Pascack Valley Line

Pascack Valley Line
A Hoboken Terminal-bound train at River Edge.
Overview
OwnerNew Jersey Transit
LocaleNorthern New Jersey and Hudson Valley, New York, United States
Termini
Stations18
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemNew Jersey Transit Rail Operations
Metro-North Railroad
Operator(s)New Jersey Transit
Rolling stockF40PH-3C/GP40PH-2/GP40FH-2/PL42AC/ALP-45DP locomotives
Comet V
Daily ridership7,200 (weekday average, FY 2012)[1]
Ridership443,199 (annual ridership, 2023)[2]
Technical
Number of tracks1
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map
Map
Legend
NJ&NY RR Haverstraw Branch
31.2 mi
50.2 km
Woodbine Yard
Erie Piermont Branch
30.6 mi
49.2 km
 Spring Valley
I-87.svgI-287.svgNYS Thruway Sign.svg I-87 / I-287 / New York Thruway
Erie Piermont Branch
NJ&NY RR New City Branch
27.9 mi
44.9 km
 Nanuet
25.4 mi
40.9 km
 Pearl River
NY
NJ
24.2 mi
38.9 km
 Montvale
23.6 mi
38 km
 Park Ridge
22.7 mi
36.5 km
 Woodcliff Lake
Hillsdale Manor
21.4 mi
34.4 km
 Hillsdale
stub siding
20.5 mi
33 km
 Westwood
Kuiken Brothers Lumber.
19.3 mi
31.1 km
 Emerson
17.8 mi
28.6 km
 Oradell
New Milford
16.4 mi
26.4 km
 River Edge
14.7 mi
23.7 km
 New Bridge Landing
Ellipse sign 4.svg Route 4
siding
Fairmount Avenue
13.5 mi
21.7 km
 Anderson Street
Passaic Street
Central Avenue
NYSW Railway
12.4 mi
20 km
 Essex Street
Essex Street Runaround
Green Street Runaround
I-80.svg I-80
Ford's Lead Industrial Track
Lodi Branch Railroad
US 46.svg US 46
11.2 mi
18 km
 Teterboro
siding
Hasbrouck Heights
9.6 mi
15.4 km
 Wood-Ridge
MDW to Meadowlands
Carlstadt
7.6 mi
12.2 km
BCL to Suffern via Fair Lawn
Ellipse sign 3.svg Route 3
I-95.svgNew Jersey Turnpike Shield.svg I-95 /
N.J. Turnpike
Western Spur
5.6 mi
9 km
HX Draw (Hackensack River)
NS Croxton Intermodal Terminal
MAIN to Suffern via Paterson
I-95.svgNew Jersey Turnpike Shield.svg I-95 /
N.J. Turnpike
Eastern Spur
 Secaucus Junction
(Amtrak NEC)
NYS&W / Northern Branch
Morris & Essex Lines
Bergen Tunnels
Hoboken Yard
0.0 mi
0 km
 Hoboken Terminal
NY Waterway Hudson–Bergen Light Rail Port Authority Trans-Hudson
Hudson River
This diagram:

The Pascack Valley Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Hoboken Division of New Jersey Transit, in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The line runs north from Hoboken Terminal, through Hudson and Bergen counties in New Jersey, and into Rockland County, New York, terminating at Spring Valley. Service within New York is operated under contract with Metro-North Railroad. The line is named for the Pascack Valley region that it passes through in northern Bergen County. The line parallels the Pascack Brook for some distance. The line is colored purple on system maps, and its symbol is a pine tree.

Description

[edit]
NJ Transit GP-40PH-2 4213 leading an outbound Pascack Valley Line train at Main St. level crossing in Hackensack, N.J.

The Pascack Valley Line runs between Spring Valley, New York, and Hoboken Terminal. The line is 31 miles (50 km) long, of which the northernmost 6 miles (9.7 km) are in New York State. The entire line is owned by NJ Transit, but the Pearl River, Nanuet and Spring Valley stations are leased to Metro-North Railroad. The line is single tracked, but sidings at points along the line, including the Meadowlands, Hackensack and Nanuet, permit bi-directional off-peak service. A siding in Oradell was also planned for increased service and reliability, but the project was halted due to local opposition.[3][4] Service on this line operates seven days a week.[5]

History

[edit]
1893 map of the New Jersey and New York Railroad

The line was originally chartered as the Hackensack and New York Railroad in 1856. It later became the New Jersey and New York Railroad, which was bought by the Erie Railroad in 1896. The New Jersey and New York Railroad continued to exist as an Erie subsidiary until October 17, 1960 merger that created the Erie Lackawanna Railroad.[6][citation needed]

Passenger Timetable for the New York & New Jersey Railroad and Piermont Branch, effective 1931-09-27

On April 1, 1976 the Erie Lackawanna was merged with several other railroads to create Conrail.[7][8] In 1983, after several years under operation by Conrail, operations of the Pascack Valley Line were transferred to NJ Transit Rail Operations.

The line used to continue north of Spring Valley to Haverstraw, New York. This portion of the line has been abandoned and most of the right-of-way has been sold off. Part of the line (between Spring Valley and Nanuet) was once part of the main Erie Railroad line from Piermont, New York to Buffalo, New York.[9] Into the 1930s there had been Erie passenger service from Spring Valley at the end of the Pascack line to Suffern station on the newer Erie Main Line.[10] By 1941, this was reduced to a single weekday trip in each direction.[11]

In August 2020, amidst the financial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that it would shut down service on the line in Rockland County if federal bailout money were not available.[12]

September 2016 crash

[edit]
Main article: 2016 Hoboken train crash

On September 29, 2016, Pascack Valley Line Train 1614 crashed into Hoboken Terminal injuring 108 and killing one.[13]

Stations

[edit]
State Zone[14] Location Station[14] Milepost (km) Date opened Date closed Connections[14]
NJ 1 Hoboken Hoboken Terminal Disabled access 0.0 (0.0) 1903 NJ Transit Rail: Bergen County, Meadowlands, Gladstone, Main, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, North Jersey Coast, Raritan Valley lines
Metro-North Railroad: Port Jervis Line
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail: 8th Street-Hoboken, Hoboken-Tonnelle lines
PATH: HOB-WTC, HOB-33, JSQ-33 (via HOB)
NJ Transit Bus: 22, 23, 63, 64, 68, 85, 87, 89, 126
New York Waterway to Battery Park City
Secaucus Secaucus Junction Disabled access 3.5 (5.6) December 15, 2003[15] NJ Transit Rail (upper level): Gladstone, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast, and Raritan Valley lines
NJ Transit Rail (lower level): Bergen County, BetMGM Meadowlands, and Main lines
Metro-North Railroad: Port Jervis Line
NJ Transit Bus: 2, 78, 129, 329, 353
3 Carlstadt Carlstadt January 21, 1861[16][17] 1967[18]
Wood-Ridge Wood-Ridge 9.6 (15.4) January 21, 1861[16][17]
Hasbrouck Heights Hasbrouck Heights January 21, 1861[16][17] 1967[18]
4 Teterboro 11.2 (18.0) May 29, 1904[19] Formerly Williams Avenue
5 Hackensack Essex Street Disabled access 12.4 (20.0) January 21, 1861[16][17] NJ Transit Bus: 76, 712, 780
Central Avenue 1870 1953
Passaic Street September 9, 1869[20]
Anderson Street 13.5 (21.7) September 9, 1869[20] NJ Transit Bus: 175, 770
Fairmount Avenue March 4, 1870[18] 1983[21]
6 River Edge New Bridge Landing 14.7 (23.7) March 4, 1870[18] NJ Transit Bus: 175, 762
Rockland Coaches: 11
River Edge 16.4 (29.4) March 4, 1870[22] NJ Transit Bus: 175, 762
Rockland Coaches: 11
New Milford March 4, 1870
7 Oradell Oradell 17.8 (28.6) March 4, 1870[23] NJ Transit Bus: 175, 762
Rockland Coaches: 11
8 Emerson Emerson 19.3 (31.1) March 4, 1870 NJ Transit Bus: 165
Rockland Coaches: 11
9 Westwood Westwood Disabled access 20.5 (33.0) March 4, 1870[24] NJ Transit Bus: 165
Rockland Coaches: 11, 14, 46, 84
Hillsdale Hillsdale 21.4 (34.4) March 4, 1870[24] Rockland Coaches: 11
Hillsdale Manor 1893[25][26]
10 Woodcliff Lake Woodcliff Lake 22.7 (36.5) May 27, 1871[27]
Park Ridge Park Ridge 23.6 (38.0) May 27, 1871[27]
Montvale Montvale Disabled access 24.2 (38.9) May 27, 1871[27] Rockland Coaches: 11
NY MNR Orangetown Pearl River 25.6 (41.2) May 27, 1871[27] Transport of Rockland: 92
Clarkstown Nanuet Disabled access 27.9 (44.9) June 30, 1841[28][29] Transport of Rockland: 92
Rockland Coaches: 11
Spring Valley Spring Valley 30.6 (49.2) June 30, 1841[28][29] Transport of Rockland: 59, 91, 92, 94, Monsey Loop 3,
Transdev: Lower Hudson Transit Link

Rockland Coaches: 11, 45

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Mott, Edward Harold (1899). Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie. New York, New York: John S. Collins. Retrieved July 31, 2020.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "NJ TRANSIT QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS November 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  2. ^ "2023 ANNUAL RIDERSHIP REPORT". mta.info. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  3. ^ Pascack Valley Line Right-of-Way Improvement Project. New Jersey Transit, January 2006.
  4. ^ NJ TRANSIT RAMPS UP PROJECT TO PROVIDE BI-DIRECTIONAL, OFF-PEAK SERVICE ON PASCACK VALLEY LINE: Project also makes way for rail service to the Meadowlands, press release dated May 11, 2005
  5. ^ PASCACK VALLEY LINE CUSTOMERS TO GET IMPROVED SERVICE THIS FALL, New Jersey Transit Press Release August 16, 2007 Accessed September 13, 2007
  6. ^ "Conrail merger family tree". Trains Magazine. June 2, 2006. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  7. ^ "Erie Lackawanna Historical Society". www.erielackhs.org. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  8. ^ Grant, H. Roger (October 1, 1996). Erie Lackawanna: The Death of an American Railroad, 1938-1992. Stanford University Press. p. 208. ISBN 9780804727983. erie lackawanna conrail 1976.
  9. ^ "RAILROADS CENTERING IN NEW-YORK.; Time Tables, &c., of the New-York, Harlem and Albany, Hudson River, New-York and New-Haven, New-York and Erie, New-Jersey Central, New-Jersey, Long Island, Flushing, Hackensack and New-York, Morris and Essex, Staten Island, Brooklyn and Jamaica, Perth Amboy and Woodbridge, Millstone and New-Brunswick, Hackensack and New-York Railroads. NORTH. SOUTH. EAST. WEST. THE LOCAL RAILROADS". The New York Times. January 21, 1866. ProQuest 92284310.
  10. ^ 'Official Guide of the Railways,' August 1936, Erie Railroad section, Table 47
  11. ^ 'Official Guide of the Railways,' June 1941, Erie Railroad section, Table 38
  12. ^ Zambito, Thomas C. (August 26, 2020). "MTA could eliminate Pascack Valley, Port Jervis lines if federal bailout doesn't come through". Rockland/Westchester Journal News. Gannett. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  13. ^ A New Jersey Train Crash Has Left at Least 100 People Injured Esquire By Associated Press; September 29, 2016
  14. ^ a b c "Pascack Valley Line Timetables - November 19, 2014 edition" (PDF). New York, New York: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  15. ^ Frassinelli, Mike (June 5, 2013). "U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg gets one last ride at the Secaucus station that bears his name". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  16. ^ a b c d Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Its Predecessors and Successors and Its Historical Context: 1861" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society. p. 6. Retrieved November 19, 2022. Jan. 21, 1861 – Hackensack & New York Railroad begins operating into the Jersey City Terminal of the New Jersey Railroad; 6'-0" gauge track extended in station.
  17. ^ a b c d "Railroad Miscellany". The Railroad Record. Cincinnati, Ohio: 567. January 17, 1861. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  18. ^ a b c d Jones, Wilson E. (1996). The Pascack Valley Line - A History of the New Jersey and New York Railroad. East Hanover, New Jersey: Railroadians of America. p. 44. ISBN 0-941652-14-9.
  19. ^ "Miscellaneous Locals". The Evening Record and Bergen County Herald. Hackensack, New Jersey. May 28, 1904. p. 3. Retrieved July 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  20. ^ a b "Hackensack and New-York Railroad" (PDF). The New York Times. New York, New York. September 9, 1869. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  21. ^ Pascack Valley Line Timetables. Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit. 1982.
  22. ^ "Railway Extension". The New York Times. March 6, 1870. p. 8. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  23. ^ "50th Anniversary Greetings". The Bergen Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. June 2, 1944. p. 14. Retrieved February 15, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  24. ^ a b Backus, Kathleen S. (March 21, 1957). "Removal of Historic Buildings Excites Interest in Borough". The Bergen Evening Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. p. 5. Retrieved December 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  25. ^ "Bergen County". The Paterson Evening News. April 13, 1893. p. 3. Retrieved August 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  26. ^ "The Manor Section: 100 Years of Hillsdale History" (PDF). The Hillsdale, New Jersey Newsletter. Summer 1991. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  27. ^ a b c d Adriance, Tim (Spring 2018). "A History of Bergen County Railroads". Autumn Years. Bergen County, New Jersey. p. 46. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  28. ^ a b Mott 1899, p. 331.
  29. ^ a b Seymour, HC (October 28, 1841). "Eastern Division of the New York and Erie Railroad". The Evening Post. New York, New York. p. 1. Retrieved July 31, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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