North Bergen Yard

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Yard entrance at 69th Street NorthBergenYard CSXsign.JPG
Yard entrance at 69th Street

The North Bergen Yard is freight rail yard and intermodal terminal in North Bergen, New Jersey parallel to Tonnelle Avenue between 49th and 69th Streets. Located within the North Jersey Shared Assets Area, the facility is part of CSX Transportation (CSXT) and the origination point of its CSX River Subdivision at the southern end of the Albany Division. On its west side, the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) runs the length of the yard and operates a bulk transloading operation immediately adjacent to it.

Contents

Background

A rail right of way was laid at the foot of the western slope of the Bergen Hill (the lower Hudson Palisades) in 1859 by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey to Croxton, Jersey City, and by 1874 the Hudson Connecting Railway had parallel alignment, now part of NYSW. In 1883 the West Shore Railroad had also laid tracks. The lines travelled to Marion Junction where using the New Jersey Railroad (later the Pennsylvania (PRR)) they passed through the Bergen Hill Cut to the Pennsylvania RR Depot at Exchange Place. Passenger service passing through yard was provided by the Erie Railroad's Northern Branch, which along with NYSW for a time stopped at Susquehanna Transfer, about a half mile to the south of the yard before proceeding to the Pavonia Terminal. After 1886, and until discontinuation of service in 1959, West Shore Railroad trains travelling to and from Weehawken Terminal would join the right of way at a rail junction at the yards southern end just west of its tunnel under Bergen Hill. This tunnel was also later used by Conrail's River Line until in an agreement with New Jersey Transit the trackage was upgraded and freight shifted to the west side of the Hudson Palisades. [1] The yard was owned by Conrail. [2]

Southbound

The new trackage south of yard travels into Jersey City. Known as the Northern Running Track, it junctions with the National Docks Secondary which travels southeast through the Long Dock Tunnel to Port Jersey. At Marion Junction it becomes the Marion Running Track to the Passaic and Harsimus Line which travels southwest across the Hackensack River, the Kearny Meadows and the Passaic River to Oak Island Yard. The running track also provides a connection to Norfolk Southern's intermodal operations at Croxton Yard from the south.

NYSW operations terminate at the Landbridge Terminal. near Secaucus Road. [3]

HBLR Northern Branch and Passaic Bergen Hudson Transit

The current northern terminus of the Hudson Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) is a balloon loop just west of the Tonnelle Avenue station directly adjacent to the yard. The Northern Branch Corridor Project is a proposed restoration of passenger service through an extension of the HBLR. Plans call for a flyover over the yard and light rail trackage along it western side. [4] 69th Street station would serve passengers on two lines under consideration by NJ Transit, the Northern Branch and the Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project [5]

69th Street Bridge

In February 2019, at the northern end of the yard, work was completed on a bridge to replace the grade crossing at 69th Street between Tonnelle Avenue and West Side Avenue, parallel to the Cromakill Creek. [6] Significant delays caused by long trains created considerable congestion for those working and shopping in the area. [7] Located midway between the current terminus near 49th Street and the first proposed station at 91st Street, the site was at one time planned to be a stop along the HBLR Northern Branch Corridor, [8] though current plans do not include one. [6]

Estimated to cost $67 million in 2005, the project had sporadic funding since its inception. [9] In May 2006, NJT announced that $38 million had been allocated for the project. [10] Approval for construction was given in 2007 [11] and ground was broken in October 2008. [7] The New Jersey Department of Transportation had allocated multi-year funding for the project in its Capital Program: $10 million in 2009, [12] $15 million in 2010 [13] $10 million in 2011 [14] [15] at which time remaining construction costs were estimated to be $55 million. [15] There was no allocation made for 2012. [16]

Ground was broken in October 2008 but construction was delayed for years due to the first construction company's inadequacies and subsequent cancellation of their contract. It finally opened in February 2019. [17]

Northbound

Above 69th Street trackage continues north to the former Granton Junction and Babbitt Station [18] CSX's stub-ended Northern Branch continues north as a spur line to the New York State Line. The right of way shared by CSX and NYSW mainlines veers to the northwest to the Little Ferry Yard, [19] which despite its name is located in Ridgefield, New Jersey under the New Jersey Turnpike. It then crosses Overpeck Creek, passing Ridgefield Park (NYCRR/NYS&W station) into Bogota, where CSX and NYSW diverge.

CSX trackage to this point was formerly part of the Bergen Subdivision, The River Line continues north along the original West Shore Railroad alignment through Bergen County, New Jersey and Rockland County, New York reaching the river for which it is named after passing through a tunnel at Haverstraw, and continuing north to a point near Selkirk Yard where it junctions with the Port Subdivision and Castleton Subdivision.

The NYSW at Bogota veers west crossing the Hackensack River, and at Paterson, the Passaic River to Sparta. It crosses the state line into New York at Warwick.

See also

Related Research Articles

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

New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State 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 the adjacent major cities of New York and Philadelphia. In 2021, the system had a ridership of 133,463,800.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson–Bergen Light Rail</span> Light rail system in New Jersey, United States

The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit (NJT) and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City, and North Bergen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway</span> American freight railway

The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in the northeastern U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Branch</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Line (Conrail)</span>

The River Line was a Conrail rail line located between Jersey City, New Jersey and Selkirk, New York, running along the west side of the Hudson Palisades and, after passing through a tunnel at Haverstraw, New York, along the west bank of the Hudson River. It was previously the New York Central's West Shore Railroad and Weehawken Branch. The River Line has since been split into several sections, following the 1999 division of Conrail assets between Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey Midland Railway</span>

The New Jersey Midland Railway was a 19th-century predecessor to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) that operated in Northern New Jersey and Orange County, New York.

The Northern Branch Corridor Project is a proposed extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) from its northern terminus into eastern Bergen County, New Jersey, initially proposed in 2001. If built, the new service would use the right-of-way of the Northern Branch on which the Erie Lackawanna Railroad ran passenger service until October 3, 1966, and is currently a lightly used, stub-ended freight rail line owned by CSX Transportation. The Northern Branch Corridor is at the foot of the west side of the Hudson Palisades in the Hackensack River valley, running for much of its length parallel to Overpeck Creek. After mixed reactions and extensive community input to a draft environmental impact statement (EIS), it was decided in 2013 to terminate the line at the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. In March 2017 the Supplementary Draft Environmental Impact Statement was approved by the Federal Transit Administration allowing for a period of public reaction. A separately-conceived and funded bridge at 69th St. in North Bergen, necessary for operation of the system, has been completed. In 2017 NJ Transit estimated that the line would open in 2029.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project</span>

The Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project is a project under study by NJ Transit to reintroduce passenger service on a portion of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) right-of-way (ROW) in Passaic, Bergen and Hudson counties using newly built, FRA-compliant diesel multiple unit rail cars. Plans call for service to run from Hawthorne south through Paterson, east to Hackensack and then southeast to North Bergen, where it would join the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR).

Light rail in New Jersey is provided by NJ Transit, a state-owned corporation which also provides bus and commuter rail services. In 2021, the light rail system had a ridership of 13,929,300. Light rail, among other forms of transit, is a major part of the state's Smart Growth policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Docks Secondary</span>

National Docks Secondary is a freight rail line within Conrail's North Jersey Shared Assets Area in Hudson County, New Jersey, used by CSX Transportation. It provides access for the national rail network to maritime, industrial, and distribution facilities at Port Jersey, the Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne (MOTBY), and Constable Hook as well as carfloat operations at Greenville Yard. The line is an important component in the planned expansion of facilities in the Port of New York and New Jersey. The single track right of way comprises rail beds, viaducts, bridges, and tunnels originally developed at the end of the 19th century by competing railroads.

Babbitt is a neighborhood in North Bergen Township in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The area, located west of Tonnelle Avenue within the New Jersey Meadowlands District, is home to light manufacturing, warehouses, transportation facilities, and part of the wetlands preservation area known as the Eastern Brackish Marsh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgewater Branch</span>

The Edgewater Branch was a branch of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) that ran about 3.174 miles (5.108 km) through eastern Bergen County, New Jersey in the United States. Starting from a rail junction at the Little Ferry Yard, it went east through the Edgewater Tunnel to Undercliff to the Hudson Waterfront.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Ferry Yard</span>

Little Ferry Yard is a railyard and intermodal terminal in the Port of New York and New Jersey served by the CSX River Subdivision (CSXT), New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW), Norfolk Southern Railway and Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CRCX).

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

Ridgefield Park station, also known as West Shore Station, was a railroad station in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey at the foot of Mount Vernon Street served by the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad (NYSW) and the West Shore Railroad, a division of New York Central (NYCRR). The New York, Ontario and Western Railway (NYO&W) had running rights along the West Shore and sometimes stopped at Ridgefield Park. First opened in 1872 it was one of three passenger stations in the village, the others being the Little Ferry station to the south and Westview station to the north. Service on the West Shore Railroad began in 1883. The station house, built at a cost $100,000 opened in 1927. Southbound service crossed Overpeck Creek and continued to terminals on the Hudson River waterfront where there was connecting ferry service across the Hudson River to Manhattan. Northbound near Bogota the parallel NYSW and West Shore lines diverge and continue into northern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York. Passenger service ended in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">91st Street station (Hudson–Bergen Light Rail)</span>

91st Street is a proposed station along the Northern Branch Corridor Project extension of Hudson-Bergen Light Rail in the Babbitt Section of North Bergen, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hackensack station (New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad)</span>

Hackensack was a railroad station in Hackensack, New Jersey on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway Main Line, which provided passenger service between the 1870s and 1960s. The station at Main and Mercer Streets opened in 1872; it was replaced with one at River Street in 1950. Public Service trolley lines served both stations.

69th Street is a proposed interchange station in North Bergen in Hudson County, New Jersey. It would serve passengers on two lines under consideration by NJ Transit, the Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project and the Northern Branch Corridor Project, the latter of which is an extension of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail. The station would located at-grade west the North Bergen Yard and Tonnelle Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vince Lombardi Park & Ride</span>

The Vince Lombardi Park & Ride is located on the New Jersey Turnpike in the Meadowlands in Ridgefield, Bergen County, New Jersey. The park and ride and separate service area to south of it are dedicated to and named after Vince Lombardi. Located at the edge of the Little Ferry Yard it has been viewed as a potential rail station location since the 1990s and as of 2021, it is under consideration by NJ Transit as part of the Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project.

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

North Bergen was a railroad station in North Bergen, New Jersey, United States known Homestead for most of its existence. It as built in the mid 19th century and served by the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (#1059) and the Erie Railroad's Northern Branch (#1903).

References

  1. ↑ Berliner, Harvey L; Campo, David W.; Dickerson, Charles N.; Mack, Glenn. "Design and Construction of the Weehawken Tunnel and Bergenline Avenue Station for the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail Transit System" (PDF). Civil Design. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  2. ↑ "Proposed Conrail Acquisition (Finance Docket No. 33388) by CSX Corporation and CSX Transportation Inc., and Norfolk Southern Corporation and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS), Control and Operating Leases and Agreements, to Serve Portion of Eastern United States D(6v in 9pts),Dsum,F(7v),Fsum;: Environmental Impact Statement". 1998.
  3. ↑ "North Bergen, NJ". New York Susquehanna and Western. Archived from the original on 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  4. ↑ http://www.epa.gov/region2/spmm/pdf/northern_branch_corridor_deis.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  5. ↑ "Passaic Bergen Hudson Transit Project". Projects & Reports. NJ Transit. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  6. 1 2 "69th Street Bridge" (PDF). Final Scoping Document Northern Branch Corridor Project. USDOT, FTA, NJT. March 2008. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
  7. 1 2 "WORK BEGINS ON 69TH STREET IMPROVEMENTS IN NORTH BERGEN New overpass will enhance safety and relieve traffic congestion" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. October 17, 2008. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  8. ↑ "Proposed West Shore Map". New Jersey Transit. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
  9. ↑ Hague, Jim (June 6, 2005), "Proposed $67M overpass in jeopardy", The Hudson Reporter, retrieved 2011-12-23
  10. ↑ Hague, Jim (May 9, 2006), "Finally - a bridge over the trains 69th Street overpass gets $38M state funding approval", Hudson Reporter, retrieved 2011-12-24
  11. ↑ "NJ Transit Gives 69th Street Bridge Improvements Project "Green Light"" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. July 11, 2007. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  12. ↑ "69th Street Bridge (02311)" (PDF). FY 2009 TRANSPORTATION CAPITAL PROGRAM New Jersey Department of Transportation Projects. New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  13. ↑ "69th Street Bridge (02311)" (PDF). FY 2010 TRANSPORTATION CAPITAL PROGRAM New Jersey Department of Transportation Projects. New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  14. ↑ "69th Street Bridge (02311)" (PDF). FY 2011 TRANSPORTATION CAPITAL PROGRAM New Jersey Department of Transportation Projects. New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  15. 1 2 McDonald, Terrence (March 28, 2011), "$551M in transportation plan for Hudson County", The Jersey Journal, retrieved 2011-12-24
  16. ↑ "FY 2011 TRANSPORTATION CAPITAL PROGRAM New Jersey Department of Transportation Projects" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  17. ↑ Elamroussi, Aya (7 February 2019). "North Bergen's 'Bridge to Nowhere' opens after years of delays". The Jersey Journal. NJ.com. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  18. ↑ Kaminski, Edward S. (2010), NEW YORK, SUSQUEHANNA & WESTERN RAILROAD IN NEW JERSEY, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN   9780738573670
  19. ↑ "Regional Intermodal Rail Facilities". Guide to Port of New York and New Jersey. PANYNJ. 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-03.

Coordinates: 40°47′35″N74°01′48″W / 40.793°N 74.030°W / 40.793; -74.030

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