NJ Transit Rail Operations (reporting markNJTR) is the rail division ofNJ Transit. It operatescommuter rail service inNew Jersey, with most service centered on transportation to and fromNew York City,Hoboken, andNewark. NJ Transit also operates rail service inOrange andRockland counties inNew York under contract toMetro-North Railroad. The commuter rail lines saw 59,447,200[1] riders in 2024, making it thethird-busiest commuter railroad in North America and the longest commuter rail system in North America byroute length.
The lines operated by NJ Transit were formerly operated by thePennsylvania Railroad,Central Railroad of New Jersey,New York and Long Branch Railroad, andErie Lackawanna Railroad, most of which date from the mid-19th century. From the 1960s onward, theNew Jersey Department of Transportation began funding the commuter lines.
By 1976, the lines were all operated byConrail under contract to NJDOT. NJDOT began rehabilitating the electrification systems on the current day Hoboken Division; this involved converting the system from 3,000 Volts DC to 25 kV 60 Hz AC. Furthermore,Arrow III cars were ordered to replace the aging fleet of MUs inherited from the Erie Lackawanna Railroad.
Following the Northeast Rail Service Act of 1981 which required Conrail to abandon or transfer its commuter rail services to state agencies, NJ Transit Rail Operations took control of on January 1, 1983.[2]
In 1984, the aforementioned rehabilitation project was finally completed. The Erie Lackawanna MUs were retired after their final run on August 23, 1984 and were replaced with Arrow IIIs.
In 1988, electrification was extended from Matawan to Long Branch on the North Jersey Coast Line.
NJ Transit greatly expanded and consolidated its rail system in the 1990s and early 2000s.
On September 9, 1991, theWaterfront Connection opened allowing trains running on the Pennsylvania Railroad mainline to access Hoboken Terminal. Complementing the Waterfront Connection, theKearny Connection opened on June 10, 1996 allowing M&E trains to access Penn Station. NJ Transit christened the new service asMidtown Direct.
On September 30, 2002, theMontclair Connection opened which connects the former end of the Montclair Branch to the old Boonton Line. This consolidated the Montclair Branch and Boonton Line operations; the new consolidated service was named the Montclair Boonton Line.[3] Following this change, some trains were rerouted to terminate at Penn Station along with the opening of a yard at Great Notch.[4]
Secaucus Junction was opened on December 15, 2003, connecting the two commuter networks in northern New Jersey for the first time. This allowed commuters on trains bound for Hoboken to transfer to New York Penn Station bound trains thus saving commuters an estimated 15 minutes transferring to PATH trains at Hoboken.
NJ Transit took over Clocker (NY-Philadelphia) service from Amtrak on October 31, 2005. While four trains were added to the schedule, service was cut back from Philadelphia to Trenton.
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On September 29, 2016, Pascack Valley Line train #1614 overran the end of the track and went into the concourse coming to rest just before the waiting room wall. Both the terminal and the cabcar sustained major structural damage.[5]
The system took its current form in 1983, when NJ Transit took over all commuter service in New Jersey. NJ Transit Rail Operations is divided into the Hoboken Division and the Newark Division. The two networks were not integrated until the opening ofSecaucus Junction in 2003, which enabled passengers to transfer between lines bound for New York and Hoboken.
As of 2022, NJ Transit's commuter rail network consists of 13 lines and 165 stations, primarily concentrated in northern & central New Jersey, with one line running in South Jersey betweenAtlantic City andPhiladelphia.[6]
Operations are in two divisions:
| Lines | Terminals | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast Corridor Line | New York Penn Station | Trenton Jersey Avenue (some peak weekday trains) | |
| Princeton Branch | Princeton Junction | Princeton | |
| North Jersey Coast Line | New York Penn Station | Long Branch (electric service) Bay Head (diesel service) | |
| Raritan Valley Line | Newark Penn Station (most trains) New York Penn Station (limited weekday trains) Hoboken Terminal (1 inbound weekday train) | Raritan (most trains) High Bridge (limited weekday trains) | |
| Atlantic City Line | Philadelphia 30th Street Station | Atlantic City | |
| Lines | Terminals | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Line | Hoboken Terminal | Suffern | |
| Bergen County Line | Suffern (weekday service) Waldwick (weekend service) | ||
| Pascack Valley Line | Spring Valley | ||
| Port Jervis Line | Port Jervis | ||
| Meadowlands Rail Line | Secaucus Junction Hoboken Terminal (limited service) | Meadowlands | |
| Montclair-Boonton Line | Hoboken Terminal New York Penn Station (Midtown Direct service) | Montclair State University (weekday electric service) Hackettstown (limited weekday diesel service) Bay Street (weekend service) | |
| Morristown Line | Dover (electric service) Hackettstown (limited weekday diesel service) | ||
| Gladstone Branch | Hoboken Terminal (weekday service) New York Penn Station (Midtown Direct service, weekdays only) Summit (weekend service) | Gladstone | |
Although NJ Transit itself does not carry freight, NJTR allows freight service to be operated over its lines viatrackage rights agreements with several railroads.Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO),CSX,Norfolk Southern (NS) and several short lines (Cape May Seashore Lines (CMSL),Dover and Delaware River Railroad (DD),Morristown & Erie Railway (M&E), andSouthern Railroad of New Jersey (SRNJ) currently have trackage rights contracts to operate freight service on NJ Transit lines. The Morristown & Erie Railway can only use NJT trackage to get between its owned trackage; it cannot serve customers on NJ Transit trackage. A similar situation exists for Conrail on the Atlantic City Line.
Below is a list of NJ Transit lines and freight lines that operate on them:
NJTR also owns several lines not used for regular passenger service. These lines were purchased by theNew Jersey Department of Transportation in the late 1970s forrailbanking purposes, with ownership transferring to NJ Transit upon its creation in 1979. These lines are either leased for freight/tourist service, interimrail trail use, or remain derelict:
NJT owns most of its tracks, infrastructure, bridges, tunnels and signals. The exceptions are:
NJ Transit's main storage and maintenance facility is the Meadows Maintenance Complex in Kearny, New Jersey. Other major yard facilities are located atHoboken Terminal. Amtrak'sSunnyside Yard inQueens,New York serves as a layover facility for trains toNew York Penn Station. Additional yards are located at outlying points along the lines. These include:[7]
NJT has a fleet of maintenance crews and vehicles that repair tracks, spreadballast, deliver supplies and inspect infrastructure. There are eight non-revenue work diesels used for these purposes.
NJT utilizes numerousmoveable bridges:
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NJ Transit operates a fleet of 175 locomotives and over 1,200 passenger cars.
| Builder and model | Photo | Numbers | Number active | Type | Built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMD GP40PH-2 |  | 4100, 4101, 4109 | 3 | Diesel | 1968 |
| EMD GP40PH-2B |  | 4200–4219 | 19 | 1965–1969 | |
| EMD F40PH-2CAT |  | 4119, 4120 | 2 | 1981 | |
| Alstom PL42AC |  | 4000–4032 | 29 | 2005–2006 | |
| Bombardier ALP-46 |  | 4600–4628 | 29 | Electric | 2001–2002 |
| Bombardier ALP-46A |  | 4629–4664 | 36 | 2010–2011 | |
| Bombardier ALP-45DP |  | 4500–4534 | 60 | Dual-mode (electric and diesel)[8] | 2011–2012 |
| Bombardier/Alstom ALP-45A |  | 4535-4559 | 2021–present |
NJ Transit has a fleet of over 1,100 passenger cars. The fleet and examples are described below.
| Builder and model | Photo | Numbers | Total | Built |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEArrow III |  | 1304–1333 | 30 single cars(no lavatory) | 1977 |
| 1334–1533 | 200 paired cars(lavatory in odd cars) | |||
| BombardierComet II |  | 5300–5460 | 161 trailers(no lavatories) | 1982–1989 |
| BombardierComet IV |  | 5011–5031 | 21 cab cars(lavatory) | 1996 |
| 5235–5264 | 30 trailers(lavatory) | |||
| 5535–5582 | 48 trailers(no lavatory) | |||
| AlstomComet V |  | 6000–6083 | 84 cab cars(lavatory) | 2002–2004 |
| 6200–6213 | 14 trailers(lavatory) | |||
| 6500–6601 | 102 trailers(no lavatory) | |||
| BombardierMultiLevel Coach |  | 7000–7051 | 52 cab cars(lavatory) | 2006–2010 |
| 7200–7298 | 99 trailers(lavatory) | |||
| 7500–7677 | 178 trailers(no lavatory) | |||
| Bombardier MultiLevel Coach II |  | 7052–7061 | 10 cab cars(lavatory) | 2012–2013 |
| 7678–7767 | 90 trailers(no lavatory) |
NJ Transit provides passenger service on 12 lines at total of 165 stations, some of which are operated in conjunction withAmtrak andMetro-North (MNCW).[9]
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