NJ Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...

. It operates

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

service in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, with most service centered on transportation to and from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

, and Newark. NJ Transit also operates rail service in

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and Rockland counties in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

under contract to

Metro-North Railroad The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...

. The commuter rail lines saw riders in , making it the third-busiest commuter railroad in North America and the longest commuter rail system in North America by route length.

Network and infrastructure

The lines operated by NJ Transit were formerly operated by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

Central Railroad of New Jersey Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

New York and Long Branch Railroad The New York and Long Branch Railroad was a railroad in central New Jersey, running from Bay Head Junction in Bay Head to Perth Amboy, where it connected to the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad. The rail ...

, and

Erie Lackawanna Railroad The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route ...

, most of which date from the mid-19th century. From the 1960s onward, the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transport ...

began funding the commuter lines. By 1976, the lines were all operated by

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

under contract to NJDOT. 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 of

Secaucus Junction Secaucus Junction (signed as Secaucus) is an intermodal transit hub served by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) and Metro-North Railroad in Secaucus, New Jersey, Secaucus, New Jersey. It is one of the List of b ...

in 2003, which enabled passengers to transfer between lines bound for New York and Hoboken.

Lines

As of 2022, NJ Transit's commuter rail network consists of 12 lines and 165 stations, primarily concentrated in northern New Jersey, with one line running between

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Current lines

Operations are in two divisions: *Hoboken Division, formerly operated by the

, runs from

Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by eight NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, an NJ T ...

or through Newark – Broad Street and includes Midtown Direct service via the

Kearny Connection The Kearny Connection is a railroad junction in Kearny, New Jersey that allows passenger trains from New Jersey Transit's Morris and Essex Lines to enter/leave Amtrak's Northeast Corridor (NEC) and travel to and from New York Penn Station. The j ...

. Most station platforms are low-level. *Newark Division, formerly operated by the

and

, operates through

Newark Penn Station Newark Penn Station is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, making it the seventh busiest rai ...

via the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

, with most trains continuing to

New York Penn Station Pennsylvania Station (also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station) is the main intercity railroad station in New York City and the busiest transportation facility in the Western Hemisphere, serving more than 600,000 passengers ...

. This division also includes the

Atlantic City Line The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is a commuter rail line operated by NJ Transit (NJT) in the United States between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike. It runs over trackage ...

formerly operated by the

Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was a railroad that operated in South Jersey in the 20th century. It was created in 1933 as a joint consolidation venture between two competing railroads in the region: the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Rea ...

. Most station platforms are high-level.

Freight usage

Although NJ Transit itself does not carry freight, NJTR allows freight service to be operated over its lines via

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...

agreements with several railroads.

Conrail Shared Assets Operations Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail (reporting mark CRCX), an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Are ...

(CSAO),

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

(NS) and several short lines (

Cape May Seashore Lines Cape May Seashore Lines is a short line railroad in southern New Jersey that operates both freight trains and excursion trains. It offers two excursion services: a round trip between Richland and Tuckahoe along the Beesley's Point Secondary ...

(CMSL),

Dover and Delaware River Railroad The Dover and Delaware River Railroad is a short-line railroad operating along of track in the northern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey between Phillipsburg and Newark. It was created in 2019 to take over local freight operations from Nor ...

(DD), Morristown & Erie Railway (M&E), and

Southern Railroad of New Jersey The Southern Railroad of New Jersey is a small short-line railroad company based in Winslow Township, New Jersey. The railroad operates freight service in two areas in Southern New Jersey. In the Winslow area, trains operate out of Winslow Junc ...

(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: *Morristown Line: DD, M&E *Montclair-Boonton Line: DD, M&E *Main Line: NS, M&E *Bergen County Line: NS, M&E *Pascack Valley Line: NS *Raritan Valley Line: CSAO *North Jersey Coast Line: CSAO *Atlantic City Line: CSAO, SRNJ

Non-passenger lines

NJTR also owns several lines not used for regular passenger service. These lines were purchased by the

in the late 1970s for

railbanking Railbanking is the practice of preserving rail corridors for possible future use. Railbanking leaves the railroad, railbed, bridges or bridge corridor, and other infrastructure intact. This relieves the railroad's operator from the responsibility ...

purposes, with ownership transferring to NJ Transit upon its creation in 1979. These lines are either leased for freight/

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

service, interim

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

use, or remain derelict: *Harrison- Kingsland Branch: derelict *Raritan Valley Line: ** High Bridge-

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

: NS **

- Phillipsburg: trackage removed due to construction of

Interstate 78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States that runs from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and North Jersey, terminating at the Holland Tunnel entra ...

in 1989 * Red Bank -South Lakewood:

(CSAO),

Delaware and Raritan River Railroad The Delaware and Raritan River Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates two lines in the central part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The Southern Secondary runs from an interchange with Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) in Red Ban ...

*Woodmansie-Winslow Junction: derelict *Beesley's Point Secondary: ** Winslow Junction-Palermo/Beesley's Point: CSAO,

**Palermo-Ocean City: leased to city of Ocean City in 1999 for use as interi
Ocean City Bike Path
rail trail * Tuckahoe-

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Th ...

: Cape May Seashore Lines *HX Interlocking (

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, about 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban ar ...

)- Croxton Yard: realigned for

, used as yard lead by NS *

Freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

- Farmingdale: derelict *

- Matawan: leased to Monmouth County Park System until 2020 as interim section of

Henry Hudson Trail The Henry Hudson Trail is a rail trail in western and northern Monmouth County, New Jersey. The trail is named for Henry Hudson, who explored the harbor at Atlantic Highlands and the Raritan Bayshore coastline in the early 1600s. The , paved m ...

Ownership

NJT owns most of its tracks, infrastructure, bridges, tunnels and signals. The exceptions are: *Atlantic City Line –

30th Street Station 30th Street Station, officially William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, is a major intermodal passenger transport, intermodal transit station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The station opened in 1933 as Pennsylvania Station– ...

Frankford Junction Frankford Junction is a railroad junction, and former junction station, located on the border between the Harrowgate neighborhood of Philadelphia and Frankford, Philadelphia. At the junction, the 4-track Northeast Corridor line from Trenton ...

(owned by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

) and Frankford Junction to Pennsauken Delair Junction (owned by

) *Northeast Corridor Line – entire line except Morrisville Yard (owned by

) *Port Jervis Line – Suffern to Port Jervis (owned by

and leased by

Metro-North The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of ...

) *Raritan Valley Line – Aldene to

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

(owned by

)

Yards and maintenance

NJ Transit's main storage and maintenance facility is the Meadows Maintenance Complex in Kearny, New Jersey. Other major yard facilities are located at

. Amtrak's

Sunnyside Yard Sunnyside Yard is a large coach yard, a railroad yard for passenger cars in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The yard is owned by Amtrak and is also used by New Jersey Transit. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) complet ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

serves as a layover facility for trains to

. Additional yards are located at outlying points along the lines. These include: *Main and Bergen County Lines: ** Waldwick Yard **Suffern Yard *Montclair-Boonton Line: ** Great Notch Yard, Little Falls *Morris and Essex Lines: **Gladstone Yard **Summit Yard **Dover Yard **

Port Morris Yard A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manchest ...

*North Jersey Coast Line: **Long Branch Yard **Bay Head Yard *Northeast Corridor: **

Morrisville Yard The Morrisville Yard is an American rail yard that is used by New Jersey Transit rail operations for trains on its Northeast Corridor Line. It is located roughly two miles west of the New Jersey state capital, Trenton, in Morrisville, Pennsylvani ...

, Morrisville, PA (near the

Trenton Transit Center Trenton Transit Center is the main passenger train station in Trenton, New Jersey. Located along the Northeast Corridor, it is served by Amtrak intercity trains plus NJ Transit and SEPTA Regional Rail trains. It is the southern terminus of th ...

) **

County Yard 200px, County yard County Yard is a rail yard complex comprising Adams Yard, Delco Lead, and the eponymous County Yard along the Northeast Corridor (NEC). The complex straddles the New Brunswick and North Brunswick border in Central New Jersey. ...

, New Brunswick (near Jersey Avenue) **Hudson Yard, Harrison (Serves mostly Raritan Valley Line trains) *Pascack Valley Line: **Woodbine Yard, Spring Valley, NY *Port Jervis Line: **Port Jervis Yard, Port Jervis, NY *Raritan Valley Line: **Raritan Yard **Hudson Yard, Harrison (Shared with Northeast Corridor) NJT has a fleet of maintenance crews and vehicles that repair tracks, spread

ballast Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within ...

, deliver supplies and inspect infrastructure. There are eight non-revenue work diesels used for these purposes.

Movable bridges

NJT utilizes numerous

moveable bridge A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical ...

s: *

Dock Bridge Dock Bridge is a pair of vertical lift bridges carrying Amtrak, NJ Transit, and PATH trains across the Passaic River at Newark, Essex County and Harrison, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It is the seventh crossing from the river's ...

, Newark (Passaic River) – Northeast Corridor Line (vertical lift) (''owned and operated by Amtrak'') *

Portal Bridge The Portal Bridge is a two-track rotating swing-span railroad bridge over the Hackensack River in Kearny and Secaucus, New Jersey, United States. It is on the Northeast Corridor just west of Secaucus Junction and east of the Sawtooth Bridges. ...

, Secaucus (Hackensack River) – Northeast Corridor Line (swing) (''owned and operated by Amtrak'') **

Portal North Bridge The Portal North Bridge is a railroad bridge under construction to replace the original Portal Bridge, which carries the Northeast Corridor (NEC) over the Hackensack River. It is located in Kearny, New Jersey, Kearny and Secaucus, New Jersey we ...

is a replacement adjacent to original Portal Bridge * Newark Draw, Newark (Passaic River) – Morristown Line (swing) * Lower Hack Lift, Jersey City (Hackensack River) – Morristown Line (vertical lift) * Upper Hack Lift, Secaucus (Hackensack River) – Main Line (vertical lift) *

HX Draw The HX Draw is a bascule bridge carrying the New Jersey Transit Bergen County Line and Pascack Valley Line across the Hackensack River between Secaucus and East Rutherford. It is commonly nicknamed the "Jack-Knife Bridge" due to its single-leaf ...

, Secaucus (Hackensack River) – Bergen County Line and Pascack Valley Line (bascule) * Lyndhurst Draw, Lyndhurst (Passaic River) – Main Line (swing) * River Draw, South Amboy (Raritan River) – North Jersey Coast Line (swing) *

Morgan Draw Morgan Draw is railroad moveable bridge over the Cheesequake Creek between the Morgan section of Sayreville and Laurence Harbor in Old Bridge in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Located at MP 0.2 near the mouth on the Raritan Bay, ...

, Old Bridge (Cheesequake Creek) – North Jersey Coast Line (bascule) * Oceanport Draw, Oceanport (Oceanport Creek) – North Jersey Coast Line (swing) * Shark River Draw, Belmar (Shark River) – North Jersey Coast Line (bascule) * Brielle Draw, Brielle (Manasquan River) – North Jersey Coast Line (bascule) * Beach Bridge, Atlantic City (Beach Thorofare) – Atlantic City Line (swing) *

Delair Bridge The Delair Bridge is a railroad bridge with a vertical-lift section that crosses the Delaware River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, just south of the Betsy Ross Bridge. The two-track bridge is part of Co ...

, Pennsauken (Delaware River) – Atlantic City Line (vertical lift) (''owned and operated by Conrail'')

Rolling stock

NJ Transit operates a fleet of 175 locomotives and over 1,200 passenger cars.

Locomotives

Passenger cars

NJ Transit has a fleet of over 1,100 passenger cars. The fleet and examples are described below.

Stations

NJ Transit provides passenger service on 12 lines at total of 165 stations, some of which are operated in conjunction with

and

(MNCW).

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1983 establishments in New Jersey Commuter rail in the United States Electric railways in New Jersey Electric railways in New York (state) Electric railways in Pennsylvania Railway services introduced in 1983 Standard-gauge railways in the United States