Montclair Connection

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The new track built, viewed from Bay Street Station. Montclair Connection South.png
The new track built, viewed from Bay Street Station.
Montclair Connection
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Boonton Line
to Hackettstown
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Walnut Street
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Bay Street
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Lackawanna Terminal
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Glen RidgeBenson Street
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Bloomfield
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Watsessing AvenueRowe Street
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Arlington
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Hoboken Terminal

The Montclair Connection is a short section of double-track railroad on the NJ Transit Rail Operations system in New Jersey, United States, connecting the former end of the Montclair Branch at Bay Street station to the old Boonton Line southeast of Walnut Street station.

The connection opened on Monday, September 30, 2002, [1] at a cost of $63 million. [2] [3] At the same time, Bay Street Station was rebuilt and Montclair State University station was built. The Montclair and Boonton lines were combined into the Montclair-Boonton Line, and passenger service was ended on the former Boonton Line east of the connection; the line was single-tracked and used by Norfolk Southern Railway for freight for a time; it is currently out of service. Disuse has caused sections of the line to become derelict, in particular east of the Passaic River where DB and WR drawbridges have been condemned. As part of the project, three Boonton Line stations were closed on September 20, 2002; Benson Street, Rowe Street, and Arlington. [4]

New track alignment to Hoboken curves to the right; old alignment (now single-tracked) veers to the left. Montclair Connection North.png
New track alignment to Hoboken curves to the right; old alignment (now single-tracked) veers to the left.

The Montclair Connection was built to give passengers on the Boonton Line direct access to New York Penn Station; prior to the change, Boonton Line trains could only go to Hoboken Terminal. The idea for the connection was first proposed in 1929 when the Regional Plan Association proposed linking the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Montclair Branch with the Erie Railroad's Greenwood Lake Branch, but the plan was abandoned due to the economic difficulties associated with the Great Depression. [5]

The merger between the Erie and Lackawanna Railroads in 1960 sped up the reconfiguration that was completed in March 1963, when the former Erie Main Line was connected to the Lackawanna’s Boonton Line south of Paterson station to form today’s Main Line. Meanwhile, the Boonton Line west of Mountain View station was linked to the Erie’s Greenwood Lake Branch to form the current Boonton Line. [5]

The reconfiguration again spurred the Montclair Connection idea, and in preparation, service was cut back from Lackawanna Terminal to Bay Street by Conrail in 1981. But the proposal was introduced until the late 1980s, when New Jersey Transit proposed for a one-track connection that would have accommodated only diesel trains. Later, the plans were revised to include a two-track connection and five miles of overhead catenary wires, allowing for electric train service and increased travel destinations. After negotiations with the Township of Montclair, an agreement was reached in 1998, and construction began in 1999. [5]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Line (NJ Transit)</span> Commuter rail line in New Jersey

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<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">Netcong station</span> NJ Transit rail station

Netcong is an NJ Transit station in Netcong, in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Located on Route 46 at Main Street in downtown Netcong, the small, 1-low level side platform station service passengers for the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line. These lines provide service to Hoboken or to New York City via Midtown Direct on the Morristown Line at Dover station and Montclair-Boonton at Montclair State University station. Midtown Direct service can also be transferred at Newark Broad Street station in Newark. There is one track and one platform on the north side, adjacent to the station. NJ Transit maintains a substantial train servicing yard east of the Netcong station at Port Morris in Roxbury Township. Port Morris Yard is proposed to return as the junction of the Montclair-Boonton and Morristown lines for the Lackawanna Cut-Off line to Scranton. Transfers would be provided at Lake Hopatcong station in Landing.

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

Hackettstown is a New Jersey Transit station in Hackettstown, New Jersey. The station is located at the intersection of Valentine Street and Beatty Street and is the western terminus of the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line, which both provide service to Hoboken Terminal or to Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan via Midtown Direct. Hackettstown station is the only active New Jersey Transit station in Warren County. The line from Hackettstown – Dover is diesel powered, requiring a transfer at Dover, Montclair State University or Newark Broad Street to an electrified train to New York Penn Station. Proposals exist of an extension of the Montclair-Boonton Line, including an extension to Washington and possibly Phillipsburg further along the Washington Secondary.

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

Watsessing Avenue station is a New Jersey Transit rail station in Bloomfield, New Jersey, along the Montclair-Boonton Line. It is located beneath the Bloomfield Police Benevolent Association meeting hall near the corner of Watsessing Avenue and Orange Street in Bloomfield. It is one of two stations on the line where the boarding platform is below ground level. The Watsessing station and the Kingsland station in Lyndhurst on the Main Line shared similar designs and were built about the same time.

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

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Notch station</span> Former New Jersey Transit rail station, Little Falls, NJ USA

Great Notch station was a small New Jersey Transit facility in the Great Notch section of Little Falls, New Jersey. The station was served seven times a day, three inbound morning trains to Hoboken Terminal and four outbound evening trains from Hoboken by the Montclair-Boonton Line from Monday to Friday. Located at the intersection of Notch Road and Long Hill Road, it was the second of three stations in Little Falls, the other two being Montclair State University and Little Falls and, after electrification, was the first on the line to be strictly served by diesel trains. However, most trains bypassed this station and continued on to Little Falls (westbound) and Montclair State University (eastbound). The station was served by a double track which ended west of the station. The last trains stopped at the station on January 15, 2010, at 7:41pm.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain View station (NJ Transit)</span> NJ Transit rail station

Mountain View, signed on the platform as Mountain View–Wayne, is a station on the Montclair-Boonton Line of NJ Transit in Wayne, New Jersey. Prior to the Montclair Connection in 2002, the station was served by the Boonton Line. The station is located on Erie Avenue, just off of US 202 and Route 23 in Downtown Wayne. Since January 2008, Mountain View station is the second of two stations in Wayne, the other being the Wayne Route 23 Transit Center, a station off the Westbelt interchange.

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

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

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlington station (NJ Transit)</span>

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<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">WR Draw</span> Bridge in Newark and Kearny, New Jersey

WR Draw is an out-of-service railroad bridge crossing the Passaic River between Newark and the Arlington section of Kearny, New Jersey. The plate girder rim-bearing swing bridge, originally built in 1897 and modified in 1911 and 1950, is the 14th bridge from the river's mouth at Newark Bay and is 8.1 miles (13.0 km) upstream from it. Last used for regular passenger service in 2002, it is welded in closed position as its height is not considered a hazard to navigation.

The Harrison Cut-off is a substantially abandoned north–south rail line constructed by the Lackawanna Railroad for freight and equipment moves, running between Lyndhurst, New Jersey and Harrison, New Jersey and currently owned by NJ Transit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Newark station</span> Former railway station in New Jersey, United States

North Newark was a former commuter railroad train station in the Woodside section of the city of Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. Located at the intersection of Broadway and Verona Avenue, the station served trains on NJ Transit's Boonton Line, which operated at the time between Netcong and Hoboken Terminal. The station consisted of two low-level side platforms, accessible by stairs from Broadway. The next station to the east was Arlington in nearby Kearny, with the next station to the west being Rowe Street in Bloomfield.

References

  1. "New Jersey Transit". www.njtransit.com. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  2. "New Montclair Connection Rail Link Opens Provides direct service to Manhattan and Newark". www.njtransit.com. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  3. Smothers, Ronald (October 1, 2002). "N.J. Transit Links Midtown And Montclair". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  4. Galant, Debra (September 29, 2002). "JERSEY; Montclair's Connection Has Its Price". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Introducing MidTOWN Direct Montclair The Montclair-Boonton Line" (PDF). njtransit.com. New Jersey Transit. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2016.


40°48′37″N74°12′26″W / 40.8102°N 74.2073°W / 40.8102; -74.2073 (Montclair Connection (NJT))