram Township | Roseville Tunnel | 40°58′16″N74°42′38″W / 40.971043°N 74.710550°W | 1,040-foot (320 m) double-track tunnel. [17] |
53 (85) | Andover Township | Andover | 40°58′53″N74°43′49″W / 40.981389°N 74.730278°W | Planned NJT station. [40] |
57.6 (92.7) | Green Township | Greendell | 40°58′31″N74°49′08″W / 40.975305°N 74.81892°W | Proposed NJ Transit maintenance facility on Cut-Off. Station and tower closed in 1938. Amtrak has not announced whether it would intend to use the station area at Greendell. [17] |
60.7 (97.7) | Frelinghuysen Township | Johnsonburg | 40°58′14″N74°52′39″W / 40.97044°N 74.877417°W | DL&W station closed 1940; partially rebuilt in early 1990s; demolished in 2007. |
64.8 (104.3) | Blairstown Township | Blairstown | 40°58′06″N74°57′14″W / 40.9682°N 74.953783°W | Proposed NJT station, possibly using existing station building, which is now privately owned. The only regularly scheduled stop for DL&W/EL passenger trains on the Cut-Off. [40] [41] |
71.6 (115.2) | Knowlton Township | Paulinskill Viaduct | 40°56′53″N75°03′41″W / 40.9480°N 75.0613°W | Also called Hainesburg Viaduct. |
73 (117) | Stateline (NJ/PA)(Delaware River) | Delaware River Viaduct | 40°56′15″N75°06′21″W / 40.9376°N 75.1057°W | ![]() |
74.3 (119.6) | Slateford | Slateford Junction | 40°57′00″N75°06′58″W / 40.9500°N 75.1160°W | Junction between Lackawanna Cut-Off and Old Road. Interlocking tower. |
77.2 (124.2) | Delaware Water Gap | Delaware Water Gap | 40°59′30″N75°08′25″W / 40.991667°N 75.140278°W | Proposed station [40] about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) west of station vacated in 1967. Amtrak is not proposing a station stop at Delaware Water Gap. |
81.6 (131.3) | East Stroudsburg | East Stroudsburg | 40°59′56″N75°10′55″W / 40.998889°N 75.181944°W | Proposed station, south of old station site. [40] |
86.8 (139.7) | Analomink | Analomink | 41°02′26″N75°12′45″W / 41.0405°N 75.2124°W | Proposed station. Amtrak is not proposing a station stop at Analomink. [40] |
100.3 (161.4) | Mount Pocono | Pocono Mountain | 41°07′03″N75°21′16″W / 41.1175°N 75.3545°W | Proposed station north of former station in Coolbaugh Township near ![]() |
107.6 (173.2) | Tobyhanna | Tobyhanna | 41°10′46″N75°25′06″W / 41.1795°N 75.4182°W | Proposed station using a building closed in January 1958. [42] |
133.1 (214.2) | Scranton | Scranton | 41°24′37″N75°40′20″W / 41.4103°N 75.6721°W | Proposed station [40] southwest of old station and DL&W regional headquarters building, now a Radisson Hotel. Former station stops at Gouldsboro and Moscow, between Tobyhanna and Scranton, are not proposed as station stops for this service at present. |
(* Miles from Hoboken, NJ.)
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 Erie Lackawanna Railway, known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route".
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.
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.
Newark Broad Street station is a New Jersey Transit commuter rail and light rail station at 25 University Avenue in Newark, New Jersey. Built in 1903, the station's historic architecture includes an elegant clock tower and a brick and stone façade on the station's main building. In June 1984, the station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its historical significance.
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 is provided 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 platform with shelter, and an abandoned side platform. There is no accessibility for handicapped people.
The Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority (PNRRA) is a bi-county creation of both Lackawanna and Monroe counties to oversee the use of common rail freight lines in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The designated freight operator of the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority lines is the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad and tourism operator is Steamtown National Historic Site.
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.
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).
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.
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).
Tobyhanna station is a proposed NJ Transit commuter rail station that is located in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The station forms part of a site owned by a number of public and private entities including the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority.
Pocono Mountain is a proposed New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (NJT) station located in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania and is part of a site that was formerly utilized as a summer camp. The proposed station site, which will include a 1,000-space surface parking lot, is located northwest of a multi-phased planned development for this area. Access will be from Pennsylvania Route 611 via Pocono Municipal Road/Mount Pocono Road and a local access road and the platform would be situated east of the track.
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.
Roseville Tunnel is a 1,024-foot (312 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.
Greendell is one of three original railway stations built by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W) along its Lackawanna Cut-Off line in northwestern New Jersey. The station, which still stands in Green Township at milepost 57.61 on the Cut-Off, began operations on December 23, 1911, one day before the line itself opened and the first revenue train arrived.
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. The line remains under construction. 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.
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.