Main Line (NJ Transit)

Commuter rail line in New Jersey

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Main Line

A Main Line train led by a GP40PH-2B at Ramsey.

Overview
Owner| NJ Transit Rail Operations
Locale| Northern New Jersey and Hudson 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

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

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

via Fair 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

via Fair 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&E via Hackettstown

|  |

|  |

Bergen Tunnels

|  |

| 0.0 mi

0 km

Hoboken Terminal

|  |

|  |

Hudson River

|  |  |  |  |  |

This diagram:

* view
* talk
* edit

The Main Line (or Erie Main Line) is a commuter rail line owned and operated by New Jersey Transit running from Suffern, New York to Hoboken, New Jersey, in the United States. It runs daily commuter service and was once the north–south main line of the Erie Railroad. It is colored yellow on NJ Transit system maps, and its symbol is a water wheel.[2]

The Bergen County Line splits off the Main Line just west of the Secaucus Junction transfer station and rejoins it at Ridgewood. Trains on both lines are push-pull, powered by diesel locomotives (ordinarily on the west end of the train).

## History

[edit]

The Erie Railroad's main line ran from Jersey City to Chicago via Binghamton and Jamestown, New York, Akron and Marion, Ohio, and Huntington, Indiana, with branches to Buffalo, Cleveland, and Dayton. The section in New Jersey and lower New York State saw frequent commuter service to the waterfront Pavonia Terminal, Jersey City, with connections to the Pavonia Ferry to Lower Manhattan.

The Erie Railroad's major long-distance passenger trains to Chicago, the Atlantic Express and Pacific Express, the Erie Limited, and the Lake Cities, ran along this section, through Passaic, Paterson, Ridgewood, on to Port Jervis, northwest to Binghamton, New York State's Southern Tier, Jamestown, and west to Chicago. The final long-distance train along this route was the Atlantic Express and Pacific Express in 1965.[3]

Trains at the Erie Lackawanna rail yard in Waldwick on April 25, 1970

In 1963, the Erie Main Line south of Paterson to its connection with the Bergen County Line south of Carlton Hill in Rutherford was abandoned and service began using the former Lackawanna Boonton Branch south of Paterson via the Lyndhurst Draw and Upper Hack Lift bridges as the route through downtown Passaic was abandoned. Nominal Boonton Line service began using the Erie's Greenwood Lake division up to its junction with the Lackawanna Boonton Branch at Mountain View in Wayne as the Lackawanna right-of-way in Paterson was used for the construction of Interstate 80 and New 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 new GE 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 its Port Jervis Line service to run on the Graham Line freight bypass, thus ending the direct passenger route from Harriman through Monroe and Goshen to Middletown. Service was increased along with the opening of the Secaucus Junction station in late 2003.

### 1996 Secaucus collision

[edit]

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

## Service

[edit]

Departing the historic 1907-built Hoboken Terminal, the yards for the coaches to the left, trains pass over two city streets and the Hudson Bergen Light Rail before entering the Bergen Tunnels under the Bergen Hill section of Hudson 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 in Jersey 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 for New Jersey Turnpike Interchange 15X now occupy the Erie alignment—since the Bergen County line was rerouted adjacent to the Main Line to pass through Secaucus Junction.

At Secaucus Junction, all trains stop for passengers to change to and from Northeast Corridor Line, North Jersey Coast Line, Raritan Valley Line and Midtown Direct trains on the Morristown Line, the Gladstone Branch, and the Montclair–Boonton Line on the upper level.

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

Double track resumes under the New 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 in Lyndhurst. 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 the Passaic River on a swing bridge that has been bolted shut (although it is technically required by Federal regulation to be opened on 24 hours notice).[4] The train passes under Route 3 and approaches Delawanna station.

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

The Main Line passes under U.S. Route 46 and the Garden State Parkway before it crosses under and over several streets in south Paterson. It leaves the DL&W Boonton Branch alignment at about 40°53′10″N 74°10′01″W﻿ / ﻿40.886°N 74.167°W﻿ / 40.886; -74.167 and reaches the Erie Main Line alignment at 40°54′18″N 74°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 under Interstate 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 the Passaic River on a truss bridge. Hawthorne is the next stop, at grade level. After a long stretch, the train reaches Glen 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 is Ho-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 a grade crossing. North of the grade crossing (which has three tracks) the line becomes two tracks.

Allendale and Ramsey 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 of Route 17 south in Ramsey.

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

## Stations

[edit]

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, 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 | 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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ [1][dead link]
2. ^ "NJT System Map" (PDF). NJT. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
3. ^ 'Official Guide of the Railways,' June 1961, Table 3
4. ^ "Coast Guard, DHS" (PDF). Gpo.gov. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
5. ^ a b c "Main / Bergen County Lines Timetables - November 19, 2014 edition" (PDF). New York, New York: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2002. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
6. ^ 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.
7. ^ a b c d e Lyon 1873, p. 55.
8. ^ Higgs, Larry (April 28, 2025). "This new NJ Transit Station Replaces 2 Old Stops, Including a 1918 'Relic'". New Jersey Advance Media. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
9. ^ "Opening of New Lyndhurst Station – Service Begins Sunday, June 8, 2025". NJ Transit (Press release). Newark, New Jersey. June 2025. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
10. ^ Sommers, Adam (October 22, 1986). "Paterson Train Stop Will Close". The News. Paterson, New Jersey. pp. 1, 18. Retrieved April 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Transportation, Once Slow and Painful, Has Changed With Country's Growth". The Paterson Evening News. July 15, 1950. pp. 7–16, 7-18. Retrieved April 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ a b c d e f "Common Council". The New York Herald. October 17, 1848. p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ a b c d e f "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.
14. ^ "A boom in real estate..." The Ridgewood Herald-News. October 26, 1894. p. 5. Retrieved June 24, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
15. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form -- Waldwick Railroad Station". National Park Service. September 21, 1977. p. 8. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
16. ^ "Synopsis of Erie History". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. April 2, 1963. pp. 1, 6. Retrieved March 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
17. ^ "NJ Transit Announces Opening of Ramsey Route 17 Station" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. August 6, 2004.
18. ^ Mott 1899, p. 331.
19. ^ 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.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* 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. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
* 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.
* Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, Past and Present. Ridgewood, New Jersey: Citizens Semi-Centennial Association. December 1916. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
* 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.
* Van Valen, James M. (1900). History of Bergen County, New Jersey. New York, New York: New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Company. Retrieved August 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.

## External links

[edit]

* New Jersey Transit website

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

* v
* t
* e

NJ Transit Rail Operations

Hoboken Division|

*      Bergen County Line
*      Main Line
*      Meadowlands Rail Line
*      Montclair–Boonton Line
* Morris & Essex Lines (     Morristown Line and      Gladstone Branch)
*      Pascack Valley Line
*      Port Jervis Line

Newark Division|

*      Atlantic City Line
*      North Jersey Coast Line
*      Northeast Corridor Line
*      Princeton Branch
*      Raritan Valley Line

Connections|

* Aldene Connection
* Harold Interlocking
* Lehigh Line Connection
* Kearny Connection
* Montclair Connection
* Port Morris Junction
* Secaucus Junction
* Waterfront Connection

Current rolling stock|

* EMD GP40PH-2
* ALP-46
* ALP-45DP
* PL42AC
* Comet coaches
* Comet V
* MultiLevel coaches
* Arrow multiple units

Bridges and tunnels|

* Beach Bridge
* Bergen Tunnels
* Brielle Draw
* Connecting Railway Bridge
* DB Draw
* Delair Bridge
* Dock Bridge
* East River Tunnels
* HX Draw
* Lower Hack Lift
* Lyndhurst Draw
* Morgan Draw
* Morrisville–Trenton Railroad Bridge
* Newark Drawbridge
* North River Tunnels
* Oceanport Draw
* Portal Bridge (Portal North Bridge)
* Rahway River Bridge
* Raritan Bay Drawbridge
* Raritan River Bridge
* Roseville Tunnel
* Shark River Draw
* Upper Hack Lift
* WR Draw

Stations and yards|

* List of stations
* Historic stations
* County Yard
* Morrisville Yard
* Sunnyside Yard

Proposed lines|

* Lackawanna Cut-Off
* Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line
* West Trenton Line

Other topics|

* Access to the Region's Core
* Atlantic City Express Service
* Glassboro–Camden Line
* Gateway Program
* Mid-Line Loop
* Northern Branch
* Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit
* Sawtooth Bridges
* Train to the Game
* Former stations
* Proposed stations

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template