Montclair-Boonton Line
Encyclopedia
The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations
. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Montclair Branch, which ran from Hoboken Terminal
to Bay Street, Montclair
; the Erie Railroad's Greenwood Lake Division (segment from Montclair to Mountain View-Wayne), which originally ran from the Erie's Jersey City Terminal to Greenwood Lake, NY; and the former Lackawanna Boonton Line, which ran from Hoboken to Hackettstown, New Jersey
. The Montclair-Boonton line was formed when the Montclair Connection
opened on September 30, 2002. The line serves 28 active rail stations in New Jersey along with New York Pennsylvania Station. It crosses through six counties, serving six stations in the township of Montclair
, two in the town of Bloomfield
, and one in the city of Newark
. Trains along the Montclair-Boonton Line heading eastward usually originate at Hackettstown station
, Mount Olive station
, Lake Hopatcong
, Dover station
, and/or Montclair State University station
, bound for either Hoboken Terminal or New York Penn Station.
For 2010, of 31 inbound and 34 outbound daily weekday trains, 21 inbound and 22 outbound Midtown Direct trains (about 66%) use the Kearny Connection
to Secaucus Junction
and New York Penn Station; the rest go to Hoboken Terminal. Trains to Hoboken
run only at rush hour
. Passengers can transfer at Secaucus Junction, Newark Broad Street Station, Montclair State University, or Dover to reach other destinations if necessary. Weekend service on the Montclair-Boonton Line began on November 8, 2009, with service every two hours between Bay Street station in Montclair and Hoboken terminal, with the train making all local stops. This was an extension of existing Hoboken-to-Newark service, previously listed on the Morris & Essex timetables.
Plans for connecting the two lines (the New York & Greenwood Lake Railroad (later the Boonton Line) and the Montclair Branch) dated back to 1929, when a rail connection through Montclair was proposed. Despite years of debate over the connection, nothing came to fruition until 1991. Lackawanna Terminal in Montclair closed in 1981, replaced by the new Bay Street station on the alignment that eventually would extend to the connection. In 1991, studies were conducted by New Jersey Transit regarding the creation of the Montclair Connection, and in 2002, after construction was completed, the Boonton Line from east of Walnut Street station
to Arlington
was abandoned and all trains took the new alignment via the Montclair Branch between a newly-rebuilt Bay Street station and Walnut Street. Service began on September 30, 2002 and three stations on the old Boonton Line were closed, Benson Street
in Glen Ridge, Rowe Street
in Bloomfield, and Arlington station in Kearny
.
Besides the Montclair Connection, service was extended in 1994 from Netcong station
to Hackettstown via tracks owned by Norfolk Southern. Stations at Roseville Avenue in Newark, Ampere
in East Orange
, and Great Notch
in Little Falls
were closed in 1984, 1991, and 2010 respectively. Two service expansions have been proposed using the under-construction branch to Andover
via the Lackawanna Cut-Off project, an extension on old New York and Greenwood Lake tracks to Pompton Junction, and the New York, Susquehanna and Western. There is also a proposal to extend service along the Washington Secondary as a rapid transit improvement to the New Jersey Route 57 corridor via Washington Borough
to Phillipsburg
.
for the one-car train.
On April 1, 1868, the Morris & Essex Railroad bought out the alignment of the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad. The Morris & Essex began running services on the line, which was renamed the "Montclair Branch" when West Bloomfield was similarly renamed to "Montclair" shortly after. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
soon gained trackage rights, and by the turn of the 20th century, the railroad had begun constructing track depressions and raises to eliminate grade-level crossings on city streets. In 1912, the Montclair Branch was depressed, elevated, and double tracked, and grade crossings were eliminated. The stations at Watsessing Avenue and Glen Ridge were constructed below street level, while Ampere and Bloomfield stations were constructed above street level. Roseville Avenue station was already depressed, 22 feet (6.7 m) below street level, in 1903.
In June 1913, the new Lackawanna Terminal (named after the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western) opened in Montclair. William H. Botsford designed it, but did not live to see it open as he died in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. The brick station building followed a Grecian-Doric
style of architecture, which included creative uses of concrete for the arches and dentil
s. Lackawanna Terminal had six tracks and three concrete platforms, with a large bridge which carried Grove Street in Montclair over the tracks. The Montclair Branch was the first fully electrified suburban railroad, wired in 1930. The inaugural train was driven by Thomas Edison
, who had helped develop the line. On July 26, 1945, the Morris & Essex Railroad Company was officially dissolved, and the company became part of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western. The lines were then maintained as the Morris & Essex Division.
The New York & Greenwood Lake Railway originated as the New York and Montclair Railroad, granted a state charter in 1867 to construct a railroad from Jersey City
to the New York state line at Greenwood Lake. The railroad caused the secession of West Bloomfield from Bloomfield, and West Bloomfield renamed itself Montclair. The railroad was completed in 1872 with four stations in Montclair: Montclair, Watchung Avenue, Upper Montclair, and Montclair Heights. The New York & Greenwood Lake Railway became a subsidiary of the Erie Railroad by 1884 and what was once its track is now the Walnut Street – Mountain View stretch of the Montclair-Boonton Line.
The original railroad extended much farther in both directions, encompassing Hoboken Terminal via the former alignment through Montclair, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, Newark and reaching into Kearny, where it crossed the Hackensack River
and the meadowlands
into Hoboken. The alignment had two stations in the Arlington section of Kearny: Arlington and West Arlington; Forest Hill and North Newark in Newark; Belwood Park, Rowe Street, Orchard Street, and Walnut Street in Bloomfield, and Benson Street in Glen Ridge. At Forest Hill in Newark, the mainline intersected with its Orange Branch at OJ Tower, constructed in 1897. Orange Branch passenger service was discontinued on May 20, 1955, but freight service lingered until 1979, when the track was removed from White St. in West Orange to the Watsessing section of Bloomfield. Some track remains in service today for the Newark Light Rail
, including Silver Lake Station, which was a former station on the branch. The station, today known as Walnut Street, was then known as Montclair-Erie Plaza to differentiate it from the nearby Montclair Lackawanna Terminal. The line also had an extension to Sterling Forest
and Ringwood
near the state line with New York.
was abandoned between Mountain View and Paterson and its right of way was sold for the new Interstate 80
and the current-day New Jersey Route 19. (At the time, NJ 19 was designated New Jersey Route 20; the westernmost segment of NJ 20 connected eastward with what is now New Jersey Route 120
, replicating Paterson Plank Road from Jersey City through the Meadowlands, Rutherford, and Clifton to Paterson) A single track could have been retained along the new highways, but the Erie-Lackawanna decided to sell the entire right-of-way as it was strapped for cash. To allow the western end of the Boonton Line access into Hoboken, the east end of the Erie's former Greenwood Lake Branch, between Bergen Junction at Croxton and Mountain View in Wayne, was joined to the west end of the DL&W's former Boonton Line between Wayne and Denville. The line was renamed the Greenwood Lake-Boonton Line in recognition of its two predecessors. The original DL&W east of Clifton was joined with the Erie's Main Line
as part of a project to remove tracks through Passaic
.
. The Boonton Line at that point began out of Hoboken Terminal, heading westward through the Jersey Meadows and into Kearny, crossing the Passaic river at West Arlington and going through North Newark, Bloomfield, and Glen Ridge before entering Montclair and continuing on from the current Walnut Street station to Netcong station. The Montclair Branch, designated part of the Morris & Essex Lines
, which consisted of the Montclair Branch, Morristown Line
, and Gladstone Branch
, had six stations: Roseville Avenue in Newark, Ampere in East Orange, Watsessing Avenue in Bloomfield, Bloomfield station, Glen Ridge station, and Bay Street in Montclair. The Montclair Branch was an electrified service; however, the Boonton Line was a diesel line.
Over the next decade, New Jersey Transit closed several stations over the length of the Montclair Branch. The Harrison and Roseville Avenue stations were closed on September 16, 1984; the Ampere station in East Orange was closed less than seven years later, on April 7, 1991. Plans to extend the Morristown Line and Boonton Line westward from Netcong station to Hackettstown were proposed in June 1992 as part of proposed service extension. On November 6, 1994, service was ceremonially extended along Norfolk Southern's Washington
Secondary from Netcong Station with the creation of the stops in Mount Olive and Hackettstown
. Trackage along those two stations is still Norfolk Southern's, though anything beyond Netcong remains New Jersey Transit's.
, to connect the New York & Greenwood Lake with the Montclair Branch. However, the Great Depression
, which began in 1929, shelved plans for the connection. Three decades after the Erie's Main Line was realigned out of Passaic (in 1963), New Jersey Transit returned to the plan for the Montclair Connection. The original plan was for a one-track diesel connection, but this grew into a two-track electric connection with extension of catenary wires. After negotiations with the township of Montclair, detailed plans and design began in 1998, and construction began just a year later.
When the Montclair Connection was completed in 2002, the names of the Montclair Branch and Boonton Line were eliminated in favor of the labeling the new whole "the Montclair-Boonton Line". Although no stations along the Montclair Branch (Watsessing, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, and Bay Street) were closed, three stations along the old Greenwood Lake alignment had service end on September 20, 2002: Arlington station
, in Kearny
, Rowe Street
, in Bloomfield, and Benson Street
, in Glen Ridge. This alignment was turned over to Norfolk Southern for maintenance. The station building at Benson Street was damaged by a fire in the 1980s and had fallen into disrepair; in May, 2009, it was sold to a private developer and is being rebuilt entirely. During the Montclair Connection's construction, Bay Street station, which was a single platform with only one track, was rebuilt entirely, with two high-level platforms and new tracks.
The new connection also introduced service to New York Penn Station for commuters along the line; trains previously went only to Hoboken Terminal
. The new services included diesel service and express trains to Montclair Heights, making stops from Great Notch to Hackettstown, and new Midtown Direct service trains from Montclair Heights to New York, with transfers between them at Great Notch. There was also additional Morristown line Midtown Direct service to New York, available only at Denville and Dover stations. Other upgrades along the line included a revamping of Great Notch Yard for state-of-the-art service. However, no weekend service was implemented on the line.
(MSU) as part of the Midtown Direct service. On July 18, 2002, partnership announced plans for a new train station and parking facility for commuters in Little Falls. Before the Construction of Montclair State University Station, students at Montclair State University could only use Montclair Heights station to access the campus. Construction of the station was delayed by lawsuits from the township of Montclair because of residential displacement and parking issues. The station was proposed with a 1300-space parking deck and a cost of $36 million (2002 USD). The $36 million came entirely from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority
in bonds to Montclair State University.
On October 20, 2004, the new Montclair State University Station at Little Falls opened in a ceremony led by executive director George Warrington and MSU president Susan Cole. The new station had a parking deck with 1500 spaces, reducing road congestion. This differed from the original proposal, which had called for 1,300 parking spaces. Electrified service was then extended from Montclair Heights station north a mile to Montclair State University, although catenary wires continue westward to the former Great Notch station.
was the downtown Mountain View station
. The only station in the area around Lake Hopatcong
was Lake Hopatcong station
in Landing
(this station has been referred to on timetables as Lake Hopatcong-Mount Arlington). In 2008, both the Wayne-Route 23 Transit Center and Mount Arlington Intermodal Train Station and Park & Ride opened.
Wayne-Route 23 is located in Wayne, near the Westbelt Mall at the U.S. Route 46, Interstate 80, Route 23 interchange; this was also the site of the Singac station, which closed four decades before the new transit center opened. On September 13, 2006, construction of the $16.3 million project was announced; the general contractor
was J.H. Reid of South Plainfield
. The new station was built to reduce traffic on nearby highways, by diverting commuters to trains or buses.
Construction on Mount Arlington Station, which was already a parking lot with 228 spaces for Lakeland Bus, began on April 12, 2006. The new train station was built to relieve traffic on Interstate 80, and 57 new parking spaces were added to the lot. The project was slated to cost $12.1 million, and the contract was given to Terminal Construction Corporation of Wood-Ridge
. Both stations were completed within nine days of each other: the Wayne-Route 23 Transit Center opened on January 12, 2008, with train service beginning two days later; Mount Arlington Station opened on January 21, 2008, and is the newest station on the line.
. The agency repeatedly declined to expand the service because Montclair limited the use of train horns between 7 pm and 7 am. New Jersey Transit had received requests for weekend service since 2007, and denied them citing capacity issues and turning off electric power for bridge replacement. Advocates have dismissed these reasons as "excuses" and locals said it would improve their quality of life.
On September 30, 2009, New Jersey Transit announced service every two hours between Bay Street station
and Hoboken Terminal, an approximately 35-minute trip. The service started on November 8, 2009 with a ceremony at Bay Street station in Montclair.
. The station dated back to 1905 as a transfer point between the New York & Greenwood Lake and its Caldwell Branch to Essex Fells, New Jersey
. The station was important in its heyday, but after the opening of Montclair State University station
in 2004, about a mile away, ridership at the old station, which had only 69 parking spaces, began to dwindle. By January 2008, only one train inbound to Hoboken and two trains outbound towards Hackettstown/Dover stopped at Great Notch. In August 2008, New Jersey Transit approached the community of Great Notch, part of Little Falls, saying that the 103-year-old station would be closed by October. After a few days, there was public protest against the possible closure, and on September 3, a public meeting was held to strike a deal with residents.
On April 1, 2009, after negotiations with Michael DeFrancisci, the mayor of Little Falls, the station and town were given a "one-year test" to attract ridership at the small station. The quota to keep the station open was 67 people using the station by December 31, 2009 and 100+ by April 1, 2010. On December 18, 2009, the test was canceled when Little Falls was informed by New Jersey Transit that the Great Notch Station would be closed on January 17, 2010 due to the anemic ridership at the station. New Jersey Transit cited in a press release that the station only was receiving an average of nine boardings daily. The remaining passengers were directed to use either Montclair State University station or Little Falls station.
According to the 2020 Transit: Possibilities For The Future report produced by New Jersey Transit in October 2000, the Montclair-Boonton Line is a candidate for further rail expansion beyond the Montclair Connection. The Lackawanna Cut-Off, a project from Lake Hopatcong to Scranton, Pennsylvania
, is to start off as the Andover Branch off Montclair-Boonton Line trains. The Lackawanna Cut-Off was a former Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western line used from 1911 to 1970. As part of the Minimal Operable Segment (MOS), only a 7.3 miles (11.7 km) stretch to Andover, New Jersey
is to be active. Passenger trains will use an upgraded alignment from the Montclair-Boonton/Morristown mainline at Port Morris Junction with several Montclair-Boonton trains taking the junction to Andover.
The report also cited the study of extending service on the Montclair-Boonton from the current Hackettstown station, a single-sided platform in downtown Hackettstown along the current Washington Secondary, maintained by Norfolk Southern to Phillipsburg, New Jersey
via Washington
. One of two extensions proposed to Phillipsburg, the line would follow New Jersey Route 57 through Port Murray
, Rockport, Washington, Stewartsville
, and into Phillipsburg, where it would meet an extended Raritan Valley Line
. Locals have expressed support for the extensions on the active Class I freight line, and would use automobiles to get to the stations' newly-designed park and rides. The expansion of passenger service on the Washington Secondary is a small part of new public transport on the Route 57 corridor, an attempt to attract service past Hackettstown from the northern New Jersey and New York corridors. However, the candidate project has not yet been funded by New Jersey Transit.
The third and final extension relates to the possibility of using the New York and Greenwood Lake trackage from Mountain View station northward to the old Pompton Junction station. The project, called the Pompton Extension, is part of an effort to connect service from the Montclair-Boonton to the candidate rail service to Sparta, New Jersey on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad. This service would connect the stations at Pequannock
, Pompton Plains
, Pompton and connect at the Pompton Junction, the site of the former Pompton Junction station. However, unlike the other projects, the Pompton Extension is still in study and not a candidate for funding.
, which includes all weekend service, or New York Penn Station. From there, trains use the alignment of the Morristown Line
west through the Bergen Tunnels from Hoboken, over the Lower Hack Lift
bridge across the Hackensack River
. After crossing the Hackensack, the lines pass through Kearny
and Harrison
. Harrison was the site of a passenger station built in 1904 during the track-raising project by William Truesdale, which started in 1901.
From Harrison, the lines cross over the Passaic River
and along Bridge 7.48, a swing drawbridge built in 1901, where they enter the city of Newark
and stop at Newark Broad Street Station. Broad Street Station is the first station in active service after Secaucus Junction
. Continuing through Newark, the station enters the Roseville district
of Newark, where the former Roseville Avenue
station was located. Roseville Avenue was constructed in 1905, during the track depression through Roseville along the Morris & Essex Lines. Roseville Avenue Station had two separate sets of platforms (one for the Montclair Branch and one for the Morris & Essex Lines). Although the station was closed on September 16, 1984, the Roseville Tower remained until it was demolished in 2002 to make way for the Montclair Connection. At Roseville Avenue station, the Montclair-Boonton Line and Morris & Essex Lines diverge, with the Morris & Essex continuing west to Summit
and points west, while the Montclair-Boonton turns to the north through Roseville and into the community of East Orange
, where it crosses through the Ampere district.
Near the intersection of Springdale Avenue and Ampere Parkway, trains pass through the site of the former Ampere Station
. Ampere was built around 1909 and remained in use during New Jersey Transit days until April 7, 1991, when along with Grove Street, the station was closed. From here, the lines continue into Bloomfield
.
station. The station is on an open cut, and is one of two stations that were built underground during the grade crossing elimination in 1912. After crossing under Watsessing Avenue (and Dodd Street), the lines continue northward, crossing under the Garden State Parkway
between the northbound and southbound toll plazas of Exit 148. After traversing Watsessing Park
, the tracks return to being above-ground and enter Bloomfield Station
. The current Bloomfield station was constructed in 1912 during grade crossing elimination, when tracks were raised above street-level. From here, the station continues northwestward, paralleling Toney's Brook
through Bloomfield (to the southeast of Bloomfield Avenue). After a short distance, the tracks head back below street level and enter the community of Glen Ridge
. At the overpass with Ridgewood Avenue (Essex County Route 653), the line enters the namesake Glen Ridge station
. Glen Ridge contains two platforms, and its station building, built in 1912, is above track level, similar to Watsessing Avenue. After Glen Ridge station, the Montclair-Boonton Line continues west before crossing under Bloomfield Avenue (County Route 506) and entering Montclair
.
After crossing under Bloomfield Avenue the Montclair-Boonton Line enters the namesake community of Montclair. It leaves the DL&W alignment and curves rightward into Bay Street station
just after Bloomfield Avenue. Bay Street is the newest station on the Montclair Branch portion of the Montclair-Boonton Line, built in 1981 to replace the nearby Lackawanna Terminal
, which was becoming a "white elephant". This station is the north end of service on weekends. After Bay Street the line parallels Pine Street on new track to join the Erie (NY&GL) alignment. After the merge near the intersection of Pine Street and Grant Street the line continues north and enters Walnut Street station
near Erie Park (named after the Erie Railroad that once used the rails). The current Walnut Street station was built in 1952 as Montclair station after the larger structure was demolished. This station is the first of the five along the New York & Greenwood Lake portion of the Montclair-Boonton Line and has two low side platforms at grade.
The lines parallel Erie Street, once again named after the predecessor railroad, continuing north through several parks in Montclair. After Woodman Field the line enters the Watchung Avenue station
, the third of six stations in Montclair. Watchung Avenue Station was built in 1901 as an Erie Railroad Type V station (according to the 1920 Interstate Commerce Report for the Erie), separated by less than a mile from the nearby stations. Watchung Avenue station has two low platforms on embankments and sits next to a bridge over the namesake Watchung Avenue.
. The tracks parallel Anderson Park before crossing Bellevue Avenue and entering the Upper Montclair station
. Upper Montclair is the fourth station in Montclair, also having two low platforms. The old Type V station building, built in 1898, suffered a fire on February 5, 2006. The station building is being rebuilt, although larger than the original. Although a planned re-opening was set for the weekend of February 14, 2010, the new Upper Montclair station was ceremoniously reopened by New Jersey Transit and state officials, along with Montclair mayor Jerry Fried on June 18, 2010.
After Upper Montclair station the tracks turn northeast, crossing under Lorraine Avenue, and paralleling Valley Road. The line continues northward paralleling Upper Mountain Avenue through the Upper Montclair district. A short distance later, the tracks enter Mountain Avenue
, the next to last station in Montclair. Mountain Avenue has two low platforms, and the nearby station building, which is rented by New Jersey Transit as a private residence. The building was constructed in 1889 by the New York & Greenwood Lake as an irregular shape, similar to Benson Street station on the former Boonton Line alignment east of Montclair. After Mountain Avenue the tracks continue northward through Upper Montclair, passing through Mountainside Park and crossing Mount Hebron Road.
After Mount Hebron Road, the tracks pass a bird sanctuary and enter the Montclair Heights station
. The final station in Montclair, Montclair Heights has a mini-high ADA ramp and low platforms. The original station building was constructed in 1905 under an Erie Type V design, until closure in 1959 by the Erie Railroad for economic reasons. The station is also signed as the "Home of Montclair State University". The station itself is at the south end of the campus and was the transfer station until the namesake station for the college opened in 2004. After Montclair Heights, the trains cross town lines, leaving Montclair in favor of Little Falls, New Jersey
.
(officially known as the Montclair State University Station at Little Falls). The station is the set transfer between electric and diesel service, as people heading westward to Dover or Hackettstown need to transfer for further service. The station has a large island platform and also has a 1530-space parking garage on campus.
A short distance after Montclair State University, the tracks turn to the northwest, leave campus grounds and cross over Clove Road. The tracks loop around campus and pass Great Notch Yard and the site of the now-closed Great Notch station
. Great Notch was a one platform station in the Great Notch district of Little Falls. The station consisted of a shelter (which replaced a building built in 1905 and burned down in 1988) and benches. After ridership at the station became "anemic", Great Notch was shut down on January 17, 2010, with the last train departing two days prior. Great Notch and its Yard serve as the end of the electrified catenary wires above on the Montclair-Boonton Line. This station was also the site of the transfer to the Erie's Caldwell Branch to Essex Fells, New Jersey
, torn up in 1979.
After Great Notch, the tracks continued southwestward through Little Falls, crossing under Long Hill Road (CR 631) and Francisco Road (CR 612) before making a curve back to the northwest at a siding on Cedar Grove Road. The tracks then go over a curved bridge over the Peckman River. The northwestern-bound tracks enter downtown Little Falls, paralleling New Jersey Route 23 into the namesake Little Falls station
at Union Boulevard (CR 646). Little Falls is a one low platform station, with the original building, constructed in 1915, standing on the single platform. The station has a 194-spot parking lot and the brick building is used as a waiting room. After the station, the tracks continue northwestward, approaching the Passaic River once again at the community of Singac. The community of Singac is the former site of the namesake Singac Station, which has been out of service for quite a while. After the Passaic, the tracks enter the town of Wayne
.
and through the interchange between Route 23, U.S. Route 46
, and Interstate 80
. After crossing under Interstate 80, the tracks parallel Route 23 and into Westbelt, where the tracks enter the second-newest station on the line, the Wayne-Route 23 Inter-modal Transit Center
. Wayne-Route 23 opened on January 12, 2008 with a single high platform and the nearby bus terminal. Wayne-Route 23 Transit Center also contains 1,000 parking spaces for use by travelers.
After leaving Wayne-Route 23, the tracks continue to parallel Route 23 and enter downtown Wayne. The tracks cross Fayette Avenue Park and parallel the Pequannock River
into the U.S. Route 202
and Route 23 in the downtown portion. After paralleling Fayette Avenue, the tracks enter Mountain View station
. Mountain View station has one low platform and serves as the station for downtown Wayne. The station building at Mountain View was built in 1910 as an Erie Type 4 station (according to the ICC
reports), but by 1965 had been replaced by a simple Armco shelter. Mountain View also was also the site of the New York & Greenwood Lake's extension to Wanaque, New Jersey
. From this point, the Montclair-Boonton Line follows the alignment of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's Boonton Branch
.
. After crossing under Ryerson Road, the alignment heads westward through an empty portion of Lincoln Park until entering the namesake Lincoln Park station
. Lincoln Park station has a low platform and the station building, a Type W-103 station built in 1904. The tracks continue westward, paralleling U.S. Route 202 through Lincoln Park and making a curve into Montville, New Jersey. In Montville, the tracks head to the southwest through the Towaco district. The tracks continue, paralleling and crossing under Route 202 before entering the Towaco station
. Towaco's station building was constructed in 1911 and serves as the only station in Montville, with one low platform for the single track.
The tracks continue westward through Montville, paralleling and crossing U.S. Route 202 once again. Just before the overpass of Interstate 287
, the tracks pass the site of the original Montville station. Montville was constructed in 1903 as a Type W-1 frame station and cost only $2400. The tracks cross under Interstate 287 and make a gradual turn to the southwest. There, the line parallels U.S. Route 202 and Interstate 287 south of the Taylortown district until entering Boonton
. After crossing Wooton Street, the tracks enter the Boonton station
. Boonton station was originally much longer, with the brick and slate station constructed in 1905 as the largest community on the Boonton Line since Paterson
. The station currently has a relatively-short low platform, brick head-house shelter and a mini-high ADA ramp. After Boonton station, the tracks continue to the southeast, paralleling Interstate 287 and U.S. Route 202 out of Boonton and into Intervale. At Intervale, Interstate 287 and U.S. Route 202 turn to the southeast and away from the rail line, which continues southwestward into Mountain Lakes
. At the intersection of Midvale Road and Elm Road, the tracks enter the namesake Mountain Lakes station
. Mountain Lakes has a single low platform used for train service, while its station building, built in 1912 sits nearby as a restaurant.
and heads to the northwest along Route 46 through the Rainbow Lakes. The line crosses under Interstate 80
and intersecting with the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western's Rockaway Branch (discontinued in 1948), where the station enters the one platform on the north end of Denville station
. The Denville station is built for two lines and has two separate platforms, including one for the Morristown Line, which merges nearby. Denville station had a Type W-3 Delaware, Lackawanna and Western-style wooden frame station built in 1904, which has since been razed. The shell of Denville Tower still stands, and is used as a communications center for New Jersey Transit. After Denville, electrified service begins once again, heading westward across Estling Lake and Franklin Lake before continuing along the Route 46 corridor and into Dover
. After Mountain Park, the line crosses through Dover Yard, which is a six storage track station. A short distance after the park and yard, the tracks enter the Dover station
. Dover was constructed from 1899–1901, opening on November 1, 1901 and was a two side platform station. Current Dover Station still has its building from the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, but the station's two side platforms have been replaced by a high-level island platform.
After departing the Dover station, the Morristown Line catenary wires end about a half-mile west, near the US Route 46 overpass. Afterwards, the tracks parallel Dickerson Street before turning to the northwest through Dover until Morris Duffy School before turning westward into Wharton
. The tracks then cross the site of the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad station in Wharton, built in 1900. The station was a Type W-101A Delaware, Lackawanna and Western-style, back when the town was named Port Oram, but the station was out of service by 1962. After Wharton station, the tracks continue westward, crossing over Berkshire Valley Road (Morris County Route 699) and parallel Interstate 80 through Morris County, entering the Mount Arlington station
at Interchange 30. Mount Arlington station is the newest station along the Montclair-Boonton Line, opening on January 21, 2008, nine days after opening of Wayne-Route 23. Mount Arlington has two high-level platforms serving two tracks. The station is also a park & ride, serving bus service from Lakeland Bus and 285 parking spaces.
. From there, the line goes northward along Morris County Route 631 heading into downtown Landing, where the tracks turn northeastward. The tracks soon enter the Lake Hopatcong station
. Lake Hopatcong has two low platforms with a shelter on the westbound side. The original Delaware, Lackawanna and Western station was much larger, built in 1911 to replace the original Hopatcong stop. The original station had two large towers and two long concrete platforms to access from the original 1911 station on Landing Road. A short distance later, the tracks cross under the Landing Masonry Bridge
(which contains Landing Road/CR 631) and continue westward into Port Morris Junction. At Port Morris Junction, the Montclair-Boonton Line turns to the southwest, while the right-of-way continues eastward along as the Lackawanna Cut-Off. The line also passes Port Morris Yard, where the shell of the former junction tower, built in 1909, stands. Continuing to the southwest, the tracks parallel Lake Musconetcong
and enter the community of Netcong
. After crossing under New Jersey Route 183
, the tracks enter downtown Netcong and into the Netcong station
. Netcong has a brick house on its one low platform. The station building, built in 1903, used bricks from a location in nearby Port Murray
. Netcong Station was also site of the junction to the former Sussex Branch built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, discontinued from Branchville
in 1966.
Until late 1994, this was the endpoint of the line, until tracks were rehabilitated to Hackettstown along Norfolk Southern's Washington Secondary. Continuing westward, the tracks continue, paralleling Interstate 80, U.S. Route 206
and Waterloo Valley Road. The tracks soon enter the International Trade Center in Mount Olive. After crossing Waterloo Valley Road, the tracks enter the small Mount Olive station
. Mount Olive has a lone low-level platform and shelter that is used as a terminus and beginning for certain weekday trains. Mount Olive is also near the site of the former Waterloo station, built in 1854, when the connection to the Sussex Railroad
was created. The station was canned in 1939, and the shelter that replaced burned in a grass fire in 1946. After Mount Olive, the line follows Waterloo Valley Road through Allamuchy State Park and passing Saxton Lake before turning to the west through Stephens State Park
. The lines then enter Hackettstown, where it passes the nearby medical center, and junctions with the rail spur to the Mars and M&Ms plant
. The tracks then cross County Route 517
and U.S. Route 46. After paralleling Valentine Street, the tracks enter Hackettstown station
, with one low platform and a mini-high ADA ramp. Hackettstown Station had a station building, built in 1868 as a Type W-2 Delaware, Lackawanna and Western-style frame building; it was demolished in the late 1960s. Trackage south of Hackettstown is owned and operated by Norfolk Southern as part of the Washington Secondary to Phillipsburg.
. Frequency of service reflects the times commuters travel. Inbound trains are more frequent in the Morning, and outbound trains are more frequent in the Afternoon and evening. From Denville to Montclair, only diesel-hauled trains can provide service, as the territory is not electrified. Therefore, there is no direct service to/from New York between Mountain Lakes and Little Falls stations. The same is true for all stations between and including Hackettstown and Mount Arlington, as New York Penn Station normally does not allow diesel trains to enter. Other electrified service is existing at Denville and Dover stations, along with the stretches in between. On weekends 9.5 round trips between Hoboken and Bay street operate every two hours.
was converted in 1984 to 25 kV 60 Hz, as part of the re-electrification of the Morris & Essex Lines which the then-Montclair Branch was grouped with at the time. The The 2002 extension of electrification to Great Notch together with the Montclair Connection is similar in construction, except that hot-dip galvanized steel
poles are used; many of these poles are painted dark green for esthetic reasons, in contrast with the old Lackawanna poles which are painted dark red. Catenary construction is uniform throughout; compound (3-wire) with a zigzag horizontal profile, but without self-tensioning, just like on most sections of the M&E lines.
The line features a single autotransformer substation at Montclair, close to Bay Street station, dating from the 1984 re-electrification. Its power is supplied from NJT's Meadows Substation on the M&E (Morristown) mainline.
New Jersey Transit rail operations
New Jersey Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of New Jersey Transit. It provides regional rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered around transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark...
. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Montclair Branch, which ran from Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal is one of the New York Metropolitan area's major transportation hubs. The commuter-oriented intermodal facility, is located on the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey...
to Bay Street, Montclair
Bay Street (NJT station)
Bay Street Station is a New Jersey Transit station on Pine Street between Bloomfield and Glenridge Avenues in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station is served by all trains on the line, including all ten weekend trains. The first station of six in Montclair, Bay Street...
; the Erie Railroad's Greenwood Lake Division (segment from Montclair to Mountain View-Wayne), which originally ran from the Erie's Jersey City Terminal to Greenwood Lake, NY; and the former Lackawanna Boonton Line, which ran from Hoboken to Hackettstown, New Jersey
Hackettstown, New Jersey
Hackettstown is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 9,724. The town is located in the eastern most region of the Lehigh Valley....
. The Montclair-Boonton line was formed when the Montclair Connection
Montclair Connection
The Montclair Connection is a short section of double-track New Jersey Transit rail connecting the former end of the Montclair Branch at Bay Street Station to the old Boonton Line southeast of Walnut Street Station. It opened on Monday, September 30, 2002, at a cost of $60,000,000...
opened on September 30, 2002. The line serves 28 active rail stations in New Jersey along with New York Pennsylvania Station. It crosses through six counties, serving six stations in the township of Montclair
Montclair, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile...
, two in the town of Bloomfield
Bloomfield, New Jersey
Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 47,315. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District.-History:...
, and one in the city of Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. Trains along the Montclair-Boonton Line heading eastward usually originate at Hackettstown station
Hackettstown (NJT station)
Hackettstown Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Hackettstown, New Jersey. The station is located at the intersection of Valentine Street and Beatty Street and is the western terminus of the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line, which both provide service to Hoboken Terminal or to...
, Mount Olive station
Mount Olive (NJT station)
Mount Olive Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Mount Olive, New Jersey, located in the International Trade Center. The station, located on the side of Waterloo Village Road, services trains for both the Montclair-Boonton Line and the Morristown Line along trackage owned by Norfolk Southern...
, Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong (NJT station)
Lake Hopatcong Station is a New Jersey Transit station in the Landing section of Roxbury Township, New Jersey. It is named for the nearby Lake Hopatcong. The station is located at the intersection of Landing Road and Lakeside Boulevard...
, Dover station
Dover (NJT station)
Dover Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Dover, New Jersey. The station was originally built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1901-02 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Both the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line serve this...
, and/or Montclair State University station
Montclair State University (NJT station)
Montclair State University Station at Little Falls is a New Jersey Transit rail station in the Great Notch area of Little Falls, New Jersey on the Montclair-Boonton Line. It serves nearby Montclair State University as well as serving as a transfer station for trains on the line, and is located on...
, bound for either Hoboken Terminal or New York Penn Station.
For 2010, of 31 inbound and 34 outbound daily weekday trains, 21 inbound and 22 outbound Midtown Direct trains (about 66%) use the Kearny Connection
Kearny Connection
The Kearny Connection in Kearny, New Jersey, allows suburban passenger trains from New Jersey Transit's Morris and Essex Lines to run to New York Penn Station,instead of their traditional ferry terminal on the river in Hoboken. New Jersey Transit dubbed the new service Midtown Direct; the...
to Secaucus Junction
Secaucus Junction
The Frank R. Lautenberg Secaucus Junction Station is a major commuter rail hub in Secaucus, New Jersey...
and New York Penn Station; the rest go to Hoboken Terminal. Trains to Hoboken
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
run only at rush hour
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
. Passengers can transfer at Secaucus Junction, Newark Broad Street Station, Montclair State University, or Dover to reach other destinations if necessary. Weekend service on the Montclair-Boonton Line began on November 8, 2009, with service every two hours between Bay Street station in Montclair and Hoboken terminal, with the train making all local stops. This was an extension of existing Hoboken-to-Newark service, previously listed on the Morris & Essex timetables.
Plans for connecting the two lines (the New York & Greenwood Lake Railroad (later the Boonton Line) and the Montclair Branch) dated back to 1929, when a rail connection through Montclair was proposed. Despite years of debate over the connection, nothing came to fruition until 1991. Lackawanna Terminal in Montclair closed in 1981, replaced by the new Bay Street station on the alignment that eventually would extend to the connection. In 1991, studies were conducted by New Jersey Transit regarding the creation of the Montclair Connection, and in 2002, after construction was completed, the Boonton Line from east of Walnut Street station
Walnut Street (NJT station)
Walnut Street is a New Jersey Transit station on Walnut Street at Depot Square in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. This is the most used station on the Montclair-Boonton Line....
to Arlington
Arlington (NJT station)
The Arlington Station is an abandoned train station that is located in the town of Kearny, New Jersey. The station was a former stop on the Boonton Line, which runs from Hoboken Terminal to Hackettstown...
was abandoned and all trains took the new alignment via the Montclair Branch between a newly-rebuilt Bay Street station and Walnut Street. Service began on September 30, 2002 and three stations on the old Boonton Line were closed, Benson Street
Benson Street (NJT station)
The Benson Street Station is an inactive train station that is located in the town of Glen Ridge, New Jersey. The station was a former stop on the Boonton Line, which runs from Hoboken Terminal to Hackettstown, reaching Benson Street in the middle of the residential portion. Benson Street was...
in Glen Ridge, Rowe Street
Rowe Street (NJT station)
The Rowe Street Station is an abandoned train station that is located in the town of Bloomfield, New Jersey. The station was a former stop on the Boonton Line, which runs from Hoboken Terminal to Hackettstown, reaching Rowe Street in Bloomfield...
in Bloomfield, and Arlington station in Kearny
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
.
Besides the Montclair Connection, service was extended in 1994 from Netcong station
Netcong (NJT station)
Netcong Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Netcong, New Jersey. Located on U.S. Route 46 at Main Street in downtown Netcong, the small, 1-low level side platform station service passengers for the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line...
to Hackettstown via tracks owned by Norfolk Southern. Stations at Roseville Avenue in Newark, Ampere
Ampere (NJT station)
Ampere Station, formerly known as The Crescent, is a closed station on New Jersey Transit's Montclair Branch in the city of East Orange, New Jersey. The station depot was built originally in 1890 to service to new Crocker Wheeler plant in the district...
in East Orange
East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most...
, and Great Notch
Great Notch (NJT station)
The Great Notch train station, formerly known as Caldwell Junction, was a small New Jersey Transit facility in the Great Notch section of Little Falls, New Jersey. The station was served seven times a day, three inbound morning trains to Hoboken Terminal and four outbound evening trains from...
in Little Falls
Little Falls, New Jersey
Little Falls is a township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,855. It is located about from New York City....
were closed in 1984, 1991, and 2010 respectively. Two service expansions have been proposed using the under-construction branch to Andover
Andover, New Jersey
Andover is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 606.Andover was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25, 1904, from portions of Andover Township.-Geography:Andover is located at ...
via the Lackawanna Cut-Off project, an extension on old New York and Greenwood Lake tracks to Pompton Junction, and the New York, Susquehanna and Western. There is also a proposal to extend service along the Washington Secondary as a rapid transit improvement to the New Jersey Route 57 corridor via Washington Borough
Washington, New Jersey
Washington is a borough in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 6,461. The borough is located in the eastern most region of the Lehigh Valley....
to Phillipsburg
Phillipsburg, New Jersey
Phillipsburg, known locally as P'burg, is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 14,950....
.
Montclair Branch (Delaware, Lackawanna and Western)
The Montclair Branch was chartered in 1852 as the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad, running through Bloomfield and nearby West Bloomfield (present-day Montclair). However, tracks were not constructed along the owned right-of-way until 1856; in June of that year trains began running between Newark, Bloomfield, and West Bloomfield. The railroad had a large deficit to start; the ticket agent at West Bloomfield was also the brakemanBrakeman
A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job it was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The advent of through brakes on trains made this role redundant, although the name lives on in the United States where brakemen carry out a variety of functions...
for the one-car train.
On April 1, 1868, the Morris & Essex Railroad bought out the alignment of the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad. The Morris & Essex began running services on the line, which was renamed the "Montclair Branch" when West Bloomfield was similarly renamed to "Montclair" shortly after. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
soon gained trackage rights, and by the turn of the 20th century, the railroad had begun constructing track depressions and raises to eliminate grade-level crossings on city streets. In 1912, the Montclair Branch was depressed, elevated, and double tracked, and grade crossings were eliminated. The stations at Watsessing Avenue and Glen Ridge were constructed below street level, while Ampere and Bloomfield stations were constructed above street level. Roseville Avenue station was already depressed, 22 feet (6.7 m) below street level, in 1903.
In June 1913, the new Lackawanna Terminal (named after the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western) opened in Montclair. William H. Botsford designed it, but did not live to see it open as he died in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. The brick station building followed a Grecian-Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
style of architecture, which included creative uses of concrete for the arches and dentil
Dentil
In classical architecture a dentil is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.The Roman architect Vitruvius In classical architecture a dentil (from Lat. dens, a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.The Roman architect...
s. Lackawanna Terminal had six tracks and three concrete platforms, with a large bridge which carried Grove Street in Montclair over the tracks. The Montclair Branch was the first fully electrified suburban railroad, wired in 1930. The inaugural train was driven by Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
, who had helped develop the line. On July 26, 1945, the Morris & Essex Railroad Company was officially dissolved, and the company became part of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western. The lines were then maintained as the Morris & Essex Division.
New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad (Erie)
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
to the New York state line at Greenwood Lake. The railroad caused the secession of West Bloomfield from Bloomfield, and West Bloomfield renamed itself Montclair. The railroad was completed in 1872 with four stations in Montclair: Montclair, Watchung Avenue, Upper Montclair, and Montclair Heights. The New York & Greenwood Lake Railway became a subsidiary of the Erie Railroad by 1884 and what was once its track is now the Walnut Street – Mountain View stretch of the Montclair-Boonton Line.
The original railroad extended much farther in both directions, encompassing Hoboken Terminal via the former alignment through Montclair, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, Newark and reaching into Kearny, where it crossed the Hackensack River
Hackensack River
The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles 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 area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,...
and the meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeast New Jersey in the United States. The Meadowlands are known for being the site of large landfills and decades of...
into Hoboken. The alignment had two stations in the Arlington section of Kearny: Arlington and West Arlington; Forest Hill and North Newark in Newark; Belwood Park, Rowe Street, Orchard Street, and Walnut Street in Bloomfield, and Benson Street in Glen Ridge. At Forest Hill in Newark, the mainline intersected with its Orange Branch at OJ Tower, constructed in 1897. Orange Branch passenger service was discontinued on May 20, 1955, but freight service lingered until 1979, when the track was removed from White St. in West Orange to the Watsessing section of Bloomfield. Some track remains in service today for the Newark Light Rail
Newark Light Rail
The Newark Light Rail is a light rail system under New Jersey Transit Bus Operations serving Newark, New Jersey. The service consists of two segments, the original Newark City Subway, and the extension to Broad Street station...
, including Silver Lake Station, which was a former station on the branch. The station, today known as Walnut Street, was then known as Montclair-Erie Plaza to differentiate it from the nearby Montclair Lackawanna Terminal. The line also had an extension to Sterling Forest
Sterling Forest, New York
Sterling Forest, New York is a hamlet in the Town of Warwick, Orange County. It is served by an active United States post office of the same name. It is situated on the eastern shore of Greenwood Lake, at the New Jersey state line. Part of the hamlet extends into West Milford Township, Passaic...
and Ringwood
Ringwood, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there are 12,396 people, 4,108 households, and 3,446 families residing in the borough. The population density is 491.0 people per square mile . There are 4,221 housing units at an average density of 167.2 per square mile...
near the state line with New York.
Erie Lackawanna Railroad
On October 1, 1960, the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad (DL&W) and Erie Railroad merged to form the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad. In 1963, the old DL&W Boonton BranchBoonton Branch
The Boonton Branch refers to the railroad line that was completed in 1870 and ran 34 miles from Hoboken, NJ to Denville, NJ as part of the Morris & Essex Railroad, which in turn was part of the Lackawanna Railroad...
was abandoned between Mountain View and Paterson and its right of way was sold for the new Interstate 80
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
and the current-day New Jersey Route 19. (At the time, NJ 19 was designated New Jersey Route 20; the westernmost segment of NJ 20 connected eastward with what is now New Jersey Route 120
New Jersey Route 120
Route 120 is a state highway located in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It extends from an interchange with Route 3 in East Rutherford to another interchange with Route 17 in Carlstadt, where it continues to the west as County Route 120. NJ 120 serves the Meadowlands Sports Complex,...
, replicating Paterson Plank Road from Jersey City through the Meadowlands, Rutherford, and Clifton to Paterson) A single track could have been retained along the new highways, but the Erie-Lackawanna decided to sell the entire right-of-way as it was strapped for cash. To allow the western end of the Boonton Line access into Hoboken, the east end of the Erie's former Greenwood Lake Branch, between Bergen Junction at Croxton and Mountain View in Wayne, was joined to the west end of the DL&W's former Boonton Line between Wayne and Denville. The line was renamed the Greenwood Lake-Boonton Line in recognition of its two predecessors. The original DL&W east of Clifton was joined with the Erie's Main Line
Main Line (NJ Transit)
The Main Line is a rail line owned and operated by New Jersey Transit running from Suffern, New York to Hoboken, New Jersey. It runs daily commuter service and was once the north-south main line of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad...
as part of a project to remove tracks through Passaic
Passaic, New Jersey
Passaic is a city in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 69,781, maintaining its status as the 15th largest municipality in New Jersey with an increase of 1,920 residents from the 2000 Census population of 67,861...
.
New Jersey Transit
In 1983, the maintenance of the Montclair Branch and the Boonton Line were taken over entirely by New Jersey TransitNew Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
. The Boonton Line at that point began out of Hoboken Terminal, heading westward through the Jersey Meadows and into Kearny, crossing the Passaic river at West Arlington and going through North Newark, Bloomfield, and Glen Ridge before entering Montclair and continuing on from the current Walnut Street station to Netcong station. The Montclair Branch, designated part of the Morris & Essex Lines
Morris & Essex Lines
The Morris & Essex Lines are a group of former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad railroad lines in New Jersey now owned and operated by New Jersey Transit...
, which consisted of the Montclair Branch, Morristown Line
Morristown Line
The Morristown Line is one of New Jersey Transit's commuter lines and is one of two branches that run along the Morris and Essex Lines. Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound trains use the Kearny Connection to Secaucus Junction and New York Penn...
, and Gladstone Branch
Gladstone Branch
The Gladstone Branch is a branch of New Jersey Transit's Morris and Essex Lines. The Gladstone Branch primarily serves commuter trains; freight service is no longer operated...
, had six stations: Roseville Avenue in Newark, Ampere in East Orange, Watsessing Avenue in Bloomfield, Bloomfield station, Glen Ridge station, and Bay Street in Montclair. The Montclair Branch was an electrified service; however, the Boonton Line was a diesel line.
Over the next decade, New Jersey Transit closed several stations over the length of the Montclair Branch. The Harrison and Roseville Avenue stations were closed on September 16, 1984; the Ampere station in East Orange was closed less than seven years later, on April 7, 1991. Plans to extend the Morristown Line and Boonton Line westward from Netcong station to Hackettstown were proposed in June 1992 as part of proposed service extension. On November 6, 1994, service was ceremonially extended along Norfolk Southern's Washington
Washington, New Jersey
Washington is a borough in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 6,461. The borough is located in the eastern most region of the Lehigh Valley....
Secondary from Netcong Station with the creation of the stops in Mount Olive and Hackettstown
Hackettstown, New Jersey
Hackettstown is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 9,724. The town is located in the eastern most region of the Lehigh Valley....
. Trackage along those two stations is still Norfolk Southern's, though anything beyond Netcong remains New Jersey Transit's.
Montclair Connection
In 2002, New Jersey Transit finished construction of the Montclair Connection, a small set of tracks along Pine Street in Montclair that connected the Boonton Line and the Montclair Branch. The concept of the Montclair Connection had been originated in 1929 by the Regional Plan AssociationRegional Plan Association
The Regional Plan Association is an independent, not-for-profit regional planning organization, founded in 1922, that focuses on recommendations to improve the quality of life and economic competitiveness of the 31-county New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region...
, to connect the New York & Greenwood Lake with the Montclair Branch. However, the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, which began in 1929, shelved plans for the connection. Three decades after the Erie's Main Line was realigned out of Passaic (in 1963), New Jersey Transit returned to the plan for the Montclair Connection. The original plan was for a one-track diesel connection, but this grew into a two-track electric connection with extension of catenary wires. After negotiations with the township of Montclair, detailed plans and design began in 1998, and construction began just a year later.
When the Montclair Connection was completed in 2002, the names of the Montclair Branch and Boonton Line were eliminated in favor of the labeling the new whole "the Montclair-Boonton Line". Although no stations along the Montclair Branch (Watsessing, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, and Bay Street) were closed, three stations along the old Greenwood Lake alignment had service end on September 20, 2002: Arlington station
Arlington (NJT station)
The Arlington Station is an abandoned train station that is located in the town of Kearny, New Jersey. The station was a former stop on the Boonton Line, which runs from Hoboken Terminal to Hackettstown...
, in Kearny
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
, Rowe Street
Rowe Street (NJT station)
The Rowe Street Station is an abandoned train station that is located in the town of Bloomfield, New Jersey. The station was a former stop on the Boonton Line, which runs from Hoboken Terminal to Hackettstown, reaching Rowe Street in Bloomfield...
, in Bloomfield, and Benson Street
Benson Street (NJT station)
The Benson Street Station is an inactive train station that is located in the town of Glen Ridge, New Jersey. The station was a former stop on the Boonton Line, which runs from Hoboken Terminal to Hackettstown, reaching Benson Street in the middle of the residential portion. Benson Street was...
, in Glen Ridge. This alignment was turned over to Norfolk Southern for maintenance. The station building at Benson Street was damaged by a fire in the 1980s and had fallen into disrepair; in May, 2009, it was sold to a private developer and is being rebuilt entirely. During the Montclair Connection's construction, Bay Street station, which was a single platform with only one track, was rebuilt entirely, with two high-level platforms and new tracks.
The new connection also introduced service to New York Penn Station for commuters along the line; trains previously went only to Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal is one of the New York Metropolitan area's major transportation hubs. The commuter-oriented intermodal facility, is located on the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey...
. The new services included diesel service and express trains to Montclair Heights, making stops from Great Notch to Hackettstown, and new Midtown Direct service trains from Montclair Heights to New York, with transfers between them at Great Notch. There was also additional Morristown line Midtown Direct service to New York, available only at Denville and Dover stations. Other upgrades along the line included a revamping of Great Notch Yard for state-of-the-art service. However, no weekend service was implemented on the line.
Montclair State University Station
On June 10, 2002, Governor of New Jersey James E. McGreevey announced a partnership with Montclair State UniversityMontclair State University
Montclair State University is a public research university located in the Upper Montclair section of Montclair, the Great Notch area of Little Falls, and Clifton, New Jersey. As of October 2009, there were 18,171 total enrolled students: 14,139 undergraduate students and 4,032 graduate students...
(MSU) as part of the Midtown Direct service. On July 18, 2002, partnership announced plans for a new train station and parking facility for commuters in Little Falls. Before the Construction of Montclair State University Station, students at Montclair State University could only use Montclair Heights station to access the campus. Construction of the station was delayed by lawsuits from the township of Montclair because of residential displacement and parking issues. The station was proposed with a 1300-space parking deck and a cost of $36 million (2002 USD). The $36 million came entirely from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority
New Jersey Economic Development Authority
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority is an independent, quasi-governmental self-supporting entity in the U.S. state of New Jersey dedicated to broadening and expanding the state's economic base....
in bonds to Montclair State University.
On October 20, 2004, the new Montclair State University Station at Little Falls opened in a ceremony led by executive director George Warrington and MSU president Susan Cole. The new station had a parking deck with 1500 spaces, reducing road congestion. This differed from the original proposal, which had called for 1,300 parking spaces. Electrified service was then extended from Montclair Heights station north a mile to Montclair State University, although catenary wires continue westward to the former Great Notch station.
Wayne–Route 23 and Mount Arlington stations
Prior to 2008, the only station in WayneWayne, New Jersey
Wayne is a Township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, located less than from midtown Manhattan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township had a total population of 54,069....
was the downtown Mountain View station
Mountain View (NJT station)
Mountain View Station, signed on the platform as Mountain View–Wayne, is a station maintained by New Jersey Transit in Wayne, New Jersey. The station is located on the Montclair-Boonton Line, a merge of the Boonton Line and Montclair Branch in 2002. Prior to the Montclair Connection in 2002, ...
. The only station in the area around Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in the state of New Jersey, USA, approximately 4 square miles in area. The lake is located in the mountains of northern New Jersey, north of Netcong and along the border between Sussex and Morris counties.The lake is within the borders of four...
was Lake Hopatcong station
Lake Hopatcong (NJT station)
Lake Hopatcong Station is a New Jersey Transit station in the Landing section of Roxbury Township, New Jersey. It is named for the nearby Lake Hopatcong. The station is located at the intersection of Landing Road and Lakeside Boulevard...
in Landing
Landing, New Jersey
Landing is a small settlement and unincorporated area located within Roxbury Township, New Jersey, on the south shore of Lake Hopatcong near Hopatcong State Park...
(this station has been referred to on timetables as Lake Hopatcong-Mount Arlington). In 2008, both the Wayne-Route 23 Transit Center and Mount Arlington Intermodal Train Station and Park & Ride opened.
Wayne-Route 23 is located in Wayne, near the Westbelt Mall at the U.S. Route 46, Interstate 80, Route 23 interchange; this was also the site of the Singac station, which closed four decades before the new transit center opened. On September 13, 2006, construction of the $16.3 million project was announced; the general contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
was J.H. Reid of South Plainfield
South Plainfield, New Jersey
South Plainfield is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 23,385....
. The new station was built to reduce traffic on nearby highways, by diverting commuters to trains or buses.
Construction on Mount Arlington Station, which was already a parking lot with 228 spaces for Lakeland Bus, began on April 12, 2006. The new train station was built to relieve traffic on Interstate 80, and 57 new parking spaces were added to the lot. The project was slated to cost $12.1 million, and the contract was given to Terminal Construction Corporation of Wood-Ridge
Wood-Ridge, New Jersey
Wood-Ridge is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,626.Wood-Ridge was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on December 6, 1894, from portions of Bergen Township, based on the results of...
. Both stations were completed within nine days of each other: the Wayne-Route 23 Transit Center opened on January 12, 2008, with train service beginning two days later; Mount Arlington Station opened on January 21, 2008, and is the newest station on the line.
Weekend service
In 2002, after construction on the Montclair Connection was completed, there was no weekend service on the new Montclair-Boonton Line. Over the ensuing six years, officials from Montclair urged New Jersey Transit to offer weekend service on the Montclair-Boonton Line, which was the only NJT line without it. Montclair Township's proposal cited the benefits of weekend service to the communities along the line, including reduced traffic congestion and carbon footprintCarbon footprint
A carbon footprint has historically been defined as "the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person.". However, calculating a carbon footprint which conforms to this definition is often impracticable due to the large amount of data required, which is...
. The agency repeatedly declined to expand the service because Montclair limited the use of train horns between 7 pm and 7 am. New Jersey Transit had received requests for weekend service since 2007, and denied them citing capacity issues and turning off electric power for bridge replacement. Advocates have dismissed these reasons as "excuses" and locals said it would improve their quality of life.
On September 30, 2009, New Jersey Transit announced service every two hours between Bay Street station
Bay Street (NJT station)
Bay Street Station is a New Jersey Transit station on Pine Street between Bloomfield and Glenridge Avenues in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station is served by all trains on the line, including all ten weekend trains. The first station of six in Montclair, Bay Street...
and Hoboken Terminal, an approximately 35-minute trip. The service started on November 8, 2009 with a ceremony at Bay Street station in Montclair.
Closure of Great Notch
Great Notch was a small station on the south side of Long Hill Road (Passaic County Route 631) in Great NotchGreat Notch, New Jersey
Great Notch is an area in eastern Little Falls, in Passaic County, New Jersey. It gets its name from a gap in the first of the Watchung Mountains. Some of the institutions and places in Great Notch are parts of Montclair State University, the former Great Notch station, and the Great Notch Fire...
. The station dated back to 1905 as a transfer point between the New York & Greenwood Lake and its Caldwell Branch to Essex Fells, New Jersey
Essex Fells, New Jersey
As of 2010 Essex Fells had a population of 2,113. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 93.5% non-Hispanic white, 1.1% black or African-American, 1.0% Chinese, 1.2% other Asian, 1.9% reporting two or more races and 2.0% Hispanic or Latino....
. The station was important in its heyday, but after the opening of Montclair State University station
Montclair State University (NJT station)
Montclair State University Station at Little Falls is a New Jersey Transit rail station in the Great Notch area of Little Falls, New Jersey on the Montclair-Boonton Line. It serves nearby Montclair State University as well as serving as a transfer station for trains on the line, and is located on...
in 2004, about a mile away, ridership at the old station, which had only 69 parking spaces, began to dwindle. By January 2008, only one train inbound to Hoboken and two trains outbound towards Hackettstown/Dover stopped at Great Notch. In August 2008, New Jersey Transit approached the community of Great Notch, part of Little Falls, saying that the 103-year-old station would be closed by October. After a few days, there was public protest against the possible closure, and on September 3, a public meeting was held to strike a deal with residents.
On April 1, 2009, after negotiations with Michael DeFrancisci, the mayor of Little Falls, the station and town were given a "one-year test" to attract ridership at the small station. The quota to keep the station open was 67 people using the station by December 31, 2009 and 100+ by April 1, 2010. On December 18, 2009, the test was canceled when Little Falls was informed by New Jersey Transit that the Great Notch Station would be closed on January 17, 2010 due to the anemic ridership at the station. New Jersey Transit cited in a press release that the station only was receiving an average of nine boardings daily. The remaining passengers were directed to use either Montclair State University station or Little Falls station.
Service extensions
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, is to start off as the Andover Branch off Montclair-Boonton Line trains. The Lackawanna Cut-Off was a former Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western line used from 1911 to 1970. As part of the Minimal Operable Segment (MOS), only a 7.3 miles (11.7 km) stretch to Andover, New Jersey
Andover, New Jersey
Andover is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 606.Andover was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25, 1904, from portions of Andover Township.-Geography:Andover is located at ...
is to be active. Passenger trains will use an upgraded alignment from the Montclair-Boonton/Morristown mainline at Port Morris Junction with several Montclair-Boonton trains taking the junction to Andover.
The report also cited the study of extending service on the Montclair-Boonton from the current Hackettstown station, a single-sided platform in downtown Hackettstown along the current Washington Secondary, maintained by Norfolk Southern to Phillipsburg, New Jersey
Phillipsburg, New Jersey
Phillipsburg, known locally as P'burg, is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 14,950....
via Washington
Washington, New Jersey
Washington is a borough in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 6,461. The borough is located in the eastern most region of the Lehigh Valley....
. One of two extensions proposed to Phillipsburg, the line would follow New Jersey Route 57 through Port Murray
Port Murray, New Jersey
Port Murray is an unincorporated area within Mansfield Township in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 07865...
, Rockport, Washington, Stewartsville
Stewartsville, New Jersey
Stewartsville is an unincorporated area within Greenwich Township in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 08886....
, and into Phillipsburg, where it would meet an extended Raritan Valley Line
Raritan Valley Line
The Raritan Valley Line is a diesel-engine-powered commuter rail service operated by New Jersey Transit , originating out of Pennsylvania Station, located in Newark, New Jersey, with most trains terminating at the Raritan station, located in Raritan, New Jersey.Some weekday trains continue further...
. Locals have expressed support for the extensions on the active Class I freight line, and would use automobiles to get to the stations' newly-designed park and rides. The expansion of passenger service on the Washington Secondary is a small part of new public transport on the Route 57 corridor, an attempt to attract service past Hackettstown from the northern New Jersey and New York corridors. However, the candidate project has not yet been funded by New Jersey Transit.
The third and final extension relates to the possibility of using the New York and Greenwood Lake trackage from Mountain View station northward to the old Pompton Junction station. The project, called the Pompton Extension, is part of an effort to connect service from the Montclair-Boonton to the candidate rail service to Sparta, New Jersey on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad. This service would connect the stations at Pequannock
Pequannock Township, New Jersey
Pequannock Township is a Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 13,888....
, Pompton Plains
Pompton Plains Railroad Station
Pompton Plains Railroad Station, is located in Pequannock, New Jersey. The station was built in 1872 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 5, 2008. The station serves as the Pequannock Township Museum and was restored in 2010....
, Pompton and connect at the Pompton Junction, the site of the former Pompton Junction station. However, unlike the other projects, the Pompton Extension is still in study and not a candidate for funding.
East of Bloomfield
Train service on the Montclair-Boonton Line begins at either Hoboken TerminalHoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal is one of the New York Metropolitan area's major transportation hubs. The commuter-oriented intermodal facility, is located on the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey...
, which includes all weekend service, or New York Penn Station. From there, trains use the alignment of the Morristown Line
Morristown Line
The Morristown Line is one of New Jersey Transit's commuter lines and is one of two branches that run along the Morris and Essex Lines. Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound trains use the Kearny Connection to Secaucus Junction and New York Penn...
west through the Bergen Tunnels from Hoboken, over the Lower Hack Lift
Lower Hack Lift
The Lower Hack Lift is a lift bridge carrying the New Jersey Transit Morristown Line across the Hackensack River at mile 3.4, Jersey City, New Jersey....
bridge across the Hackensack River
Hackensack River
The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles 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 area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,...
. After crossing the Hackensack, the lines pass through Kearny
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
and Harrison
Harrison, New Jersey
Harrison is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 13,620. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey.-Geography:Harrison is located at ....
. Harrison was the site of a passenger station built in 1904 during the track-raising project by William Truesdale, which started in 1901.
From Harrison, the lines cross over the Passaic River
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
and along Bridge 7.48, a swing drawbridge built in 1901, where they enter the city of Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
and stop at Newark Broad Street Station. Broad Street Station is the first station in active service after Secaucus Junction
Secaucus Junction
The Frank R. Lautenberg Secaucus Junction Station is a major commuter rail hub in Secaucus, New Jersey...
. Continuing through Newark, the station enters the Roseville district
Roseville, Newark, New Jersey
Roseville is a neighborhood in northwestern Newark, New Jersey, bordering Bloomfield and East Orange. To the neighborhood's immediate east is the Newark City Subway and Branch Brook Park...
of Newark, where the former Roseville Avenue
Roseville Avenue (NJT station)
Roseville Avenue was a transfer station on New Jersey Transit's Morris & Essex Lines in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The station was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1903 during a track depression to serve Newark's Roseville neighborhood...
station was located. Roseville Avenue was constructed in 1905, during the track depression through Roseville along the Morris & Essex Lines. Roseville Avenue Station had two separate sets of platforms (one for the Montclair Branch and one for the Morris & Essex Lines). Although the station was closed on September 16, 1984, the Roseville Tower remained until it was demolished in 2002 to make way for the Montclair Connection. At Roseville Avenue station, the Montclair-Boonton Line and Morris & Essex Lines diverge, with the Morris & Essex continuing west to Summit
Summit (NJT station)
Summit Station is a train station located in Summit, New Jersey, which is served by New Jersey Transit's Morris & Essex Lines . The station is located between Union Place on the north and Broad Street on the south, with station access via either side, and between Summit Avenue on the east and Maple...
and points west, while the Montclair-Boonton turns to the north through Roseville and into the community of East Orange
East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most...
, where it crosses through the Ampere district.
Near the intersection of Springdale Avenue and Ampere Parkway, trains pass through the site of the former Ampere Station
Ampere (NJT station)
Ampere Station, formerly known as The Crescent, is a closed station on New Jersey Transit's Montclair Branch in the city of East Orange, New Jersey. The station depot was built originally in 1890 to service to new Crocker Wheeler plant in the district...
. Ampere was built around 1909 and remained in use during New Jersey Transit days until April 7, 1991, when along with Grove Street, the station was closed. From here, the lines continue into Bloomfield
Bloomfield, New Jersey
Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 47,315. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District.-History:...
.
Bloomfield and Glen Ridge
After crossing from East Orange into Bloomfield, the Montclair-Boonton Line almost immediately enters its next station (and its first past Newark Broad Street), the Watsessing AvenueWatsessing Avenue (NJT station)
Watsessing Avenue is a New Jersey Transit station in Bloomfield, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. It is located beneath the Bloomfield Police Benevolent Association meeting hall near the corner of Watsessing Avenue and Orange Street in Bloomfield...
station. The station is on an open cut, and is one of two stations that were built underground during the grade crossing elimination in 1912. After crossing under Watsessing Avenue (and Dodd Street), the lines continue northward, crossing under the Garden State Parkway
Garden State Parkway
The Garden State Parkway is a 172.4-mile limited-access toll parkway that stretches the length of New Jersey from the New York line at Montvale, New Jersey, to Cape May at New Jersey's southernmost tip. Its name refers to New Jersey's nickname, the "Garden State." Most New Jersey residents refer...
between the northbound and southbound toll plazas of Exit 148. After traversing Watsessing Park
Watsessing Park
Watsessing Park is a park in Essex County, New Jersey, in the city of East Orange and the town of Bloomfield. The park covers 69 acres , just west of the Garden State Parkway, and contains the confluence of the Second River and Toney's Brook....
, the tracks return to being above-ground and enter Bloomfield Station
Bloomfield (NJT station)
Bloomfield station is a New Jersey Transit station in Bloomfield, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station is located in downtown Bloomfield, the second within the municipality, just west of Bloomfield Avenue...
. The current Bloomfield station was constructed in 1912 during grade crossing elimination, when tracks were raised above street-level. From here, the station continues northwestward, paralleling Toney's Brook
Toney's Brook
Toney's Brook is a tributary of the Second River in Essex County, New Jersey in the United States.Toney's Brook originates in Montclair just northwest of the Upper Montclair railway station. In Montclair it is joined by two tributary streams and continues through Anderson Park, Edgemont Memorial...
through Bloomfield (to the southeast of Bloomfield Avenue). After a short distance, the tracks head back below street level and enter the community of Glen Ridge
Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,527. In 2010, Glen Ridge was ranked as the 38th Best Place to live by New Jersey Monthly magazine....
. At the overpass with Ridgewood Avenue (Essex County Route 653), the line enters the namesake Glen Ridge station
Glen Ridge (NJT station)
Glen Ridge is a New Jersey Transit station at the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue and Ridgewood Avenue in Glen Ridge, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line....
. Glen Ridge contains two platforms, and its station building, built in 1912, is above track level, similar to Watsessing Avenue. After Glen Ridge station, the Montclair-Boonton Line continues west before crossing under Bloomfield Avenue (County Route 506) and entering Montclair
Montclair, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile...
.
Montclair
Bay Street (NJT station)
Bay Street Station is a New Jersey Transit station on Pine Street between Bloomfield and Glenridge Avenues in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station is served by all trains on the line, including all ten weekend trains. The first station of six in Montclair, Bay Street...
just after Bloomfield Avenue. Bay Street is the newest station on the Montclair Branch portion of the Montclair-Boonton Line, built in 1981 to replace the nearby Lackawanna Terminal
Lackawanna Terminal (Montclair, New Jersey)
Lacawanna Terminal is a small shopping mall in Montclair, New Jersey originally built as a railroad station in 1913 on the Montclair Branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. The station building was built of brick, and followed a Grecian-Doric style of architecture. The station had...
, which was becoming a "white elephant". This station is the north end of service on weekends. After Bay Street the line parallels Pine Street on new track to join the Erie (NY&GL) alignment. After the merge near the intersection of Pine Street and Grant Street the line continues north and enters Walnut Street station
Walnut Street (NJT station)
Walnut Street is a New Jersey Transit station on Walnut Street at Depot Square in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. This is the most used station on the Montclair-Boonton Line....
near Erie Park (named after the Erie Railroad that once used the rails). The current Walnut Street station was built in 1952 as Montclair station after the larger structure was demolished. This station is the first of the five along the New York & Greenwood Lake portion of the Montclair-Boonton Line and has two low side platforms at grade.
The lines parallel Erie Street, once again named after the predecessor railroad, continuing north through several parks in Montclair. After Woodman Field the line enters the Watchung Avenue station
Watchung Avenue (NJT station)
Watchung Avenue is a New Jersey Transit station at the intersection of Watchung Avenue, Watchung Plaza, and Park Street in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The Watchung Avenue station is on an elevated embankment between Watchung Plaza and Park Street...
, the third of six stations in Montclair. Watchung Avenue Station was built in 1901 as an Erie Railroad Type V station (according to the 1920 Interstate Commerce Report for the Erie), separated by less than a mile from the nearby stations. Watchung Avenue station has two low platforms on embankments and sits next to a bridge over the namesake Watchung Avenue.
Upper Montclair
The tracks continue northward across the bridge and Valley Road where they enter the Upper Montclair districtUpper Montclair, New Jersey
Upper Montclair is northern Montclair, which is usually reckoned as everything north of Watchung Avenue. Upper Montclair takes up approximately one third of Montclair, New Jersey-Education:...
. The tracks parallel Anderson Park before crossing Bellevue Avenue and entering the Upper Montclair station
Upper Montclair (NJT station)
Upper Montclair is a New Jersey Transit station in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station is located between two grade level crossings on Bellevue Avenue and Lorraine Avenue, and between North Mountain Avenue and Upper Montclair Plaza parallel to the railroad, and is...
. Upper Montclair is the fourth station in Montclair, also having two low platforms. The old Type V station building, built in 1898, suffered a fire on February 5, 2006. The station building is being rebuilt, although larger than the original. Although a planned re-opening was set for the weekend of February 14, 2010, the new Upper Montclair station was ceremoniously reopened by New Jersey Transit and state officials, along with Montclair mayor Jerry Fried on June 18, 2010.
After Upper Montclair station the tracks turn northeast, crossing under Lorraine Avenue, and paralleling Valley Road. The line continues northward paralleling Upper Mountain Avenue through the Upper Montclair district. A short distance later, the tracks enter Mountain Avenue
Mountain Avenue (NJT station)
Mountain Avenue is a New Jersey Transit station in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station's name derives from Upper Mountain Avenue, the street on which the station is located....
, the next to last station in Montclair. Mountain Avenue has two low platforms, and the nearby station building, which is rented by New Jersey Transit as a private residence. The building was constructed in 1889 by the New York & Greenwood Lake as an irregular shape, similar to Benson Street station on the former Boonton Line alignment east of Montclair. After Mountain Avenue the tracks continue northward through Upper Montclair, passing through Mountainside Park and crossing Mount Hebron Road.
After Mount Hebron Road, the tracks pass a bird sanctuary and enter the Montclair Heights station
Montclair Heights (NJT station)
Montclair Heights is a New Jersey Transit station in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. It is named so because the nearby community was once referred to as Montclair Heights, and the station is one of the few things still with that name...
. The final station in Montclair, Montclair Heights has a mini-high ADA ramp and low platforms. The original station building was constructed in 1905 under an Erie Type V design, until closure in 1959 by the Erie Railroad for economic reasons. The station is also signed as the "Home of Montclair State University". The station itself is at the south end of the campus and was the transfer station until the namesake station for the college opened in 2004. After Montclair Heights, the trains cross town lines, leaving Montclair in favor of Little Falls, New Jersey
Little Falls, New Jersey
Little Falls is a township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,855. It is located about from New York City....
.
Montclair State University, Great Notch and Little Falls
Along the southern end of Montclair State University, the Montclair-Boonton Line crosses out of Montclair north of Montclair Heights station and into the town Little Falls. The tracks head northward, paralleling Long Hill Road (Passaic County Route 631) through the university campus. From there, the road begins a parallel along Clove Road and soon enters the final active electrified station along the Montclair-Boonton Line until Denville, Montclair State University stationMontclair State University (NJT station)
Montclair State University Station at Little Falls is a New Jersey Transit rail station in the Great Notch area of Little Falls, New Jersey on the Montclair-Boonton Line. It serves nearby Montclair State University as well as serving as a transfer station for trains on the line, and is located on...
(officially known as the Montclair State University Station at Little Falls). The station is the set transfer between electric and diesel service, as people heading westward to Dover or Hackettstown need to transfer for further service. The station has a large island platform and also has a 1530-space parking garage on campus.
Great Notch (NJT station)
The Great Notch train station, formerly known as Caldwell Junction, was a small New Jersey Transit facility in the Great Notch section of Little Falls, New Jersey. The station was served seven times a day, three inbound morning trains to Hoboken Terminal and four outbound evening trains from...
. Great Notch was a one platform station in the Great Notch district of Little Falls. The station consisted of a shelter (which replaced a building built in 1905 and burned down in 1988) and benches. After ridership at the station became "anemic", Great Notch was shut down on January 17, 2010, with the last train departing two days prior. Great Notch and its Yard serve as the end of the electrified catenary wires above on the Montclair-Boonton Line. This station was also the site of the transfer to the Erie's Caldwell Branch to Essex Fells, New Jersey
Essex Fells, New Jersey
As of 2010 Essex Fells had a population of 2,113. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 93.5% non-Hispanic white, 1.1% black or African-American, 1.0% Chinese, 1.2% other Asian, 1.9% reporting two or more races and 2.0% Hispanic or Latino....
, torn up in 1979.
After Great Notch, the tracks continued southwestward through Little Falls, crossing under Long Hill Road (CR 631) and Francisco Road (CR 612) before making a curve back to the northwest at a siding on Cedar Grove Road. The tracks then go over a curved bridge over the Peckman River. The northwestern-bound tracks enter downtown Little Falls, paralleling New Jersey Route 23 into the namesake Little Falls station
Little Falls (NJT station)
Little Falls Station is the second of two station maintained by New Jersey Transit in Little Falls, New Jersey. The station, on the Montclair-Boonton Line is the first to receive limited revenue service due to the end of electrification at the site of the former Great Notch station...
at Union Boulevard (CR 646). Little Falls is a one low platform station, with the original building, constructed in 1915, standing on the single platform. The station has a 194-spot parking lot and the brick building is used as a waiting room. After the station, the tracks continue northwestward, approaching the Passaic River once again at the community of Singac. The community of Singac is the former site of the namesake Singac Station, which has been out of service for quite a while. After the Passaic, the tracks enter the town of Wayne
Wayne, New Jersey
Wayne is a Township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, located less than from midtown Manhattan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township had a total population of 54,069....
.
Wayne-Route 23 and Mountain View
After crossing County Route 631 for yet a third time in Singac, the tracks cross over the Passaic River and enter Wayne, New Jersey. There, the tracks parallel Route 23 near Willowbrook MallWillowbrook Mall
Willowbrook Mall can refer to three different shopping malls in North America:* Willowbrook Mall * Willowbrook Mall * Willowbrook Shopping Centre in Langley, British Columbia...
and through the interchange between Route 23, U.S. Route 46
U.S. Route 46
U.S. Route 46 is an east–west U.S. Highway, running for , completely within the state of New Jersey. The west end is at an interchange with Interstate 80 and Route 94 in Columbia, Warren County on the Delaware River...
, and Interstate 80
Interstate 80 in New Jersey
Interstate 80 is a major Interstate Highway in the United States, running from the New York City Metropolitan Area westward to San Francisco, California...
. After crossing under Interstate 80, the tracks parallel Route 23 and into Westbelt, where the tracks enter the second-newest station on the line, the Wayne-Route 23 Inter-modal Transit Center
Wayne-Route 23 (NJT station)
Wayne Route 23 Transit Center is a New Jersey Transit park-and-ride station in Wayne, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line, also providing bus service to Newark and New York City. It is located off of the southbound lanes of Route 23, near the West Belt Road Interchange, where Route 23,...
. Wayne-Route 23 opened on January 12, 2008 with a single high platform and the nearby bus terminal. Wayne-Route 23 Transit Center also contains 1,000 parking spaces for use by travelers.
After leaving Wayne-Route 23, the tracks continue to parallel Route 23 and enter downtown Wayne. The tracks cross Fayette Avenue Park and parallel the Pequannock River
Pequannock River
The Pequannock River is a tributary of the Pompton River, approximately 20 miles long, located in northern New Jersey in the United States....
into the U.S. Route 202
U.S. Route 202
U.S. Route 202 is a highway stretching from Delaware to Maine, also passing through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire....
and Route 23 in the downtown portion. After paralleling Fayette Avenue, the tracks enter Mountain View station
Mountain View (NJT station)
Mountain View Station, signed on the platform as Mountain View–Wayne, is a station maintained by New Jersey Transit in Wayne, New Jersey. The station is located on the Montclair-Boonton Line, a merge of the Boonton Line and Montclair Branch in 2002. Prior to the Montclair Connection in 2002, ...
. Mountain View station has one low platform and serves as the station for downtown Wayne. The station building at Mountain View was built in 1910 as an Erie Type 4 station (according to the ICC
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
reports), but by 1965 had been replaced by a simple Armco shelter. Mountain View also was also the site of the New York & Greenwood Lake's extension to Wanaque, New Jersey
Wanaque, New Jersey
Wanaque is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 11,116.Wanaque was incorporated as an independent Borough on February 23, 1918, when Pompton Township was split up into three Boroughs, along with Bloomingdale and...
. From this point, the Montclair-Boonton Line follows the alignment of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's Boonton Branch
Boonton Branch
The Boonton Branch refers to the railroad line that was completed in 1870 and ran 34 miles from Hoboken, NJ to Denville, NJ as part of the Morris & Essex Railroad, which in turn was part of the Lackawanna Railroad...
.
Lincoln Park to Mountain Lakes
West-northwest of the curve, the present line is back on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western's Boonton Branch original alignment. This parallels U.S. Route 202 (the Boonton Turnpike) through Wayne. The alignment crosses the Pequannock River once again, entering Lincoln Park, New JerseyLincoln Park, New Jersey
Lincoln Park is a Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 10,930....
. After crossing under Ryerson Road, the alignment heads westward through an empty portion of Lincoln Park until entering the namesake Lincoln Park station
Lincoln Park (NJT station)
Lincoln Park Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Lincoln Park, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad as a Type W-103 structure in 1904 near the overpass of Comly Road....
. Lincoln Park station has a low platform and the station building, a Type W-103 station built in 1904. The tracks continue westward, paralleling U.S. Route 202 through Lincoln Park and making a curve into Montville, New Jersey. In Montville, the tracks head to the southwest through the Towaco district. The tracks continue, paralleling and crossing under Route 202 before entering the Towaco station
Towaco (NJT station)
Towaco Station is a New Jersey Transit station in the Towaco section of Montville, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station was renovated in the late 1990s. The railroad line is currently just one main track, but operated as many as four tracks in the 1920s for transport of...
. Towaco's station building was constructed in 1911 and serves as the only station in Montville, with one low platform for the single track.
The tracks continue westward through Montville, paralleling and crossing U.S. Route 202 once again. Just before the overpass of Interstate 287
Interstate 287
Interstate 287 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. It is a partial beltway around New York City, serving the northern half of New Jersey and the counties of Rockland and Westchester in New York...
, the tracks pass the site of the original Montville station. Montville was constructed in 1903 as a Type W-1 frame station and cost only $2400. The tracks cross under Interstate 287 and make a gradual turn to the southwest. There, the line parallels U.S. Route 202 and Interstate 287 south of the Taylortown district until entering Boonton
Boonton, New Jersey
Boonton is a town in Morris County, New Jersey that was chartered in 1867. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 8,347. The town was originally called "Boone-Towne" in 1761 in honor of the Colonial Governor Thomas Boone....
. After crossing Wooton Street, the tracks enter the Boonton station
Boonton (NJT station)
Boonton Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Boonton, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line.It is located on Main Street, near Myrtle Avenue and Interstate 287. The original 1905 station is now a bar.-External links:**...
. Boonton station was originally much longer, with the brick and slate station constructed in 1905 as the largest community on the Boonton Line since Paterson
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
. The station currently has a relatively-short low platform, brick head-house shelter and a mini-high ADA ramp. After Boonton station, the tracks continue to the southeast, paralleling Interstate 287 and U.S. Route 202 out of Boonton and into Intervale. At Intervale, Interstate 287 and U.S. Route 202 turn to the southeast and away from the rail line, which continues southwestward into Mountain Lakes
Mountain Lakes, New Jersey
Mountain Lakes is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 4,256....
. At the intersection of Midvale Road and Elm Road, the tracks enter the namesake Mountain Lakes station
Mountain Lakes (NJT station)
Mountain Lakes Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The first station heading eastbound not concurrent with the Morristown Line, Mountain Lakes station serves a one track main line with one low-level platform on the southbound side...
. Mountain Lakes has a single low platform used for train service, while its station building, built in 1912 sits nearby as a restaurant.
Denville to Mount Arlington
After Mountain Lakes station, the Montclair-Boonton Line continues westward through Mountain Lakes and parallels Pollard Road. The alignment crosses U.S. Route 46U.S. Route 46
U.S. Route 46 is an east–west U.S. Highway, running for , completely within the state of New Jersey. The west end is at an interchange with Interstate 80 and Route 94 in Columbia, Warren County on the Delaware River...
and heads to the northwest along Route 46 through the Rainbow Lakes. The line crosses under Interstate 80
Interstate 80 in New Jersey
Interstate 80 is a major Interstate Highway in the United States, running from the New York City Metropolitan Area westward to San Francisco, California...
and intersecting with the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western's Rockaway Branch (discontinued in 1948), where the station enters the one platform on the north end of Denville station
Denville (NJT station)
Denville Station is a large New Jersey Transit station in Denville, New Jersey. Located on Estling Road in Denville, the three-platform station serves both the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line serve this station, with service to Hoboken or to New York City via Midtown Direct...
. The Denville station is built for two lines and has two separate platforms, including one for the Morristown Line, which merges nearby. Denville station had a Type W-3 Delaware, Lackawanna and Western-style wooden frame station built in 1904, which has since been razed. The shell of Denville Tower still stands, and is used as a communications center for New Jersey Transit. After Denville, electrified service begins once again, heading westward across Estling Lake and Franklin Lake before continuing along the Route 46 corridor and into Dover
Dover, New Jersey
Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey on the Rockaway River. Dover is west of New York City and west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the United States Census, 2000, the town's population was 18,188.-Geography:...
. After Mountain Park, the line crosses through Dover Yard, which is a six storage track station. A short distance after the park and yard, the tracks enter the Dover station
Dover (NJT station)
Dover Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Dover, New Jersey. The station was originally built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1901-02 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Both the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line serve this...
. Dover was constructed from 1899–1901, opening on November 1, 1901 and was a two side platform station. Current Dover Station still has its building from the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, but the station's two side platforms have been replaced by a high-level island platform.
After departing the Dover station, the Morristown Line catenary wires end about a half-mile west, near the US Route 46 overpass. Afterwards, the tracks parallel Dickerson Street before turning to the northwest through Dover until Morris Duffy School before turning westward into Wharton
Wharton, New Jersey
Wharton is a Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the borough population was 6,298.What is now Wharton was originally incorporated as the borough of Port Oram by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 26, 1895, from portions of Randolph...
. The tracks then cross the site of the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad station in Wharton, built in 1900. The station was a Type W-101A Delaware, Lackawanna and Western-style, back when the town was named Port Oram, but the station was out of service by 1962. After Wharton station, the tracks continue westward, crossing over Berkshire Valley Road (Morris County Route 699) and parallel Interstate 80 through Morris County, entering the Mount Arlington station
Mount Arlington (NJT station)
Mount Arlington Station is a New Jersey Transit park-and-ride station in Mount Arlington, New Jersey that opened in January 2008. Both the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line serve this station, with service to Hoboken Terminal or to Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan via transfer to...
at Interchange 30. Mount Arlington station is the newest station along the Montclair-Boonton Line, opening on January 21, 2008, nine days after opening of Wayne-Route 23. Mount Arlington has two high-level platforms serving two tracks. The station is also a park & ride, serving bus service from Lakeland Bus and 285 parking spaces.
Lake Hopatcong to Hackettstown
After paralleling Interstate 80 out of Mount Arlington station, the line heads southwestward until turning northeastward through the community of LandingLanding, New Jersey
Landing is a small settlement and unincorporated area located within Roxbury Township, New Jersey, on the south shore of Lake Hopatcong near Hopatcong State Park...
. From there, the line goes northward along Morris County Route 631 heading into downtown Landing, where the tracks turn northeastward. The tracks soon enter the Lake Hopatcong station
Lake Hopatcong (NJT station)
Lake Hopatcong Station is a New Jersey Transit station in the Landing section of Roxbury Township, New Jersey. It is named for the nearby Lake Hopatcong. The station is located at the intersection of Landing Road and Lakeside Boulevard...
. Lake Hopatcong has two low platforms with a shelter on the westbound side. The original Delaware, Lackawanna and Western station was much larger, built in 1911 to replace the original Hopatcong stop. The original station had two large towers and two long concrete platforms to access from the original 1911 station on Landing Road. A short distance later, the tracks cross under the Landing Masonry Bridge
Landing Masonry Bridge
The Landing Masonry Bridge, also designated Bridge 44.53, is a long stone structure over the Morristown Line and Montclair-Boonton Line tracks maintained by New Jersey Transit in the community of Landing, New Jersey, United States. The bridge contains the two-laned Morris County Route 631 and...
(which contains Landing Road/CR 631) and continue westward into Port Morris Junction. At Port Morris Junction, the Montclair-Boonton Line turns to the southwest, while the right-of-way continues eastward along as the Lackawanna Cut-Off. The line also passes Port Morris Yard, where the shell of the former junction tower, built in 1909, stands. Continuing to the southwest, the tracks parallel Lake Musconetcong
Lake Musconetcong
Lake Musconetcong is located on the border of Morris County and Sussex County, New Jersey, and is part of Hopatcong State Park, which is administered by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The Musconetcong River flows through the lake....
and enter the community of Netcong
Netcong, New Jersey
Netcong is a Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 2,580. Its estimated population in 2006 was 3,292...
. After crossing under New Jersey Route 183
New Jersey Route 183
Route 183 is a long state highway in the northern regions of New Jersey. The southern end of NJ 183 is at an interchange with Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 206 near Netcong, while the northern end is at an interchange with US 206 in Stanhope. The route heads northward through downtown Netcong and...
, the tracks enter downtown Netcong and into the Netcong station
Netcong (NJT station)
Netcong Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Netcong, New Jersey. Located on U.S. Route 46 at Main Street in downtown Netcong, the small, 1-low level side platform station service passengers for the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line...
. Netcong has a brick house on its one low platform. The station building, built in 1903, used bricks from a location in nearby Port Murray
Port Murray, New Jersey
Port Murray is an unincorporated area within Mansfield Township in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 07865...
. Netcong Station was also site of the junction to the former Sussex Branch built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, discontinued from Branchville
Branchville, New Jersey
Branchville is a borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 841. The borough is located in the northernmost region of Sussex County....
in 1966.
Until late 1994, this was the endpoint of the line, until tracks were rehabilitated to Hackettstown along Norfolk Southern's Washington Secondary. Continuing westward, the tracks continue, paralleling Interstate 80, U.S. Route 206
U.S. Route 206
U.S. Route 206 is a long north–south United States highway in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, United States. Only about a half a mile of its length is in Pennsylvania; the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge carries it over the Delaware River into New Jersey, where it is the remainder of the route...
and Waterloo Valley Road. The tracks soon enter the International Trade Center in Mount Olive. After crossing Waterloo Valley Road, the tracks enter the small Mount Olive station
Mount Olive (NJT station)
Mount Olive Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Mount Olive, New Jersey, located in the International Trade Center. The station, located on the side of Waterloo Village Road, services trains for both the Montclair-Boonton Line and the Morristown Line along trackage owned by Norfolk Southern...
. Mount Olive has a lone low-level platform and shelter that is used as a terminus and beginning for certain weekday trains. Mount Olive is also near the site of the former Waterloo station, built in 1854, when the connection to the Sussex Railroad
Sussex Railroad
The Sussex Railroad was a short-line railroad in northwestern New Jersey. It replaced its predecessor, the Sussex Mine Railroad, in 1853 and operated under the Sussex Railroad Company until 1945 when it was fully merged into the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad system...
was created. The station was canned in 1939, and the shelter that replaced burned in a grass fire in 1946. After Mount Olive, the line follows Waterloo Valley Road through Allamuchy State Park and passing Saxton Lake before turning to the west through Stephens State Park
Stephens State Park
Stephens State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is 805 acres in area, located in western Morris County, north of Hackettstown along the upper Musconetcong River...
. The lines then enter Hackettstown, where it passes the nearby medical center, and junctions with the rail spur to the Mars and M&Ms plant
Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is a worldwide manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products with US$30 billion in annual sales in 2010, and is ranked as the 5th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Headquartered in McLean, unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia,...
. The tracks then cross County Route 517
County Route 517 (New Jersey)
County Route 517 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends from Lamington Road in Tewksbury Township to the New York state line in Vernon Township where it continues as Orange County Route 26. It mainly traverses through small, rural communities and unincorporated...
and U.S. Route 46. After paralleling Valentine Street, the tracks enter Hackettstown station
Hackettstown (NJT station)
Hackettstown Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Hackettstown, New Jersey. The station is located at the intersection of Valentine Street and Beatty Street and is the western terminus of the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line, which both provide service to Hoboken Terminal or to...
, with one low platform and a mini-high ADA ramp. Hackettstown Station had a station building, built in 1868 as a Type W-2 Delaware, Lackawanna and Western-style frame building; it was demolished in the late 1960s. Trackage south of Hackettstown is owned and operated by Norfolk Southern as part of the Washington Secondary to Phillipsburg.
Service
There is service on weekdays between ~5 a.m. and ~1 a.m. the next morning. Between Hackettstown and Denville there is also service that after Denville, goes onto Hoboken via the Morristown LineMorristown Line
The Morristown Line is one of New Jersey Transit's commuter lines and is one of two branches that run along the Morris and Essex Lines. Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound trains use the Kearny Connection to Secaucus Junction and New York Penn...
. Frequency of service reflects the times commuters travel. Inbound trains are more frequent in the Morning, and outbound trains are more frequent in the Afternoon and evening. From Denville to Montclair, only diesel-hauled trains can provide service, as the territory is not electrified. Therefore, there is no direct service to/from New York between Mountain Lakes and Little Falls stations. The same is true for all stations between and including Hackettstown and Mount Arlington, as New York Penn Station normally does not allow diesel trains to enter. Other electrified service is existing at Denville and Dover stations, along with the stretches in between. On weekends 9.5 round trips between Hoboken and Bay street operate every two hours.
Electrification
The original 1930 Lackawanna 3 kV DC electrificationRailway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
was converted in 1984 to 25 kV 60 Hz, as part of the re-electrification of the Morris & Essex Lines which the then-Montclair Branch was grouped with at the time. The The 2002 extension of electrification to Great Notch together with the Montclair Connection is similar in construction, except that hot-dip galvanized steel
Hot-dip galvanizing
Hot-dip galvanizing is a form of galvanization. It is the process of coating iron, steel, or aluminum with a thin zinc layer, by passing the metal through a molten bath of zinc at a temperature of around 860 °F...
poles are used; many of these poles are painted dark green for esthetic reasons, in contrast with the old Lackawanna poles which are painted dark red. Catenary construction is uniform throughout; compound (3-wire) with a zigzag horizontal profile, but without self-tensioning, just like on most sections of the M&E lines.
The line features a single autotransformer substation at Montclair, close to Bay Street station, dating from the 1984 re-electrification. Its power is supplied from NJT's Meadows Substation on the M&E (Morristown) mainline.
Active stations
| Montclair-Boonton Line stations | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone | Miles from east terminal | Municipality | Station | Services | Public transportation | Notes |
| – | 0.0 | Hoboken Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region... |
Hoboken Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is one of the New York Metropolitan area's major transportation hubs. The commuter-oriented intermodal facility, is located on the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey... |
ADA-accessible, TVM, Waiting area | NJ Transit buses: 22, 22X, 23, 54, 68, 85, 87, 89, 126, New York Waterway | Eastern terminus of the line; Transfer here for PATH Port Authority Trans-Hudson PATH, derived from Port Authority Trans-Hudson, is a rapid transit railroad linking Manhattan, New York City with Newark, Harrison, Hoboken and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey... trains and the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail |
| New York City | Penn Station | ADA-accessible, TVM, Waiting area | Amtrak Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union... , Long Island Rail Road Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US... , NJ Transit New Jersey Transit The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State... : North Jersey Coast Line North Jersey Coast Line The North Jersey Coast Line is a New Jersey Transit commuter rail service operating between New York Penn Station or Hoboken Terminal and Bay Head, New Jersey... , Northeast Corridor Line Northeast Corridor Line The Northeast Corridor Line is a commuter rail operation run by New Jersey Transit along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. It is the successor to commuter services provided by the Pennsylvania Railroad along the section between Trenton, New Jersey and New York Penn Station... , Gladstone Branch Gladstone Branch The Gladstone Branch is a branch of New Jersey Transit's Morris and Essex Lines. The Gladstone Branch primarily serves commuter trains; freight service is no longer operated... , Morristown Line Morristown Line The Morristown Line is one of New Jersey Transit's commuter lines and is one of two branches that run along the Morris and Essex Lines. Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound trains use the Kearny Connection to Secaucus Junction and New York Penn... NYC Subway New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit... : trains NYC Transit buses New York City Transit buses New York City Transit buses, marked on the buses MTA New York City Bus, is a bus service that operates in all five boroughs of New York City, employing over 4300 buses on 219 routes within the five boroughs of New York City in the United States... : M4, M7, M20, M34 / M34A Select Bus Service, Q32 |
Second eastern terminus of the line | ||
| 5.0 (NYP) | Secaucus Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 16,264. Located within the New Jersey Meadowlands, it is the most suburban of the county's municipalities, though large parts of the town are dedicated to light manufacturing, retail, and... |
Secaucus Junction Secaucus Junction The Frank R. Lautenberg Secaucus Junction Station is a major commuter rail hub in Secaucus, New Jersey... |
ADA-accessible, TVM, Waiting area | NJ Transit buses: 2, 78, 129, 329 | Transfer here for other New Jersey Transit lines (except the Raritan Valley Raritan Valley Line The Raritan Valley Line is a diesel-engine-powered commuter rail service operated by New Jersey Transit , originating out of Pennsylvania Station, located in Newark, New Jersey, with most trains terminating at the Raritan station, located in Raritan, New Jersey.Some weekday trains continue further... and Gladstone Branch Gladstone Branch The Gladstone Branch is a branch of New Jersey Transit's Morris and Essex Lines. The Gladstone Branch primarily serves commuter trains; freight service is no longer operated... lines) |
|
| 2 | 7.8 | Newark Newark, New Jersey Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S... |
Newark-Broad Street | ADA-accessible, TVM, Waiting area | NJ Transit buses: 11, 13, 27, 28, 29, 39, 41, 43, 72, 76, 78, 108, go28 | 7.8 miles from Hoboken, 10.4 miles from New York Penn |
| 4 | Bloomfield Bloomfield, New Jersey Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 47,315. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District.-History:... |
Watsessing Avenue Watsessing Avenue (NJT station) Watsessing Avenue is a New Jersey Transit station in Bloomfield, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. It is located beneath the Bloomfield Police Benevolent Association meeting hall near the corner of Watsessing Avenue and Orange Street in Bloomfield... |
TVM | NJ Transit buses: 94 | Formerly known as Doddtown | |
| Bloomfield Bloomfield (NJT station) Bloomfield station is a New Jersey Transit station in Bloomfield, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station is located in downtown Bloomfield, the second within the municipality, just west of Bloomfield Avenue... |
TVM, Waiting area | – | NJ Transit buses: 11, 28, 29, 34, 72, 92, 93, 94, go28 | |||
| Glen Ridge Glen Ridge, New Jersey Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,527. In 2010, Glen Ridge was ranked as the 38th Best Place to live by New Jersey Monthly magazine.... |
Glen Ridge Glen Ridge (NJT station) Glen Ridge is a New Jersey Transit station at the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue and Ridgewood Avenue in Glen Ridge, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line.... |
TVM, Waiting area | – | NJ Transit buses: 11, 28, 29 Decamp Bus DeCamp Bus Lines DeCamp Bus Lines is a line-run operator serving Essex County, New Jersey with line run and charter service to and from Manhattan. Because there are no fixed stops other than termini, buses can be hailed to board; riders can request a stop to exit.... : 33 |
||
| 5 | Montclair Montclair, New Jersey -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile... |
Bay Street Bay Street (NJT station) Bay Street Station is a New Jersey Transit station on Pine Street between Bloomfield and Glenridge Avenues in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station is served by all trains on the line, including all ten weekend trains. The first station of six in Montclair, Bay Street... |
TVM, ADA-accessible, Waiting area | NJ Transit buses: 11, 28, 29 Decamp Bus: 33 |
Weekend service terminates at Bay Street | |
| Walnut Street Walnut Street (NJT station) Walnut Street is a New Jersey Transit station on Walnut Street at Depot Square in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. This is the most used station on the Montclair-Boonton Line.... |
TVM | Decamp Bus: 33G | ||||
| Watchung Avenue Watchung Avenue (NJT station) Watchung Avenue is a New Jersey Transit station at the intersection of Watchung Avenue, Watchung Plaza, and Park Street in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The Watchung Avenue station is on an elevated embankment between Watchung Plaza and Park Street... |
TVM, Waiting area | NJ Transit buses: 28 Decamp Bus: 66 |
||||
| Upper Montclair Upper Montclair (NJT station) Upper Montclair is a New Jersey Transit station in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station is located between two grade level crossings on Bellevue Avenue and Lorraine Avenue, and between North Mountain Avenue and Upper Montclair Plaza parallel to the railroad, and is... |
TVM, Waiting area | NJ Transit buses: 28 Decamp Bus: 66 |
||||
| 6 | Mountain Avenue Mountain Avenue (NJT station) Mountain Avenue is a New Jersey Transit station in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station's name derives from Upper Mountain Avenue, the street on which the station is located.... |
TVM, Waiting area | NJ Transit buses: 28 Decamp Bus: 66 |
Not to be confused with Mountain Station Mountain Station (NJT station) Mountain Station is a New Jersey Transit station in South Orange, New Jersey along the Morris and Essex rail line. The station has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984.-External links:*... on the Morris and Essex Lines |
||
| Montclair Heights Montclair Heights (NJT station) Montclair Heights is a New Jersey Transit station in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. It is named so because the nearby community was once referred to as Montclair Heights, and the station is one of the few things still with that name... |
ADA-accessible, TVM | NJ Transit buses: 28, 191, 705 Decamp Bus: 66 |
||||
| Little Falls Little Falls, New Jersey Little Falls is a township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,855. It is located about from New York City.... |
Montclair State University Montclair State University (NJT station) Montclair State University Station at Little Falls is a New Jersey Transit rail station in the Great Notch area of Little Falls, New Jersey on the Montclair-Boonton Line. It serves nearby Montclair State University as well as serving as a transfer station for trains on the line, and is located on... |
ADA-accessible, TVM | – | Built 2004, serves Montclair State University Montclair State University Montclair State University is a public research university located in the Upper Montclair section of Montclair, the Great Notch area of Little Falls, and Clifton, New Jersey. As of October 2009, there were 18,171 total enrolled students: 14,139 undergraduate students and 4,032 graduate students... ; Electric Service ends here. |
||
| 8 | Little Falls Little Falls (NJT station) Little Falls Station is the second of two station maintained by New Jersey Transit in Little Falls, New Jersey. The station, on the Montclair-Boonton Line is the first to receive limited revenue service due to the end of electrification at the site of the former Great Notch station... |
TVM, Waiting area | NJ Transit buses: 11, 191, 704, 705 | |||
| 9 | Wayne Wayne, New Jersey Wayne is a Township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, located less than from midtown Manhattan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township had a total population of 54,069.... |
Wayne-Route 23 Wayne-Route 23 (NJT station) Wayne Route 23 Transit Center is a New Jersey Transit park-and-ride station in Wayne, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line, also providing bus service to Newark and New York City. It is located off of the southbound lanes of Route 23, near the West Belt Road Interchange, where Route 23,... |
ADA-accessible, TVM | NJ Transit buses: 75, 194, 198, 324 | Built 2008 | |
| Mountain View Mountain View (NJT station) Mountain View Station, signed on the platform as Mountain View–Wayne, is a station maintained by New Jersey Transit in Wayne, New Jersey. The station is located on the Montclair-Boonton Line, a merge of the Boonton Line and Montclair Branch in 2002. Prior to the Montclair Connection in 2002, ... |
ADA-accessible, TVM, Waiting area | NJ Transit buses: 871 | Site of split for former New York & Greenwood Lake Railway to Wanaque Wanaque, New Jersey Wanaque is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 11,116.Wanaque was incorporated as an independent Borough on February 23, 1918, when Pompton Township was split up into three Boroughs, along with Bloomingdale and... |
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| 10 | Lincoln Park Lincoln Park, New Jersey Lincoln Park is a Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 10,930.... |
Lincoln Park Lincoln Park (NJT station) Lincoln Park Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Lincoln Park, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad as a Type W-103 structure in 1904 near the overpass of Comly Road.... |
TVM | NJ Transit buses: 871 | ||
| 11 | Montville | Towaco Towaco (NJT station) Towaco Station is a New Jersey Transit station in the Towaco section of Montville, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station was renovated in the late 1990s. The railroad line is currently just one main track, but operated as many as four tracks in the 1920s for transport of... |
ADA-accessible, TVM | NJ Transit buses: 871 | ||
| 14 | Boonton Boonton, New Jersey Boonton is a town in Morris County, New Jersey that was chartered in 1867. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 8,347. The town was originally called "Boone-Towne" in 1761 in honor of the Colonial Governor Thomas Boone.... |
Boonton Boonton (NJT station) Boonton Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Boonton, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line.It is located on Main Street, near Myrtle Avenue and Interstate 287. The original 1905 station is now a bar.-External links:**... |
ADA-accessible, TVM | NJ Transit buses: 871 | ||
| Mountain Lakes Mountain Lakes, New Jersey Mountain Lakes is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 4,256.... |
Mountain Lakes Mountain Lakes (NJT station) Mountain Lakes Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The first station heading eastbound not concurrent with the Morristown Line, Mountain Lakes station serves a one track main line with one low-level platform on the southbound side... |
TVM | – | |||
| 16 | Denville Denville, New Jersey Denville is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,635. Denville is known as the "Hub of Morris County" for its location along major transportation routes at the center of the county... |
Denville Denville (NJT station) Denville Station is a large New Jersey Transit station in Denville, New Jersey. Located on Estling Road in Denville, the three-platform station serves both the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line serve this station, with service to Hoboken or to New York City via Midtown Direct... |
ADA-accessible, TVM | NJ Transit buses: 880 | Line merges/diverges with the Morristown Line Morristown Line The Morristown Line is one of New Jersey Transit's commuter lines and is one of two branches that run along the Morris and Essex Lines. Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound trains use the Kearny Connection to Secaucus Junction and New York Penn... for westward service |
|
| 17 | Dover Dover, New Jersey Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey on the Rockaway River. Dover is west of New York City and west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the United States Census, 2000, the town's population was 18,188.-Geography:... |
Dover Dover (NJT station) Dover Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Dover, New Jersey. The station was originally built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1901-02 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Both the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line serve this... |
ADA-accessible, TVM, Waiting area | NJ Transit buses: 872, 875, 880 | Most trains terminate/originate at Dover | |
| 19 | Mount Arlington Mount Arlington, New Jersey -History:While Mount Arlington is now mostly a suburban residential community, it was once a thriving resort town. In the era before the world wars and the advent of air travel, it was a welcome respite for the residents of nearby New York City and Newark.... |
Mount Arlington Mount Arlington (NJT station) Mount Arlington Station is a New Jersey Transit park-and-ride station in Mount Arlington, New Jersey that opened in January 2008. Both the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line serve this station, with service to Hoboken Terminal or to Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan via transfer to... |
ADA-accessible, TVM | Lakeland Bus: Route 80 | Built 2008 | |
| Lake Hopatcong | Lake Hopatcong Lake Hopatcong (NJT station) Lake Hopatcong Station is a New Jersey Transit station in the Landing section of Roxbury Township, New Jersey. It is named for the nearby Lake Hopatcong. The station is located at the intersection of Landing Road and Lakeside Boulevard... |
TVM | – | Future split for the Lackawanna Cut-Off line near Port Morris Junction Port Morris Junction Port Morris Junction is the former railroad connection between NJ Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line and the Lackawanna Cut-Off. Built by the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western railroad, it sits in the Port Morris section of Roxbury Township, New Jersey, south of Lake Hopatcong.Soon after rail... |
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| Netcong Netcong, New Jersey Netcong is a Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 2,580. Its estimated population in 2006 was 3,292... |
Netcong Netcong (NJT station) Netcong Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Netcong, New Jersey. Located on U.S. Route 46 at Main Street in downtown Netcong, the small, 1-low level side platform station service passengers for the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line... |
TVM | – | Begin/end of New Jersey Transit track ownership; Former line western terminus | ||
| Mount Olive | Mount Olive Mount Olive (NJT station) Mount Olive Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Mount Olive, New Jersey, located in the International Trade Center. The station, located on the side of Waterloo Village Road, services trains for both the Montclair-Boonton Line and the Morristown Line along trackage owned by Norfolk Southern... |
TVM, ADA-accessible | Lakeland Bus: Route 46, Route 80 | Waterloo Village Waterloo Village Waterloo Village is a restored 19th Century canal town in Byram Township, Sussex County in northwestern New Jersey and was approximately the half-way point in the roughly 102-mile trip along the Morris Canal, which ran from Jersey City to Phillipsburg, New Jersey Waterloo Village is a restored... , International Trade Center |
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| Hackettstown Hackettstown, New Jersey Hackettstown is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 9,724. The town is located in the eastern most region of the Lehigh Valley.... |
Hackettstown Hackettstown (NJT station) Hackettstown Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Hackettstown, New Jersey. The station is located at the intersection of Valentine Street and Beatty Street and is the western terminus of the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line, which both provide service to Hoboken Terminal or to... |
ADA-accessible, TVM | Western terminus of the Montclair-Boonton and Morristown Lines | |||
Closed stations
| Zone | Miles from east terminal | Municipality | Station | Services | Public transportation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Harrison Harrison, New Jersey Harrison is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 13,620. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey.-Geography:Harrison is located at .... |
Harrison | – | – | Closed since September 16, 1984 | |
| 7.7 | North Newark | North Newark | – | – | Closed | |
| Newark | Roseville Avenue Roseville Avenue (NJT station) Roseville Avenue was a transfer station on New Jersey Transit's Morris & Essex Lines in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The station was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1903 during a track depression to serve Newark's Roseville neighborhood... |
– | – | Closed since September 16, 1984 | ||
| 4 | 9.7 | East Orange East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most... |
Ampere Ampere (NJT station) Ampere Station, formerly known as The Crescent, is a closed station on New Jersey Transit's Montclair Branch in the city of East Orange, New Jersey. The station depot was built originally in 1890 to service to new Crocker Wheeler plant in the district... |
– | – | Closed since April 7, 1991 |
| 7 | Little Falls Little Falls, New Jersey Little Falls is a township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,855. It is located about from New York City.... |
Great Notch Great Notch (NJT station) The Great Notch train station, formerly known as Caldwell Junction, was a small New Jersey Transit facility in the Great Notch section of Little Falls, New Jersey. The station was served seven times a day, three inbound morning trains to Hoboken Terminal and four outbound evening trains from... |
– | NJ Transit buses: 191, 195, 705 | Limited service (4 outbound trains, 3 inbound); Catenary wires end here; Former split for Caldwell Branch to Essex Fells Essex Fells, New Jersey As of 2010 Essex Fells had a population of 2,113. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 93.5% non-Hispanic white, 1.1% black or African-American, 1.0% Chinese, 1.2% other Asian, 1.9% reporting two or more races and 2.0% Hispanic or Latino.... ; Closed January 17, 2010. |
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| 2 | Kearny Kearny, New Jersey Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark.... |
Arlington Arlington (NJT station) The Arlington Station is an abandoned train station that is located in the town of Kearny, New Jersey. The station was a former stop on the Boonton Line, which runs from Hoboken Terminal to Hackettstown... |
– | NJ Transit buses: 76 | Abandoned on September 20, 2002 for the Montclair Connection | |
| 4 | Bloomfield | Rowe Street Rowe Street (NJT station) The Rowe Street Station is an abandoned train station that is located in the town of Bloomfield, New Jersey. The station was a former stop on the Boonton Line, which runs from Hoboken Terminal to Hackettstown, reaching Rowe Street in Bloomfield... |
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| Glen Ridge | Benson Street Benson Street (NJT station) The Benson Street Station is an inactive train station that is located in the town of Glen Ridge, New Jersey. The station was a former stop on the Boonton Line, which runs from Hoboken Terminal to Hackettstown, reaching Benson Street in the middle of the residential portion. Benson Street was... |
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