Bergen County Line

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Bergen County Line
Train #1253 departs Glen Rock–Boro Hall.
Overview
OwnerNew Jersey Transit
(Hoboken Terminal to Suffern)
Norfolk Southern Railway
(Suffern to Port Jervis, leased to and maintained by Metro-North Railroad)
LocaleNorthern New Jersey
Termini
Stations12 (to Waldwick)
17 (service to Suffern)
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemNew Jersey Transit Rail Operations
Metro-North Railroad
Operator(s)New Jersey Transit
Rolling stockF40PH-3C/GP40PH-2/ALP-45DP/PL42AC locomotives
Comet V/Multilevel coaches
Daily ridership4,305[1]
Technical
Line length30.5 mi (49.1 km)
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map

Legend
Port Jervis Line
to Port Jervis
30.6 mi
49.2 km
 Suffern Yard
Piermont Branch
30.5 mi
49.1 km
 Suffern
NY
NJ
border
29.1 mi
46.8 km
 Mahwah
Ellipse sign 17.svg Route 17
27.9 mi
44.9 km
 Ramsey Route 17
26.5 mi
42.6 km
 Ramsey
24.6 mi
39.6 km
 Allendale
23.5 mi
37.8 km
Waldwick Yard
23.2 mi
37.3 km
 Waldwick
22.1 mi
35.6 km
 Ho-Ho-Kus
20.9 mi
33.6 km
 Ridgewood
20.2 mi
32.5 km
Ridgewood Junction
MAIN via Paterson
↑ ↑
mileage above via Main Line
18.2 mi
29.3 km
 Glen Rock–Boro Hall
16.5 mi
26.6 km
 Radburn
Ellipse sign 208.svg Route 208
15.3 mi
24.6 km
 Broadway
Ellipse sign 4.svg Route 4
GSPkwy Shield.svg G.S. Parkway
I-80.svg I-80
14.2 mi
22.9 km
Passaic Junction (NYSW Railway)
US 46.svg US 46
12.7 mi
20.4 km
 Plauderville
NYGL Dundee Spur
11.3 mi
18.2 km
 Garfield
Saddle River
10.4 mi
16.7 km
 Wesmont
Erie Main Line
Carlton Hill
closed
Bergen Junction
8.4 mi
13.5 km
 Rutherford
Ellipse sign 17.svg Route 17
7.6 mi
12.2 km
PVL to Spring Valley
Ellipse sign 3.svg Route 3
I-95.svgNew Jersey Turnpike Shield.svg I-95 /
N.J. Turnpike
Western Spur
5.6 mi
9 km
HX Draw (Hackensack River)
former alignment
Harmon Cove
closed
MAIN via Paterson
I-95.svgNew Jersey Turnpike Shield.svg I-95 /
N.J. Turnpike
Eastern Spur
Northeast Corridor
3.5 mi
5.6 km
 Secaucus Junction
former alignment
New York & Greenwood Lake
Boonton Line
Morris & Essex Lines/M&E via Hackettstown
Bergen Tunnels
0.0 mi
0 km
 Hoboken Terminal
ferry/water interchangeHudson–Bergen Light RailPort Authority Trans-Hudson
Hudson River
This diagram:

The Bergen County Line is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line loops off the Main Line between the Meadowlands and Glen Rock, with trains continuing in either direction along the Main Line. It is colored on NJT system maps in grey, and its symbol is a cattail, which are commonly found in the Meadowlands where the line runs.

Some trains of Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line also operate over the line. The Norfolk Southern Railway provides freight service along the line via trackage rights.

As on the Main Line, trains are powered by diesel locomotives operated push-pull, consisting of Comet or MultiLevel coaches.

History[edit]

Share of the Bergen County Railroad Company, issued 1 February 1883

From a point in Secaucus, just south of the Hackensack River bridge near the former Harmon Cove station, to a point in East Rutherford north of the Rutherford station, the Bergen County Line uses the former Erie Railroad Main Line. This portion was opened in 1833 by the Paterson and Hudson River Railroad[2] and leased by the New York and Erie Rail Road in 1852.[3] The rest of the line, from East Rutherford north to Glen Rock, opened in 1881 as the Bergen County Railroad.

Until the late 1950s, the main function of the Erie's Bergen County Cutoff was as a freight (and long-distance express) bypass of the at-grade Main Line through Passaic. Commuter service was relatively minor. In 1963 the Lackawanna Boonton Branch up to Paterson (with a small portion of the Erie's Newark Branch) became the new Erie-Lackawanna Main Line. This was caused by the abandonment of the Main Line section through downtown Passaic and construction of Interstate 80 using the old Boonton Branch right-way in Paterson. The old Main Line east of Rutherford was now exclusively part of the Bergen County Line.

Prior to the opening of Secaucus Junction in 2003, Bergen County Line trains used a longer stretch of the old Erie Main Line in Secaucus, extending south to Croxton Yard and a merge with the former Lackawanna Boonton Branch. A curving track was built between the HX Draw at Hackensack River and the Main Line west of Secaucus Junction to allow Bergen County Line trains to use the new station.[4]

Secaucus train collision[edit]

Main article: 1996 Secaucus train collision

On February 9, 1996, a Bergen County Line train collided with a Main Line train, killing 3 people and injuring 162.[5] It was the New York City area and New Jersey's worst train accident since the 1958 Newark Bay rail accident when at least 48 people died.[6]

2007 Ridgewood Junction derailment[edit]

Main article: 2007 Ridgewood Junction Train Derailment

On February 21, 2007, a Bergen County Line train suffered a minor derailment after passing over an improperly repaired switch at Ridgewood Junction.[7]

Service[edit]

For the route description of the Bergen County Line north of Ridgewood, see Main Line (NJ Transit) § Service, and Port Jervis Line § Service.
Rutherford station

West of Secaucus Junction, the Bergen County Line tracks diverge from the Main Line over a new right-of-way opened on December 15, 2003, connecting the Main Line with the Bergen County Line. During this stretch and traveling westbound, the Hackensack River is to the left, while industrial plants on Meadowlands Parkway are to the right. A former station, Harmon Cove, was located nearby along the old Erie right-of-way and served the high-rise apartments nearby between 1978 and 2003.[8][4]

Soon the train joins the old Erie Main Line right-of-way and crosses the Hackensack over HX Bridge, a two-track bascule draw. For the next two miles, the train crosses the Meadowlands, under the New Jersey Turnpike western spur with the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford visible in the distance to the right. Here, the track parallels Berrys Creek and eventually crosses it just before passing below Route 3.

Beyond Route 3, the landscape changes to industrial. Office buildings line the side of the track, some serviced by sidings. The Pascack Valley Line soon splits off to the right at Pascack Junction, and the train then crosses Route 17 and approaches the Rutherford station.

For a half-mile the train passes residences on either side, then swings right, abandoning the old Erie Main Line at 40°50′10″N 74°06′15″W / 40.836°N 74.1042°W / 40.836; -74.1042, and passes through industrial areas with several grade crossings. Soon, the tracks form the border of Carlstadt and Wallington. Presently the train passes Wood-Ridge and South Hackensack before reaching the Wesmont station, which opened on May 15, 2016.[9] The train then swings left, crossing the Saddle River, and then right, into Garfield reaching the Garfield station.[10][citation needed]

The train continues northward through Garfield, passing homes, businesses, and Dahnerts Lake County Park before reaching the Plauderville station at Midland Avenue, the border between Garfield and neighboring Saddle Brook. Shortly after passing beneath U.S. Highway 46 the track becomes the border of Saddle Brook and Elmwood Park, once again crossing Midland Avenue. Interstate 80 passes above the train, which then crosses the Garden State Parkway. The Broadway station in Fair Lawn straddles a border formed by the track and Route 4.

In Fair Lawn, the line is paralleled by Plaza Road, named for Radburn Plaza, the commercial area serving the Radburn development for which the borough's more northerly station is named. The line crosses below Route 208 before reaching Radburn. Beyond the station, the train passes housing to the right and industry to the left, with a spur to a Nabisco plant. Next is the Glen Rock-Boro Hall station which like its Main Line counterpart is on Rock Road. The lines merge a short distance north of this point at Ridgewood Junction. The trains will continue north to either Waldwick or Suffern, and some peak trains will terminate at Ridgewood, which is the first station after the two lines join.[11]

Stations[edit]

State Zone[12] Location Station[12] Mile (km) Date opened Date closed Line services Connections[12]
BC ML PJ
NJ 1 Hoboken Hoboken Terminal Disabled access 0.0 (0.0) 1903 ● ● ● NJ Transit Rail: Gladstone, Main Line, Meadowlands, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, North Jersey Coast, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley Lines
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail: 8th Street-Hoboken, Hoboken-Tonnelle lines
PATH: HOB-WTC, HOB-33, JSQ-33 (via HOB)
NJ Transit Bus: 22, 23, 63, 64, 68, 85, 87, 89, 126
New York Waterway to Battery Park City
Secaucus Secaucus Junction Disabled access 3.5 (5.6) December 15, 2003[13] ● ● ● NJ Transit Rail (upper level): Gladstone, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast, and Raritan Valley lines
NJ Transit Rail (lower level): Main, Meadowlands and Pascack Valley lines
NJ Transit Bus: 2, 78, 129, 329, 353
3 Harmon Cove June 26, 1978[14] August 4, 2003[15]
Rutherford Rutherford Disabled access 8.4 (13.5) December 4, 1833[16] ● NJ Transit Bus: 76, 190
4 Wood-Ridge Wesmont 10.4 (16.7) May 15, 2016[9][17] ●
Garfield Garfield 11.3 (18.2) October 1, 1881[18][19] ● NJ Transit Bus: 160, 161, 702, 707, 709, 758
Spring Tank October 1, 1881[18] ● Former station at Belmont Avenue in Garfield.[18][20]
5 Plauderville Disabled access 12.7 (20.4) ● NJ Transit Bus: 160, 758
6 Fair Lawn Broadway 15.3 (24.6) October 1, 1881[19] ● NJ Transit Bus: 144, 166, 770
Radburn 16.5 (26.6) October 1, 1881[19][21] ● NJ Transit Bus: 145, 171
8 Glen Rock Glen Rock–Boro Hall 18.2 (29.3) October 1, 1881[19] ● NJ Transit Bus: 164, 175, 746
9 Ridgewood Ridgewood Disabled access 20.9 (33.6) October 19, 1848[22][23] ● ● NJ Transit Bus: 163, 164, 175, 722, 746, 752
10 Ho-Ho-Kus Ho-Ho-Kus 22.1 (35.6) October 19, 1848[22][23] ● ●
Waldwick Waldwick 23.2 (37.3) 1886[24] ● ●
11 Allendale Allendale 24.6 (39.6) October 19, 1848[22][23] ● ●
12 Ramsey Ramsey Disabled access 26.5 (42.6) October 19, 1848[25] ● ●
13 Ramsey Route 17 Disabled access 27.9 (44.9) August 22, 2004[26] ● ● ●
14 Mahwah Mahwah 29.1 (46.8) October 19, 1848[22][23] ● ● ● Short Line Bus: 17
NY Suffern Suffern 30.5 (49.1) June 30, 1841[27][28] ● ● ● Transport of Rockland: 59, 93, Monsey Loop 3, Tappan ZEExpress
Short Line Bus: 17M/MD/SF

Bibliography[edit]

  • Clayton, W. Woodford (1882). History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Everts & Peck. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  • Lucas, Walter Arndt (1944). From the Hills to the Hudson: A History of the Paterson and Hudson River Rail Road and its Associates, the Paterson and Ramapo, and the Union Railroads. New York, New York: The Cornwall Press. hdl:2027/uc1.b4536228. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  • Mott, Edward Harold (1899). Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie. New York, New York: John S. Collins. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  • Poor, Henry Varnum (1884). Poor's Manual of Railroads. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: H.V. & H.W. Poor. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  • Van Valen, James M. (1900). History of Bergen County, New Jersey. New York, New York: New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Company. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  • Wardell, Patricia Webb (1994). Allendale: Background of a Borough. Allendale, New Jersey: Allendale Historical Society. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  • Citizens Semi-Centennial Association (1916). Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, Past and Present. Ridgewood, New Jersey: Citizens Semi-Centennial Association. Retrieved December 22, 2020.

References[edit]

  1. ^ NJT boarding data[permanent dead link] Berkeley Retrieved July 13, 2008
  2. ^ "PRR Chronology, 1833" (PDF). (61.1 KiB), June 2004 Edition
  3. ^ "PRR Chronology, 1852" (PDF). (83.5 KiB), March 2005 Edition
  4. ^ a b "Harmon Cove Information". njtransit.com. New Jersey Transit. June 27, 2003. Archived from the original on June 28, 2003. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  5. ^ "NEAR HEAD-ON COLLISION AND DERAILMENT OF TWO NEW JERSEY TRANSIT COMMUTER TRAINS NEAR SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY FEBRUARY 9, 1996" National Transportation Safety Board
  6. ^ Lee, Henry. "New Jersey Train Plunges off a Bridge into Newark Bay Killing more than 40 People". nydailynews.
  7. ^ Medina, Toni. "NJ TRANSIT". NJ TRANSIT. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  8. ^ "Station is dedicated". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. June 20, 1978. p. B5. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Clark, Susan Joy (May 19, 2016). "Train station opens at Wesmont Development in Wood-Ridge". North Jersey.com. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  10. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps.
  11. ^ "Main/Bergen County Line Master File" (PDF). NJTransit.com. NJTransit.
  12. ^ a b c "Main / Bergen County Lines Timetables - November 19, 2014 edition" (PDF). New York, New York: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2002. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  13. ^ Frassinelli, Mike (June 5, 2013). "U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg gets one last ride at the Secaucus station that bears his name". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  14. ^ New York Division Bulletin. Electric Railroaders' Association. August 2003. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ^ Sullivan, Al. "Harmon Cove Station will close Bus shuttle service to new station will start in July", The Hudson Reporter, February 1, 2003. Accessed December 28, 2016."
  16. ^ Lucas 1944, p. 122.
  17. ^ Moss, Linda (May 15, 2016). "After 5 years of missed deadlines, Wesmont train station in Wood-Ridge opens". The Record. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  18. ^ a b c "A Short History of Garfield". The Garfield Guardian. January 11, 1963. pp. 1, 3. Retrieved July 28, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  19. ^ a b c d Poor 1884, p. 167.
  20. ^ Colton's Road Map of Bergen County, New Jersey (Map). New York, New York: G.W. & C.B. Colton & Co. 1896. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  21. ^ Clayton 1882, p. 203.
  22. ^ a b c d "Common Council". The New York Herald. October 17, 1848. p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  23. ^ a b c d "Ramapo and Paterson and Paterson and Hudson River Railroads". The Evening Post. New York, New York. December 7, 1848. p. 4. Retrieved June 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  24. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form -- Waldwick Railroad Station". National Park Service. September 21, 1977. p. 8. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  25. ^ "Synopsis of Erie History". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. April 2, 1963. pp. 1, 6. Retrieved March 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  26. ^ "NJ Transit Announces Opening of Ramsey Route 17 Station" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. August 6, 2004.
  27. ^ Mott 1899, p. 331.
  28. ^ Seymour, HC (October 28, 1841). "Eastern Division of the New York and Erie Railroad". The Evening Post. New York, New York. p. 1. Retrieved July 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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