This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Main Line" NJ Transit – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Main Line
A Main Line train led by aGP40PH-2B atRamsey.
Overview
Owner	NJ Transit Rail Operations
Locale	Northern New Jersey andHudson Valley,New York, United States
Termini	Hoboken Terminal Suffern
Stations	17
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	New Jersey Transit Rail Operations Metro-North Railroad
Operator(s)	NJ Transit Rail Operations
Rolling stock	F40PH-3C/GP40PH-2/ALP-45DP/PL42AC locomotives Comet V/Multilevel coaches
Daily ridership	9,160[1]
Technical
Line length	95 mi (153 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge
Route map Show interactive map Legend Port Jervis Line toPort 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 (limited service for MNRR) 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 BCL viaFair Lawn 19.4 mi 31.2 km Glen Rock–Main Line Route 208 17.7 mi 28.5 km Hawthorne New York, Susquehanna & Western RR Passaic River River Street 15.6 mi 25.1 km Paterson I-80 Erie Main Line South Paterson Boonton Branch G.S. Parkway Newark Branch US 46 12.2 mi 19.6 km Clifton 10.6 mi 17.1 km Passaic 9.3 mi 15 km Delawanna Route 3 Route 21 Lyndhurst Draw (Passaic River) 8.2 mi 13.2 km Lyndhurst Route 17 7.6 mi 12.2 km Kingsland Harrison Cut-off Kingsland Tunnel I-95 / N.J. Turnpike Western Spur Upper Hack Lift (Hackensack River) BCL viaFair Lawn 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&EviaHackettstown Bergen Tunnels 0.0 mi 0 km Hoboken Terminal Hudson River This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram map

TheMain Line (orErie Main Line) is acommuter rail line owned and operated byNew Jersey Transit running fromSuffern,New York toHoboken,New Jersey, in the United States. It runs daily commuter service and was once the north–south main line of theErie Railroad. It is colored yellow on NJ Transit system maps, and its symbol is awater wheel.^[2]

TheBergen County Line splits off the Main Line just west of theSecaucus Junction transfer station and rejoins it atRidgewood. Trains on both lines arepush-pull, powered by diesel locomotives (ordinarily on the west end of the train). These include not only the GP40PH-2s, F40PH locos, GP40FH-2s, and PL42AC locos but it also includes the dual mode ALP-45DP locomotives too, and consists range from Comet V cars to Multilevel Coaches while some trains may also use Comet IIM or IV cars on rare occasions.

TheErie Railroad's main line ran fromJersey City toChicago viaBinghamton andJamestown, New York,Akron andMarion, Ohio, andHuntington, Indiana, with branches toBuffalo,Cleveland, andDayton. The section in New Jersey and lower New York State saw frequent commuter service to the waterfrontPavonia Terminal, Jersey City, with connections to thePavonia Ferry toLower Manhattan.

The Erie Railroad's major long-distance passenger trains toChicago, theAtlantic Express and Pacific Express, theErie Limited, and theLake Cities, ran along this section, through Passaic,Paterson, Ridgewood, on toPort Jervis, northwest toBinghamton, New York State'sSouthern Tier,Jamestown, and west to Chicago. The final long-distance train along this route was theAtlantic Express and Pacific Express in 1965.^[3]

In 1963, the Erie Main Line south ofPaterson to its connection with the Bergen County Line south ofCarlton Hill inRutherford was abandoned and service began using the formerLackawannaBoonton Branch south of Paterson via theLyndhurst Draw andUpper Hack Lift bridges as the route through downtownPassaic was abandoned. Nominal Boonton Line service began using the Erie'sGreenwood Lake division up to its junction with the Lackawanna Boonton Branch at Mountain View inWayne as the Lackawanna right-of-way in Paterson was used for the construction ofInterstate 80 andNew Jersey State Highway 19. The Erie Jersey City terminal was abandoned circa 1959 after all Erie service had moved to the Lackawanna Hoboken Terminal.

Service under Erie Lackawanna introduced newGE U34CH diesels and Comet I cars in 1970 which lasted under NJ DOT and Conrail into the NJ Transit era. Metro-North took over service north of Suffern in 1983. Effective April 18, 1983,Metro-North Railroad shifted itsPort Jervis Line service to run on theGraham Line freight bypass, thus ending the direct passenger route fromHarriman through Monroe and Goshen to Middletown. Service was increased along with the opening of theSecaucus Junction station in late 2003.

On February 9, 1996, a Main Line train was involved in acollision with a Bergen County Line train in Secaucus.

Departing the historic 1907-builtHoboken Terminal, the yards for the coaches to the left, trains pass over two city streets and theHudson Bergen Light Rail before entering theBergen Tunnels under theBergen Hill section ofHudson Palisades. Midway through the tunnel there are air shafts allowing light through and venting out the diesel fumes. Exiting the tunnel, the train curves right onto the Main Line at West End interlocking inJersey City. Until 1963 this was the DL&W Boonton Branch; about a mile ahead was the connection built circa 1956 with the Erie main line (that after 1963 became the Bergen County Line). Two trains collided head-on here in 1996, killing two engineers and a passenger. The ramps forNew Jersey Turnpike Interchange 15X now occupy the Erie alignment—since the Bergen County line was rerouted adjacent to the Main Line to pass throughSecaucus Junction.

AtSecaucus Junction, all trains stop for passengers to change to and fromNortheast Corridor Line,North Jersey Coast Line,Raritan Valley Line and Midtown Direct trains on theMorristown Line, theGladstone Branch, and theMontclair–Boonton Line on the upper level.

The Main Line then runs through an industrial section ofSecaucus. Shortly afterwards the Bergen County Line curves right on its new connection to the Erie alignment. The Main Line then crosses over theHackensack River on the single-trackUpper Hack Lift bridge, built in 1958.

Double track resumes under theNew Jersey Turnpike's western spur after 0.4 mile of single track. The train continues through the Meadowlands and passes the first grade crossing at Valley Brook Avenue inLyndhurst. The line curves slightly and passes through the 1903 Kingsland tunnel. The former Kingsland station is shortly after the tunnel in an open cut followed by the Lyndhurst station, on an embankment.

After Lyndhurst the train crosses thePassaic River via theLyndhurst Draw that has been bolted shut (although it is technically required by Federal regulation to be opened on 24 hours notice).^[4] The train enters Clifton as it crosses overRoute 21 and then passes underRoute 3 before it approaches Delawanna station.

Next stop isPassaic, on an embankment. After Passaic, the Main Line has a stretch through some industrial areas before theCliftonstation, also on an embankment.

The Main Line passes underU.S. Route 46 and theGarden State Parkway before it crosses under and over several streets in southPaterson. It leaves the DL&W Boonton Branch alignment at about40°53′10″N74°10′01″W / 40.886°N 74.167°W /40.886; -74.167 and reaches the Erie Main Line alignment at40°54′18″N74°09′50″W / 40.905°N 74.164°W /40.905; -74.164. This connection was single track when built circa 1963, then double-tracked in a rehabilitation project in 2002. The line passes underInterstate 80 and heads into downtown Paterson. The Erie station in Paterson is elevated, with a center platform.

Continuing north the Main Line is elevated through Paterson, passing over streets. After several grade crossings in an industrial area, the tracks cross thePassaic River on a truss bridge.Hawthorne is the next stop, at grade level. After a long stretch, the train reachesGlen Rock station, at grade level at a crossing.

After Glen Rock the Main Line merges with the Bergen County Line at Ridgewood Junction. The line widens to three tracks (in Erie days the line was four tracks from here to Suffern NY).Ridgewood station is next, with Spanish-style design on the station building and with newly constructed high-level platforms.

Next isHo-Ho-Kus, also at grade.Waldwick follows with an abandoned station building on the northbound side and a footbridge connecting the two platforms. Waldwick Yard is just north of the station with the restored WC tower on the southbound side by the yard. Just following Waldwick Yard is agrade crossing. North of the grade crossing (which has three tracks) the line becomes two tracks.

Allendale andRamsey follow, both as grade-level stations. Ramsey-Route 17 station (opened August 22, 2004) is next. It is a park-and-ride facility located off ofRoute 17 south in Ramsey.

Mahwah follows and is the last station in New Jersey. Crossing over theNew York state line the train arrives atSuffern, the last stop for NJT Main Line trains.

State	Zone[5]	Location	Station[5]	Milepost (km)	Date opened	Date closed	Line services			Connections[5]
							BC	ML	PJ
NJ	1	Hoboken	Hoboken Terminal	0.0 (0.0)	1903		●	●	●	NJ Transit Rail:Bergen County,Gladstone,Meadowlands,Montclair–Boonton,Morristown,North Jersey Coast,Pascack Valley, andRaritan 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 toBattery Park City
		Secaucus	Secaucus Junction	3.5 (5.6)	December 15, 2003[6]		●	●	●	NJ Transit Rail (upper level): Gladstone, Montclair–Boonton, Morristown,Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast, and Raritan Valley lines NJ Transit Rail (lower level): Bergen County, Meadowlands, and Pascack Valley lines NJ Transit Bus:2,78,129,329,353
	2	Lyndhurst	Kingsland	7.6 (12.2)	December 14, 1870[7]	June 8, 2025[8][9]		●		NJ Transit Bus:76
			Lyndhurst	8.2 (13.2)	December 14, 1870[7]			●
	3	Clifton	Delawanna	9.3 (15.0)	December 14, 1870[7]			●		NJ Transit Bus:27,74,190
	4	Passaic	Passaic	10.6 (17.1)	December 14, 1870[7]			●		NJ Transit Bus:190,702
	5	Clifton	Clifton	12.2 (19.6)	December 14, 1870[7]			●		NJ Transit Bus:705,707
	6	Paterson	South Paterson		April 2, 1963	1986[10]
			Paterson	15.6 (25.1)	May 28, 1832[11]			●		NJ Transit Bus:161,703,707,712,744,746,748
			River Street		1883	1977
	7	Hawthorne	Hawthorne	17.7 (28.5)	October 19, 1848[12][13]			●		NJ Transit Bus:722
	8	Glen Rock	Ferndale		1894[14]	1920s		●
			Glen Rock–Main Line	19.4 (31.2)	October 19, 1848[12][13]			●
	9	Ridgewood	Ridgewood	20.9 (33.6)	October 19, 1848[12][13]		●	●		NJ Transit Bus:163,164,175,722,746,752
	10	Ho-Ho-Kus	Ho-Ho-Kus	22.1 (35.6)	October 19, 1848[12][13]		●	●
		Waldwick	Waldwick	23.2 (37.3)	1886[15]		●	●
	11	Allendale	Allendale	24.6 (39.6)	October 19, 1848[12][13]		●	●
	12	Ramsey	Ramsey	26.5 (42.6)	October 19, 1848[16]		●	●
	13		Ramsey Route 17	27.9 (44.9)	August 22, 2004[17]		●	●	●
	14	Mahwah	Mahwah	29.1 (46.8)	October 19, 1848[12][13]		●	●	●	Short Line Bus: 17
NY		Suffern	Suffern	30.5 (49.1)	June 30, 1841[18][19]		●	●	●	Transport of Rockland: 59, 93, Monsey Loop 3,Tappan ZEExpress Short Line Bus: 17M/MD/SF

• Green, Frank Bertangue (1886).The History of Rockland County. New York, New York: A.S. Barnes.
• Lyon, Isaac S. (1873).Historical Discourse on Boonton, Delivered Before the Citizens of Boonton at Washington Hall, on the Evenings of September 21 and 28, and October 5, 1867. Newark, New Jersey: The Daily Journal Office. RetrievedApril 18, 2020.
• Mott, Edward Harold (1899).Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie. New York, New York: John S. Collins. RetrievedJuly 29, 2020.
• Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, Past and Present.Ridgewood, New Jersey: Citizens Semi-Centennial Association. December 1916. RetrievedAugust 20, 2017.
• Wardell, Patricia Webb (1994).Allendale: Background of a Borough.Allendale, New Jersey: Allendale Historical Society. Archived fromthe original on August 16, 2017. RetrievedAugust 18, 2017.
• Van Valen, James M. (1900).History of Bergen County, New Jersey.New York, New York: New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Company. RetrievedAugust 18, 2017.
• Yanosey, Robert J. (2007).Lackawanna Railroad Facilities (In Color). Vol. 1: Hoboken to Dover.Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books Inc.ISBN 978-1-58248-214-9.

• New Jersey Transit website

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMain Line (New Jersey Transit).

• Main Line (NJ Transit)
• NJ Transit Rail Operations
• Rail infrastructure in New Jersey
• Transportation in Bergen County, New Jersey
• Transportation in Rockland County, New York
• Rail lines in Rockland County, New York

• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from January 2018
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use American English from February 2025
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Articles needing additional references from December 2018
• All articles needing additional references
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• CS1: long volume value
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• Pages using the Kartographer extension