Railroad Electrification In The United States
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Railroad electrification in the United States began at the turn of the 20th century, with many private railroad companies seeking to electrify portions of their network. The introduction of electrification by various companies led to the development of multiple divergent electrification systems in different geographical areas, few of which were interconnected. Despite this divergence in method, most of these systems shared a small number of common reasons for electrification. Mainline railroad electrification in the United States is quite rare in comparison to most European or East Asian rail networks, with less than 1% of mainline trackage in the country being electrified. Most of the systems discussed in this article are either no longer electrified, or are now part of 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 ...
and
Keystone Corridor The Keystone Corridor is a 349-mile (562 km) railroad corridor between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that consists of two rail lines: Amtrak and SEPTA's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line, Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg main li ...
systems used 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 several commuter rail lines. A few isolated systems, operated exclusively for hauling
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
from mines to power plants, also retain their electrification. Most
mass transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...
,
streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...
, and
interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...
systems were electrified very early in their existence (many from the beginning) but are not within the scope of this article. Opposition to electrification by the major Class I railroads for its cost and perceived lack of benifit forms a large part of the reason for its relative lack in the US. For example, the
Association of American Railroads The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight Rail transport, railroads of North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States). Amtrak and some regional Commuter rail in North Am ...
opposes electrification due to its high capital costs. Opponents of electrification also argue that since the entire United States railroad network contributes only 0.56% of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, electrification would be of negligible benefit to the environment.


Impetus for electrification


Laws banning steam locomotives (smoke abatement)

A number of municipalities passed laws in the early part of the 20th century forbidding steam locomotives from operating within city limits, after some bad accidents caused by the awful conditions of visibility in smoke and steam-filled tunnels and cuttings. The most prominent of these laws was for
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 ...
in 1903 (effective 1908). An extensive study was also undertaken in Chicago of the problems of smoke and the feasibility of electrification as a solution.


Long tunnels

Long, deep tunnels provided poor ventilation for steam locomotives and their crews. To combat this, bespoke solutions such as wearing oxygen masks or using
cab-forward The term cab forward refers to various rail and road vehicle designs that place the driver's compartment substantially farther towards the front than is common practice. Rail locomotives In steam locomotive design, a cab-forward design will ...
locomotives became necessary to avoid asphyxiation. These ventilation problems also limited the frequency of trains through these tunnels, as smoke needed to be cleared before the next train could pass. The
Cascade Tunnel The Cascade Tunnel refers to two railroad tunnels, its original tunnel and its replacement, in the northwest United States, east of the Seattle metropolitan area in the Cascade Range of Washington, at Stevens Pass. It is approximately east of ...
is a good example of where these problems prompted electrification. Also see the
Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...
's Pacific Extension.


Mountains

The electric locomotive has many advantages in mountainous terrain, including better adhesion, greater power at low speeds, no requirements for fueling or watering, and
regenerative braking Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy or potential energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. Typically, regenerativ ...
. The planned
California High-Speed Rail California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system being developed in California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Phase 1, about long, is planned to run from San Francisco, California, San Francisco to ...
system, for example requires electrification to achieve acceptable speeds through the
Tehachapi Mountains The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwe ...
.


Traffic density

Extremely high-traffic lines can readily recoup the high capital investment of electrification by the savings accrued during operation. The savings typically result from improved utilization of trains, and lower maintenance costs.


Short-distance commuter operations

Suburban commuter trains are an ideal subject for electrification since
electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...
s possess rapid acceleration, fast braking (sometimes regenerative braking), and the ability to change direction without running a locomotive around. It also reduces diesel locomotive emissions in relatively high-density areas.


Freight operations

Heavy freight trains are ideally suited to electric traction due to the greater pulling power of an electric locomotive.


Overview of electrification in the U.S.

Electrification in the US reached its maximum of in the late 1930s. By 1973, it was down to (Class I railroads) with the top 3 being:
Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...
,
Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...
,
Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
. In 2013, the only electrified lines hauling freight by electricity were three short line coal haulers (mine to power plant) and one switching railroad in Iowa. The total electrified route length of these four railroads is . As of 2025, only one of the three short line coal haulers,
Deseret Power Railway The Deseret Power Railway () , formerly known as the ''Deseret-Western Railway'', is an electrified private Class III railroad operating in northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado. It does not connect to the national rail network and has n ...
, and Iowa Traction Railway still operate. While some freight trains run on parts of the electrified
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 ...
and on part of the adjacent
Keystone Corridor The Keystone Corridor is a 349-mile (562 km) railroad corridor between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that consists of two rail lines: Amtrak and SEPTA's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line, Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg main li ...
, these freight trains use diesel locomotives for traction. The total electrified route length of these two corridors is . Diesel-powered freight runs similarly operate over the
South Shore Line The South Shore Line is an electrically powered commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois and the South Bend Airport station in Sout ...
, and the
San Diego Trolley The San Diego Trolley is a light rail system serving San Diego County, California. The trolley's operator, San Diego Trolley, Inc. , is a subsidiary of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). The trolley operates as a critical componen ...
and Salt Lake City TRAX
light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
systems.


History of electrification projects in the United States


Smoke abatement


Cleveland Union Terminals Co.

In June 1929 this railroad switched from steam to electric operation on a route between Collinwood and Linndale in Ohio. A overhead system was used. This change of operation was for smoke abatement. Electric operation ceased in 1953.


New York Central Railroad (Hudson and Harlem Divisions)

The
New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
electrified a section of its main line Hudson Division route in 1913 from New York City (
Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...
) to Harmon (now Croton-Harmon), where it changed to at first steam, then diesel power. The Harlem Division in
Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...
was also electrified to North White Plains.
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 successor to New York Central's commuter operations, continues to use these lines, and extended the Harlem Line electrification to
Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...
in 1984. The lines are electrified at with under-running
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...
. The Hudson Line is used by Amtrak for intercity passenger service to and via Albany, but these trains run to Penn Station via the Empire Connector, and only in the underground area in and near that station do Amtrak's dual-mode (diesel and electric) locomotives shift to using the overrunning DC third rail.


Tunnels


Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

The construction of the Howard Street tunnel through
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
in order to make a rail connection to New York City brought about the world's first mainline electrification. Operation began in 1895 with three
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
locomotives. These locomotives only worked pulling northbound trains; southbound traffic simply coasted through this section, which was all downhill. Initially the system used a unique overhead track in which the current shoe rode, but shortly after it was converted to a conventional
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...
system. The electrification was discontinued in 1952 when
dieselization Dieselisation (US: dieselization) is the process of equipping vehicles with a diesel engine or diesel engines. It can involve replacing an internal combustion engine powered by petrol (US: gasoline) fuel with an engine powered by diesel fuel, ...
made it unnecessary.


Boston & Maine Railroad (Hoosac Tunnel)

The
Hoosac Tunnel The Hoosac Tunnel (also called Hoosic or Hoosick Tunnel) is a active Rail transport, railroad tunnel in western Massachusetts that passes through the Hoosac Range, an extension of Vermont's Green Mountains. It runs in a straight line from its ...
was electrified by the Boston & Maine Railroad in May 1911. This was done to speed up trains and to reduce smoke in the tunnel. Electricity was provided from the Zylonite power plant in Adams, MA. The electrification was switched off in August 1946 with the arrival of diesel locomotives on the route.


Grand Trunk Railway (St. Clair Tunnel)

The
St. Clair Tunnel The St. Clair Tunnel is the name for two separate rail tunnels which were built under the St. Clair River between Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan. The original, opened in 1891 and used until it was replaced by a new larger tunnel in 1994, ...
is the name for two separate rail tunnels which were built under the St. Clair River between Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan. It was the first full-size (i.e. able to allow a railroad to run through it) subaqueous tunnel built in North America. Steam locomotives were used in the early years to pull trains through the tunnel, however concerns about the potential dangers of suffocation should a train stall in the tunnel led to the installation of catenary wires for electric-powered locomotives by 1907. The first use of electric locomotives through the tunnel in regular service occurred on May 17, 1908. The electric-powered locomotives were retired in 1958 and scrapped in 1959 after CNR retired and scrapped its last steam-powered locomotives on trains passing through the tunnel. New diesel-powered locomotives did not cause the same problems with air quality in this relatively short tunnel.


Great Northern Railway (Cascade Tunnel)

The Great Northern Railway (now
BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...
) electrified the original
Cascade Tunnel The Cascade Tunnel refers to two railroad tunnels, its original tunnel and its replacement, in the northwest United States, east of the Seattle metropolitan area in the Cascade Range of Washington, at Stevens Pass. It is approximately east of ...
in 1909, near the summit of Stevens Pass in the
Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...
. This first electrification system with GE-built boxcabs were the only three-phase AC power ever used on North America railroads, see
Three-phase AC railway electrification Three-phase AC railway electrification, which promised some advantages over established DC electric rail power and steam traction, started at the turn of the twentieth century. The first standard gauge line, from 1899 to 1933, was from Burgdorf t ...
. The electric boxcabs pulled trains through the tunnel with their steam locomotives still attached until they were retired in 1927. In 1925 work began on the new Cascade Tunnel, with the Great Northern ultimately electrifying a section of its main line route to
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
,
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
from
Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and most populous city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and has increased to 35,508 as of 2020. Located in the north-central part of the stat ...
to Skykomish. The new tunnel and electrification reduced the mainline by , eliminated of elevation and of snow sheds. Electric locomotives handled mainline freight and passenger trains on this section exclusively. The route was de-energized and catenary dismantled in 1956, after the Cascade Tunnel was fitted with ventilation fans.


Michigan Central Railroad (Detroit Tunnel Lines)

The Michigan Central Railroad electrified the tunnels under the Detroit river in 1910. The system used a under-running
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...
. The electrification covered a total of between two passenger stations in Detroit and Windsor. The total track mileage covered around , which included not only the station and tunnel lines but also an extensive yard. The electrification was discontinued in the early 1950s when the tunnel was ventilated so that diesels could run through.


Mountainous Terrain


Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway

The BA&P, a copper ore-hauling short line in Montana, electrified in 1913 using a system engineered by General Electric. It was the first primarily freight railroad in North America to electrify. Original motive power was in the form of 28 identical B-B
boxcab A boxcab, in railroad terminology, is a term for an electric locomotive in which the machinery and cab (locomotive), crew areas were enclosed in a box-like superstructure. Deriving from "boxcar", the term mainly occurs in North America. The ter ...
s, which served until de-electrification in 1967, by which time diesel-electric locomotives were cheaper to run. GE used the BA&P as a model railroad for demonstrating the success of its DC electrification techniques. The Milwaukee Road electrified soon afterward using a similar technique at .


Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad (the Milwaukee Road)

The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad ('Pacific' was not added to the title until incorporation in 1927) electrified two of its mountainous divisions using a DC overhead system. The two divisions were widely separated from each other, but plans to electrify the intervening , the relatively flat Idaho Division from Avery to Othello, were never implemented. The electrification system was similar to that of the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific, but was at rather than . The higher voltage was chosen because of the load conditions with 2,500 ton trains.


= Rocky Mountain Division (Harlowton to Avery)

= The first division to be electrified was the Rocky Mountain Division from
Harlowton, Montana Harlowton is a city in and the county seat of Wheatland County, Montana, United States. The population was 955 at the 2020 census. The city was once the eastern terminus of electric operations (1914–74) for the "Pacific Extension" of the C ...
to
Avery, Idaho Avery is a small unincorporated community in the northwest United States, located in the St. Joe River Valley in Shoshone County, Idaho. Avery is located in the middle of the St. Joe District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, and is a t ...
. This covered a distance of and began electric operation in 1917. The electrification remained in operation until 1974, when diesel locomotives took over. There were two main reasons for electrifying this division. The first was to get through the Bitter Root Mountains, which are steeply graded. The second was that the line passes through an important forest reserve of the US Government. Steam trains were a fire hazard, and thus electric trains lessened the risk.


= Coast Division (Othello to Tacoma/Seattle)

= The second division to be electrified was the Coast Division between
Othello, Washington Othello () is a city in Adams County, Washington, United States. The population was 8,549 at the 2020 census, a 16 percent increase from 2010. It is located in the heart of the Columbia Basin Project, approximately southwest of Spokane. ...
to
Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...
, and to Black River just south of Seattle. This covered a distance of and began electric operation in 1919. The electrification remained in operation until 1972, when diesel locomotives took over. The main reason for electrifying was to get over the Saddle Mountains.


Norfolk and Western Railway

The
Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...
(N&W) had an electrified district of from Bluefield to
Iaeger, West Virginia Iaeger (pronounced YAY-ger) is a town in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 257 at the 2020 census. History Iaeger was incorporated in 1917 and named for Colonel William G. W. Iaeger, an early settler. Geography ...
, between 1913 and 1950. It was an , 25 Hz overhead electrification in a mountain region with a major tunnel (Elkhorn Tunnel). When the grade was bypassed with a new line in 1950, the line was abandoned. Despite most other US railroads dieselizing at this time, the N&W would not begin this process until 1955, thus making the Elkhorn Grade the last American electric rail line to be replaced by steam traction.


Virginian Railway

The VGN had an electrified district of of mountainous terrain built in the 1920s from
Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...
to
Mullens, West Virginia Mullens is a city in Wyoming County, West Virginia, Wyoming County, West Virginia. The population was 1,475 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Located in a valley along the Guyandotte River within a mountainous region of s ...
. It went to the N&W with the 1959 merger and was de-electrified in 1962.


Traffic Density


Amtrak

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 ...
, the national intercity passenger railroad, inherited a 1930s-era 11 kV electrification system from 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 ...
(PRR), which it is slowly modernizing, and has completed two electrification projects on its own lines. A short portion of the Empire Connection was electrified when it was built in 1991, allowing trains from Albany direct access to Penn Station New York by use of dual-mode locomotives. Track near the terminal was electrified with
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...
, compatible with the third rail system used within Penn Station by the
Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
(LIRR). 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 ...
mainline from
New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...
to
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
was electrified in 1999, completing the thwarted ambition of the former
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
. This electrification was part of the
Acela Express The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship passenger train service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern megalopolis, Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and ...
high-speed project, and involved the building of overhead lines electrified at , requiring trains to handle a change of voltage on the fly at New Haven. Plans to convert the rest of the Northeast Corridor to have been shelved, although the section from New Haven to the
Hell Gate Bridge The Hell Gate Bridge (originally the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge) is a railroad bridge in New York City. The bridge carries two tracks of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and one freight track between Astoria, Queens, and Port Morris, Bron ...
has been converted to by Metro-North.


Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad

This railroad changed from steam to electric operation in 1928 using a overhead system. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1937, and ceased operating in 1940. In 1952 a section of the line between East Boston and Revere was bought by the
MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
and is now a part of the Blue Line. The remainder of the line to Lynn is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and may be used for further expansion of the Blue Line.


Erie Railroad (Rochester Division)

In June 1907, the Erie Railroad changed from steam to electric operation on its Rochester Division. A single phase AC system was used operating at . The electrified section was between Rochester, NY to Mount Morris, NY, a distance of . The system lasted in operation until 1934.


New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad

The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad completed electrification in 1907 of its New Haven–New York City mainline and was one of the pioneers of heavy electric railway use in the United States. The New Haven chose the system, later used by the PRR, in addition to working with Westinghouse to develop AC/DC electric motors (locomotives) to run on both AC
overhead lines An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...
and DC
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...
. The main line, now Metro-North Railroad's
New Haven Line The New Haven Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Connecticut. Running from New Haven, Connecticut, to New York City, the New Haven Line joins the Harlem Line ...
, was converted to in 1985.


Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad carried out many electrification projects.


= West Jersey and Seashore Railroad

= The PRR, owner of West Jersey & Seashore Railroad (WJ&S), electrified with from
Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...
to
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 ...
, via Newfield, and to Millville. A third-rail system was used for most of the line except overhead trolley wire was installed between Mickle Street in Camden and Gloucester City as well as a segment between Newfield and Millville. The Camden-Gloucester City portion was installed due to a decision to use the old Camden Seventh Street line as part of the route. Numerous grade crossings on both this segment and in Gloucester City precluded the use of third rail due to public safety considerations. The Millville branch, however, was equipped with overhead wire as a "method of comparing the durability of trolley wire versus third rail under high-speed open-country operating conditions." The WJ&S ordered 62 coaches and six combination baggage mail units split between Jackson and Sharp Company, and
J. G. Brill and Company The J. G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars,Young, Andrew D. (1997). ''Veteran & Vintage Transit'', p. 101. St. Louis: Archway Publishing. interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for nearl ...
at Philadelphia, which had 46 cars from the order. Brill sublet work on 22 coaches to its Wason subsidiary in
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...
. The electrification was opened in 1906 with cars that resembled wooden interurbans of other electric traction properties. The same year the
1906 Atlantic City train wreck The 1906 Atlantic City train wreck occurred in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Sunday October 28, 1906, when a West Jersey and Seashore Railroad electric train fell off a draw (swing) bridge, drowning 53 people.Haine Accident The newly-constructe ...
occurred, in which a three-car train of the new equipment derailed and fell into a waterway; 53 people died. Other cars were built in 1909 bringing the fleet total to 80 MP1 and
MP2 MP2 or MP-2 may refer to: Aviation * The second terminal of Marseille Provence Airport * Chyetverikov ARK-3 flying-boat Firearms * German Army designation for the Uzi * MP-2 machine pistol Science * MP 2, an abbreviation for a zone during t ...
class wooden MU coaches. The 19 purchased in 1909 had steel instead of wooden ends and featured PRR porthole style windows on each end. There were six MO1 class passenger-baggage combines including two with steel ends, four MBM1 baggage-mail cars and two MB1 baggage-express cars. In 1912, the PRR assigned two MPB54 all-steel combines and 15 all-steel MP54 coaches to WJ&S. WJ&S and the Reading subsidiary
Atlantic City Railroad The Atlantic City Railroad was a Philadelphia and Reading Railway subsidiary that became part of Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in 1933. At the end of 1925, it operated of road on of track; that year it reported 43 million ton-miles of ...
were merged into
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 ...
(P-RSL) in 1932. Electric MU service between Newfield and Atlantic City ended Sept. 26, 1931 so P-RSL only inherited the electrified Millville commuter rail service from WJ&S. On Oct. 20, 1948, New Jersey's public utility regulators ordered P-RSL to remove all remaining 26 wooden MU coaches from service as a safety hazard should they be involved in fire or collision. P-RSL management already was considering replacing the MUs due to an aging power distribution system and obsolete rolling stock. So nearly two-thirds of the MU fleet was removed from service. With only the PRR style all-steel MUs left for passenger service, P-RSL cut back the electrified commuter service to
Glassboro, New Jersey Glassboro is a Borough (New Jersey), borough within Gloucester County, New Jersey, Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2 ...
in fall 1948 and management then ordered an end to all remaining electrification as of Sept. 8, 1949. On that date a morning commuter run from Glassboro to Camden ended 43 years of electrification. Non-electrified commuter rail service to Glassboro and Millville continued until March 5, 1971.


= New York Terminal

= Electrification was installed from
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 ...
in
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 ...
, through
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 ...
to Manhattan Transfer station 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 ...
. A
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...
(Top Contact) system was used. Electrification was later changed to overhead catenary, when the PRR electrified its mainline to Washington, D. C. in the early 1930s. Third rail is still installed in the
East River Tunnels The East River Tunnels are four single-track railroad passenger service tunnels that extend from the eastern end of Pennsylvania Station under 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan and cross the East River to Long Island City in Queens. The trac ...
in order to provide power the LIRR trains. Third rail is also installed in the
North River Tunnels North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' ...
for use in emergencies should power be lost to the overhead catenary.


= Paoli

= A section of the Chicago-Philadelphia Main Line (now part of Amtrak's
Keystone Corridor The Keystone Corridor is a 349-mile (562 km) railroad corridor between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that consists of two rail lines: Amtrak and SEPTA's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line, Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg main li ...
) was electrified in 1915. The suburban service runs between the former Broad Street Station in
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 ...
and the village of Paoli. The PRR electrification utilized overhead catenary wires electrified at , and was fed by four substations in Arsenal, West Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr, and Paoli. It was expanded in 1919 on the PRR's Chestnut Hill line, and in the 1920s on the Philadelphia-
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
main line between Philadelphia and Wilmington, and on the West Chester Line between Philadelphia and West Chester, with the latter two lines being fed through a single substation located in
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
.


= New York–Washington

= Extensive electrification after 1925 occurred on the PRR's New York-Washington line (now part of the Northeast Corridor), the Chicago-Philadelphia Main Line between Paoli and
Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...
, several major commuter lines in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and on major low-grade, through-freight lines, including the
Trenton Cutoff The Trenton Cutoff (sometimes spelled Trenton Cut Off) is a rail corridor in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid ...
, the Atglen & Susquehanna, Port Road, Philadelphia & Thorndale, Shellpot, and Enola branches. All electrification done after 1919 used the same catenary supports used on the Paoli commuter line, but with the catenary being supplied with "transmission" lines with the voltage stepped-down at substations located every .
PPL Corporation PPL Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as and is part of the S&P 500. As of 2022, the compa ...
-owned
Safe Harbor Dam The Safe Harbor Dam (also Safe Harbor Hydroelectric Station) is a concrete gravity dam, with an associated hydroelectric power station, on the lower Susquehanna River. It is the most northerly and last of three Great Depression-era public electri ...
, located near the
Exelon Exelon Corporation is an American public utility headquartered in Chicago, and incorporated in Pennsylvania. Exelon is the largest electric parent company in the United States by revenue and is the largest regulated electric utility in the Uni ...
-owned Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant between
Conowingo, Maryland Conowingo is a community in northwestern Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The community replaced a previous one that was inundated by a reservoir. Etymology Conowingo is a Susquehannock word for "at the rapids". History Conowingo was or ...
and
York, Pennsylvania York is a city in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located in South Central Pennsylvania, the city's population was 44,800 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in ...
, supplies the power for all post-1925 electrical expansion projects, while Exelon supplies the pre-1925 electrification areas through the existing Philadelphia, Ardmore, and Chester substations. Plans were made in the thirties to extend electrification to
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, but were not pursued due to the Great Depression. Since its takeover by Amtrak in 1976, both the Northeast and Keystone Corridors are undergoing extensive wire replacements, either by Amtrak or
SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...
, while the through-freight branches taken over 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 ...
have been de-electrified and freight operations carried out by diesel locomotives. Those lines that were de-electrified, but have transmission lines are maintained by Amtrak through arrangements through Conrail's successors,
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 ...
and
CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a 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 track, it is the lead ...
.


Rock Island & Southern Railway

This railroad electrified between Rock Island and Monmouth, Illinois using an system.


Spokane & Inland Empire Railroad

In 1906, this railroad electrified from Spokane to Colfax, Washington and Moscow, Idaho using a system.


Suburban Commuter Operations


Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn

From 1928 to its abandonment in 1940, the narrow-gauge Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad was operated with overhead electrification. The railroad shut down in 1940, and portions of it were used for the
MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
Blue Line which opened in 1953, although it used an entirely new electrification system and is operated as part of a subway system.


Caltrain

The
Caltrain Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a commuter rail line in California, serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose, California, San Jose at the Tamien station with weekday r ...
Modernization Program (CalMod) was a $2.44 billion project that electrified the railroad's main line, which serves cities in the
San Francisco Peninsula The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Los Altos and Mountain View, ...
and
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
. Caltrain's service had previously existed almost unchanged in its current form since it was operated as the
Peninsula Commute The Peninsula Commute, also known as the Southern Pacific Peninsula or just Peninsula, was the common name for commuter rail service between San Jose, California, San Jose and San Francisco, California, San Francisco on the San Francisco Peninsu ...
by the
Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
in the late 19th century, but proposals for electrifying the line had begun as early as 1992. The project lay dormant due to lack of funding until Caltrain agreed to share its tracks with the
California High-Speed Rail Authority The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) is a California state agency established in 1996 pursuant to the California High-Speed Rail Act to develop and implement high-speed intercity rail service, namely the California High-Speed Rail pro ...
. The CalMod project resulted in the electrification of the of tracks between 4th and King station and
Tamien Station Tamien station is an intermodal passenger transportation station in the Tamien neighborhood of central San Jose, California, served by the VTA light rail and the Caltrain commuter rail line, along with bus connections. The station has two ele ...
and was officially completed on September 21, 2024. The new electrical infrastructure included the installation of approximately of 25 kV 60 Hz single-phase AC overhead contact lines and ten new power stations (two traction power stations, a switching station approximately halfway along the line, and seven paralleling stations).


Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad / Morris and Essex Railroad

What are now
New Jersey 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. It ...
's
Morris & Essex Lines The Morris & Essex Lines are a group of former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W) railroad lines in New Jersey now owned and operated by NJ Transit. The lines include service offered on the Morristown Line and the Gladstone Branch. Pr ...
(the
Morristown Line The Morristown Line is an NJ Transit commuter rail line connecting Morris and Essex counties to New York City, via New York Penn Station or Hoboken Terminal. It is one of the two routes that make up the Morris & Essex Lines, alongside the Gl ...
and
Gladstone Branch The Gladstone Branch (also known as the Gladstone Line) is a commuter rail line operated by NJ Transit in the U.S. state of New Jersey, one of two branches of the Morris & Essex Lines. Gladstone Line trains operate between Gladstone station a ...
) and Montclair-Boonton Line were electrified by the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of . The railroad was ...
at in 1930/31. By August 1984 the lines had all been converted to by NJ Transit.


Denver RTD

In 2015 a new commuter rail system commenced operation in the
Denver metropolitan area Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U.S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson. The Denver regi ...
with a new electrification network operated at . Lines emanate from
Denver Union Station Denver Union Station is the main railway station and central transportation hub in Denver, Colorado. It is located at 17th and Wynkoop Streets in the present-day LoDo district and includes the historic station house, a modern open-air train sh ...
and run to
Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , often referred to by locals as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , Effective Ju ...
,
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
, and Wheat Ridge, and Thornton.


Illinois Central Railroad

The
Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...
electrified its three commuter lines serving
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
in 1926 pursuant to ordinances passed by the city. The IC commuter lines remain electrified and are now operated as
Metra Electric The Metra Electric District is an Railway electrification system, electrified commuter rail line owned and operated by Metra which connects Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Station), in downtown Chicago, with the city's southern Chic ...
. The catenary is energized at and serves four tracks of commuter operations. Two tracks are unelectrified and used for freight and Amtrak service to
downstate Illinois Downstate Illinois refers to the part of the U.S. state of Illinois south or outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, which is in the northeast corner of the state and has been dominant in state history, politics, and culture. Downstate Illinoi ...
and beyond.


Long Island Rail Road

The
Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
's electrification was initiated in the first decade of the 20th century while it was owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad, which was building tunnels under the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
and
East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...
to gain access to
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. The first segment of the LIRR to be electrified was the trackage between the Atlantic Avenue terminal in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
and Jamaica station. Electrification extended east of Jamaica to the Belmont Park station in 1905. In 1910, the opening of
Pennsylvania Station (New York City) Pennsylvania Station (also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station) is the main inter-city rail, intercity railroad station in New York City and the List of busiest railway stations in North America, busiest transportation facili ...
ushered in electric service between that station and Jamaica. The LIRR's
Port Washington Branch The Port Washington Branch is an electrified, mostly double-tracked rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It branches north from the Main Line at the former Winfield Junction stat ...
was rebuilt and electrified by 1918. By 1934, LIRR branches to Mineola, Hempstead, West Hempstead,
Far Rockaway Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County li ...
,
Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, and
Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...
were electrified. In 1970, electrification was extended to Hicksville, and to Huntington on the
Port Jefferson Branch The Port Jefferson Branch is a rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The branch splits from the Main Line (Long Island Rail Road), Main Line just east of Hicksville ...
. In 1987, electrification of the Main Line between Hicksville and Ronkonkoma was completed, resulting in greatly increased service. The LIRR utilizes
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...
electrification, which was the original method used by the PRR. By the 1930s, the PRR had switched to
overhead catenary An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...
electrification, but the LIRR has continued utilizing its third rail system. Voltage was increased from to in the early 1970s to meet the greater power needs of the railroad's new M-1 cars.


New York, Westchester and Boston Railway

This railroad operation its suburban train service with electric service. The 4-track main line ran for from Westchester Ave. in New York to Mount Vernon, NY. From Mount Vernon the line split into two 2-track lines; one to New Rochelle, NY () and a second to White Plains, NY ().


Reading Co.

Electrification on the
Reading Company The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railro ...
began during the late 1920s. The first stage was placed in operation on July 26, 1931, when electric suburban trains began serving the Bethlehem Branch between
Reading Terminal The Reading Terminal ( ) is a complex of buildings that includes the former Reading Company main railroad station, station located in the Market East, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Market East section of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City in ...
,
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 ...
and
Lansdale Lansdale is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a densely populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rail's Lansdale/Doylestown Line. In the year 1900, 2,754 p ...
, the Doylestown Branch between Lansdale and Doylestown, the New Hope Branch between Glenside and
Hatboro Hatboro (known locally as the Boro) is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,238 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The town of Hatboro is located on land ...
, and the Jersey City Branch between
Jenkintown Jenkintown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is approximately north of Center City Philadelphia. History The community was named for William Jenkins, a Welsh pioneer settler. The borough was settled in about ...
and
West Trenton, New Jersey West Trenton is an unincorporated community within Ewing Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburban area located adjacent to the northwestern portion of the city of Trenton, from which it derives its name. Locate ...
. The second stage, the Norristown and Chestnut Hill branches, was opened on February 5, 1933. Like the PRR Paoli commuter line, the Reading employed overhead catenary wire powered at , but unlike the PRR, the Reading used a single generator, located at Wayne Junction, with long-distance lines being supplied by spider-frame pylons that can still be seen, mostly along the Schuylkill Expressway (
I-76 Interstate 76 or I-76 may refer to: Transportation * Interstate 76 (Colorado–Nebraska) (I-76), US * Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey) (I-76), running through Pennsylvania, US Other uses * ''Interstate '76'', a vehicular combat video game for W ...
). Extensions of electrification over intercity lines, such as West Trenton-Jersey City, Norristown-Reading-Harrisburg, and Lansdale-Bethlehem were planned, but because of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, they were dropped. Only two expansion projects, carried out by the Reading with funding from SEPTA, were that of the
Newtown Branch The Fox Chase Branch, formerly the Newtown Branch, is a railway line in the state of Pennsylvania. It runs from a junction with the SEPTA Main Line near to . At its fullest extent, it continued another fifteen miles north to . The oldest part ...
between
Newtown Junction Newtown Junction is a rail junction in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the Newtown Branch joins the SEPTA Main Line. The Warminster Line, West Trenton Line, and Lansdale/Doylestown Line all continue north toward Fern Rock along the old ...
and Fox Chase in September 1966, and the Warminster Branch between Hatboro and
Warminster Warminster () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south-west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of 18,173 in 2021. The name ''Warminster'' occurs first i ...
in 1974. Since the takeover of the Reading commuter lines in 1983, SEPTA has rehabilitated the catenary wires between the
Center City Commuter Connection alt=Plaque from the American Society of Civil Engineers in Jefferson Station, The Jefferson Station file:CC Commuter Tunnel 2.jpg">alt=Plaque from the city government of Philadelphia in Jefferson Station, City plaque in Jefferson Station The ...
and Wayne Junction, and on all ex-Reading tracks owned by SEPTA. Those sections of ex-Reading tracks owned by Conrail, and later by CSX, are being done on a step-by-step basis.


South Shore Line

Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District operates electric service along the
South Shore Line The South Shore Line is an electrically powered commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois and the South Bend Airport station in Sout ...
, which runs from
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...
to Chicago, partly via the Metra Electric line. Commuter trains are fully electrified via overhead line. Freight operations along the line utilize diesel locomotion.


Freight operations


Texas Transportation Company

The Texas Transportation Company operated a small Class III railroad in San Antonio until 2001, mostly serving the Pearl Brewery. It had a connection to the Southern Pacific Railroad, and briefly hosted passenger service in the 1980s with a former San Antonio trolley.


Black Mesa and Lake Powell Railroad

The BM&LP was an isolated short line in
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
which hauled
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
from a mine near Kayenta to the
Navajo Generating Station Navajo Generating Station was a 2.25-gigawatt (2,250 MW), coal-fired power plant located on the Navajo Nation, near Page, Arizona, United States. This plant provided electrical power to customers in Arizona, Nevada, and California. It also provi ...
power plant at
Page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...
. When built in 1973, it was the first line to use overhead catenary. The coal it hauled on the was used by the power plant at its western terminus to power the line itself. The line did not connect to any other part of the American rail network. Operations on the line ceased on August 26, 2019.


Muskingum Electric Railroad

This line operated between a coal mine and power generation station in southeast Ohio. It was electrified its entire life from its construction in 1968 to its dismantling around 2004. The line utilized 50,000 volt AC catenary to power GE E50C locomotives.


Mason City & Clear Lake Traction Co.

This is a line in Iowa that was built to connect Mason City with Clear Lake. Initially it operated a passenger service using a 600 V overhead system. In 1961 it was sold to investors and renamed as Iowa Terminal. In 1987 the line was purchased once more and was renamed to Iowa Traction Railway (IATR) where it now operates as a freight only railway.


Deseret-Western Railway

The Deseret Power Railroad , formerly known as the Deseret-Western Railway, is an isolated short line between
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
and
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
which hauls
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
from Deserado Mine to Bonanza Power Plant. It was built in 1983 and opened on January 4, 1984. Electrification is at 50 kv AC overhead wire. The coal it hauls on the is used by the power plant at its western terminus to power the line itself. The line does not connect to the national rail network.


Navajo Mine Railroad

The Navajo Mine Railroad operates between the Four Corners Generating Station and
BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the worldâ ...
's Navajo Coal Mine in
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
. The line started operation in 1974 using diesel locomotives and was electrified in 1984 because diesel operation was too expensive with the increasing train loads, fuel prices and problems with clogged oil bath filters on the diesel locomotives due to the excessive coal dust. Electrification was at overhead line. The railroad does not have any connection to the rest of the American rail network. Electric operations were discontinued in 2019 in favor of GE ET44AC diesel locomotives.


Martin Lake Line

The Martin Lake Line, owned by Luminant, once operated an electrified coal hauling line operating between mines in Beckville to the Martin Lake Power Plant in Texas. The railroad operated GE E25Bs and
GE E60 The GE E60 is a family of six-axle C-C electric locomotives made by GE Transportation Systems (GE) between 1972 and 1983. The E60s were produced in several variants for both freight and passenger use in the United States and Mexico. GE design ...
s, but electrification was dismantled and dieselized in the early 2010s.


Testing

The
Transportation Technology Center The Transportation Technology Center (TTC) is a railroad equipment testing and training facility located northeast of Pueblo, Colorado, owned by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). It was built in 1971 as the High Speed Ground Test Center ...
in
Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The ...
maintains a test track in length. Acela trains are tested at this site.


See also

*
Rail transportation in the United States Rail transportation in the United States consists primarily of Rail freight transport, freight shipments along a well integrated network of Standard-gauge railway, standard gauge private freight railroads that also extend into Canada and Mexico. ...
*
List of railway electrification systems This is a list of the power supply systems that are, or have been, used for railway electrification. Note that the voltages are nominal and vary depending on load and distance from the substation. , many trams and trains use on-board solid-state ...


References

{{Railway electrification * *
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...