Bergen County Line

The Bergen County Line is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line loops off the Main Line between the Meadowlands and Glen Rock, with trains continuing in either direction along the Main Line. It is colored on NJT system maps in grey, and its symbol is a cattail, which are commonly found in the Meadowlands where the line runs.

Some trains of Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line also operate over the line. The Norfolk Southern Railway provides freight service along the line via trackage rights.

As on the Main Line, trains are powered by diesel locomotives operated push-pull, consisting of Comet or MultiLevel coaches.

History

File:Bergen County RR 1883.jpg

Share of the Bergen County Railroad Company, issued 1 February 1883

From a point in Secaucus, just south of the Hackensack River bridge near the former Harmon Cove station, to a point in East Rutherford north of the Rutherford station, the Bergen County Line uses the former Erie Railroad Main Line. This portion was opened in 1833 by the Paterson and Hudson River Railroad<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Template:Small, June 2004 Edition</ref> and leased by the New York and Erie Rail Road in 1852.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Template:Small, March 2005 Edition</ref> The rest of the line, from East Rutherford north to Glen Rock, opened in 1881 as the Bergen County Railroad.

Until the late 1950s, the main function of the Erie's Bergen County Cutoff was as a freight (and long-distance express) bypass of the at-grade Main Line through Passaic. Commuter service was relatively minor. In 1963 the Lackawanna Boonton Branch up to Paterson (with a small portion of the Erie's Newark Branch) became the new Erie-Lackawanna Main Line. This was caused by the abandonment of the Main Line section through downtown Passaic and construction of Interstate 80 using the old Boonton Branch right-of-way in Paterson. The old Main Line east of Rutherford was now exclusively part of the Bergen County Line.

Prior to the opening of Secaucus Junction in 2003, Bergen County Line trains used a longer stretch of the old Erie Main Line in Secaucus, extending south to Croxton Yard and a merge with the former Lackawanna Boonton Branch. A curving track was built between the HX Drawbridge at Hackensack River and the Main Line west of Secaucus Junction to allow Bergen County Line trains to use the new station.<ref name=Harmon/>

Secaucus train collision

Template:Main articles On February 9, 1996, a Bergen County Line train collided with a Main Line train, killing 3 people and injuring 162.<ref name="ntsb">"NEAR HEAD-ON COLLISION AND DERAILMENT OF TWO NEW JERSEY TRANSIT COMMUTER TRAINS NEAR SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY FEBRUARY 9, 1996" National Transportation Safety Board</ref> It was the New York City area and New Jersey's worst train accident since the 1958 Newark Bay rail accident when at least 48 people died.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2007 Ridgewood Junction derailment

Template:See also On February 21, 2007, a Bergen County Line train suffered a minor derailment after passing over an improperly repaired switch at Ridgewood Junction.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Service

File:Rutherford NJT train station 2.jpg

Rutherford station

West of Secaucus Junction, the Bergen County Line tracks diverge from the Main Line over a new right-of-way opened on December 15, 2003, connecting the Main Line with the Bergen County Line. During this stretch and traveling westbound, the Hackensack River is to the left, while industrial plants on Meadowlands Parkway are to the right. A former station, Harmon Cove, was located nearby along the old Erie right-of-way and served the high-rise apartments nearby between 1978 and 2003.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Harmon>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Soon the train joins the old Erie Main Line right-of-way and crosses the Hackensack over HX Bridge, a two-track bascule draw. For the next two miles, the train crosses the Meadowlands, under the New Jersey Turnpike western spur with the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford visible in the distance to the right. Here, the track parallels Berrys Creek and eventually crosses it just before passing below Route 3.

Beyond Route 3, the landscape changes to industrial. Office buildings line the side of the track, some serviced by sidings. The Pascack Valley Line soon splits off to the right at Pascack Junction, and the train then crosses Route 17 and approaches the Rutherford station.

For a half-mile the train passes residences on either side, then swings right, abandoning the old Erie Main Line at Template:Coord, and passes through industrial areas with several grade crossings. Soon, the tracks form the border of Carlstadt and Wallington. Presently the train passes Wood-Ridge and South Hackensack before reaching the Wesmont station, which opened on May 15, 2016.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> The train then swings left, crossing the Saddle River, and then right, into Garfield reaching the Garfield station.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Citation needed

The train continues northward through Garfield, passing homes, businesses, and Dahnerts Lake County Park before reaching the Plauderville station at Midland Avenue, the border between Garfield and neighboring Saddle Brook. Shortly after passing beneath U.S. Highway 46 the track becomes the border of Saddle Brook and Elmwood Park, once again crossing Midland Avenue. Interstate 80 passes above the train, which then crosses the Garden State Parkway. The Broadway station in Fair Lawn straddles a border formed by the track and Route 4.

In Fair Lawn, the line is paralleled by Plaza Road, named for Radburn Plaza, the commercial area serving the Radburn development for which the borough's more northerly station is named. The line crosses below Route 208 before reaching Radburn. Beyond the station, the train passes housing to the right and industry to the left, with a spur to a Nabisco plant. Next is the Glen Rock–Boro Hall station which like its Main Line counterpart is on Rock Road. The lines merge a short distance north of this point at Ridgewood Junction. The trains will continue north to either Waldwick or Suffern, and some peak trains will terminate at Ridgewood, which is the first station after the two lines join.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Stations

State	Zone<ref name="schedule">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Location	Station<ref name="schedule" />	Mile (km)	Date opened	Date closed	Line services			Connections<ref name="schedule" />
		BC						ML	PJ
NJ	1	Hoboken	Hoboken Terminal Template:NJT acc	0.0 (0.0)	1903		●	●	●	NJ Transit Rail: Gladstone, Main Line, Meadowlands, Montclair–Boonton, Morristown, North Jersey Coast, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley Lines Hudson-Bergen Light Rail: 8th Street-Hoboken, Hoboken-Tonnelle lines PATH: HOB-WTC, HOB-33, JSQ-33 (via HOB) NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link New York Waterway to Battery Park City
		Secaucus	Secaucus Junction Template:NJT acc	3.5 (5.6)	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>		●	●	●	NJ Transit Rail (upper level): Gladstone, Montclair–Boonton, Morristown, Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast, and Raritan Valley lines NJ Transit Rail (lower level): Main, Meadowlands and Pascack Valley lines NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
	3		Template:Njts		June 26, 1978<ref name=harmon-open>Template:Cite journal</ref>	August 4, 2003<ref name=harmon-close>Sullivan, Al. "Harmon Cove Station will close Bus shuttle service to new station will start in July", The Hudson Reporter, February 1, 2003. Accessed December 28, 2016."</ref>
		Rutherford	Template:Njts Template:NJT acc	8.4 (13.5)	December 4, 1833Template:Sfn		●			NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
	4	Wood-Ridge	Template:Njts	10.4 (16.7)	May 15, 2016<ref name=":0" /><ref name=wesmont-open>Template:Cite news</ref>		●
		Garfield	Template:Njts	11.3 (18.2)	October 1, 1881<ref name="garfieldhistory">Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>Template:Sfn		●			NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
			Spring Tank		October 1, 1881<ref name="garfieldhistory" />		●			Former station at Belmont Avenue in Garfield.<ref name="garfieldhistory" /><ref name="springtank1">Template:Cite map</ref>
	5		Template:Njts Template:NJT acc	12.7 (20.4)			●			NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
	6	Fair Lawn	Template:Njts	15.3 (24.6)	October 1, 1881Template:Sfn		●			NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
			Template:Njts	16.5 (26.6)	October 1, 1881Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn		●			NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
	8	Glen Rock	Template:Njts	18.2 (29.3)	October 1, 1881Template:Sfn		●			NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
	9	Ridgewood	Template:Njts Template:NJT acc	20.9 (33.6)	October 19, 1848<ref name="1848opening">Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref><ref name="1848opening-2">Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>		●	●		NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
	10	Ho-Ho-Kus	Template:Njts	22.1 (35.6)	October 19, 1848<ref name="1848opening" /><ref name="1848opening-2" />		●	●
		Waldwick	Template:Njts	23.2 (37.3)	1886<ref name=waldwick-open>Template:Cite news</ref>		●	●
	11	Allendale	Template:Njts	24.6 (39.6)	October 19, 1848<ref name="1848opening" /><ref name="1848opening-2" />		●	●
	12	Ramsey	Ramsey Template:NJT acc	26.5 (42.6)	October 19, 1848<ref name="history">Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>		●	●
	13		Template:Njts Template:NJT acc	27.9 (44.9)	August 22, 2004<ref name="RR17press">Template:Cite press release</ref>		●	●	●
	14	Mahwah	Template:Njts	29.1 (46.8)	October 19, 1848<ref name="1848opening" /><ref name="1848opening-2" />		●	●	●	Short Line Bus: 17
NY		Suffern	Template:Njts	30.5 (49.1)	June 30, 1841Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>		●	●	●	Transport of Rockland: 59, 93, Monsey Loop 3, Tappan ZEExpress Short Line Bus: 17M/MD/SF

Bibliography

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