Main Line (NJ Transit)

The Main Line (or Erie Main Line) is a commuter rail line owned and operated by New Jersey Transit running from Suffern, New York to Hoboken, New Jersey, in the United States. It runs daily commuter service and was once the north–south main line of the Erie Railroad. It is colored yellow on NJ Transit system maps, and its symbol is a water wheel.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Bergen County Line splits off the Main Line just west of the Secaucus Junction transfer station and rejoins it at Ridgewood. Trains on both lines are push-pull, powered by diesel locomotives (ordinarily on the west end of the train).

History

The Erie Railroad's main line ran from Jersey City to Chicago via Binghamton and Jamestown, New York, Akron and Marion, Ohio, and Huntington, Indiana, with branches to Buffalo, Cleveland, and Dayton. The section in New Jersey and lower New York State saw frequent commuter service to the waterfront Pavonia Terminal, Jersey City, with connections to the Pavonia Ferry to Lower Manhattan.

The Erie Railroad's major long-distance passenger trains to Chicago, the Atlantic Express and Pacific Express, the Erie Limited, and the Lake Cities, ran along this section, through Passaic, Paterson, Ridgewood, on to Port Jervis, northwest to Binghamton, New York State's Southern Tier, Jamestown, and west to Chicago. The final long-distance train along this route was the Atlantic Express and Pacific Express in 1965.<ref>'Official Guide of the Railways,' June 1961, Table 3</ref>

File:Roger Puta took these 5 during a cab ride on from EL freight NY-97 on April 25, 1970 (23777886193).jpg

Trains at the Erie Lackawanna rail yard in Waldwick on April 25, 1970

In 1963, the Erie Main Line south of Paterson to its connection with the Bergen County Line south of Carlton Hill in Rutherford was abandoned and service began using the former Lackawanna Boonton Branch south of Paterson via the Lyndhurst Draw and Upper Hack Lift bridges as the route through downtown Passaic was abandoned. Nominal Boonton Line service began using the Erie's Greenwood Lake division up to its junction with the Lackawanna Boonton Branch at Mountain View in Wayne as the Lackawanna right-of-way in Paterson was used for the construction of Interstate 80 and New Jersey State Highway 19. The Erie Jersey City terminal was abandoned circa 1959 after all Erie service had moved to the Lackawanna Hoboken Terminal.

Service under Erie Lackawanna introduced new GE U34CH diesels and Comet I cars in 1970 which lasted under NJ DOT and Conrail into the NJ Transit era. Metro-North took over service north of Suffern in 1983. Effective April 18, 1983, Metro-North Railroad shifted its Port Jervis Line service to run on the Graham Line freight bypass, thus ending the direct passenger route from Harriman through Monroe and Goshen to Middletown. Service was increased along with the opening of the Secaucus Junction station in late 2003.

1996 Secaucus collision

On February 9, 1996, a Main Line train was involved in a collision with a Bergen County Line train in Secaucus.

Service

Departing the historic 1907-built Hoboken Terminal, the yards for the coaches to the left, trains pass over two city streets and the Hudson Bergen Light Rail before entering the Bergen Tunnels under the Bergen Hill section of Hudson Palisades. Midway through the tunnel there are air shafts allowing light through and venting out the diesel fumes. Exiting the tunnel, the train curves right onto the Main Line at West End interlocking in Jersey City. Until 1963 this was the DL&W Boonton Branch; about a mile ahead was the connection built circa 1956 with the Erie main line (that after 1963 became the Bergen County Line). Two trains collided head-on here in 1996, killing two engineers and a passenger. The ramps for New Jersey Turnpike Interchange 15X now occupy the Erie alignment—since the Bergen County line was rerouted adjacent to the Main Line to pass through Secaucus Junction.

At Secaucus Junction, all trains stop for passengers to change to and from Northeast Corridor Line, North Jersey Coast Line, Raritan Valley Line and Midtown Direct trains on the Morristown Line, the Gladstone Branch, and the Montclair–Boonton Line on the upper level.

The Main Line then runs through an industrial section of Secaucus. Shortly afterwards the Bergen County Line curves right on its new connection to the Erie alignment. The Main Line then crosses over the Hackensack River on the single-track Upper Hack Lift bridge, built in 1958.

Double track resumes under the New Jersey Turnpike's western spur after 0.4 mile of single track. The train continues through the Meadowlands and passes the first grade crossing at Valley Brook Avenue in Lyndhurst. The line curves slightly and passes through the 1903 Kingsland tunnel. Kingsland station is shortly after the tunnel in an open cut. Just beyond Kingsland station is Lyndhurst station, on an embankment.

After Lyndhurst the train crosses the Passaic River on a swing bridge that has been bolted shut (although it is technically required by Federal regulation to be opened on 24 hours notice).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The train passes under Route 3 and approaches Delawanna station.

Next stop is Passaic, on an embankment. After Passaic, the Main Line has a stretch through some industrial areas before the Clifton station, also on an embankment.

The Main Line passes under U.S. Route 46 and the Garden State Parkway before it crosses under and over several streets in south Paterson. It leaves the DL&W Boonton Branch alignment at about Template:Coord and reaches the Erie Main Line alignment at Template:Coord. This connection was single track when built circa 1963, then double-tracked in a rehabilitation project in 2002. The line passes under Interstate 80 and heads into downtown Paterson. The Erie station in Paterson is elevated, with a center platform.

Continuing north the Main Line is elevated through Paterson, passing over streets. After several grade crossings in an industrial area, the tracks cross the Passaic River on a truss bridge. Hawthorne is the next stop, at grade level. After a long stretch, the train reaches Glen Rock station, at grade level at a crossing.

After Glen Rock the Main Line merges with the Bergen County Line at Ridgewood Junction. The line widens to three tracks (in Erie days the line was four tracks from here to Suffern NY). Ridgewood station is next, with Spanish-style design on the station building and with newly constructed high-level platforms.

Next is Ho-Ho-Kus, also at grade. Waldwick follows with an abandoned station building on the northbound side and a footbridge connecting the two platforms. Waldwick Yard is just north of the station with the restored WC tower on the southbound side by the yard. Just following Waldwick Yard is a grade crossing. North of the grade crossing (which has three tracks) the line becomes two tracks.

Allendale and Ramsey follow, both as grade-level stations. Ramsey-Route 17 station (opened August 22, 2004) is next. It is a park-and-ride facility located off of Route 17 south in Ramsey.

Mahwah follows and is the last station in New Jersey. Crossing over the New York state line the train arrives at Suffern, the last stop for NJT Main Line trains.

Stations

State	Zone<ref name="schedule">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Location	Station<ref name="schedule" />	Milepost (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: Bergen County, Gladstone, 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): Bergen County, Meadowlands, and Pascack Valley lines NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
	2	Lyndhurst	Template:Njts	7.6 (12.2)	December 14, 1870Template:Sfn	June 8, 2025 (planned)<ref name="lyndhurststa2025">Template:Cite news</ref>		●		NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
			Template:Njts	8.2 (13.2)	December 14, 1870Template:Sfn			●
	3	Clifton	Template:Njts	9.3 (15.0)	December 14, 1870Template:Sfn			●		NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
	4	Passaic	Template:Njts	10.6 (17.1)	December 14, 1870Template:Sfn			●		NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
	5	Clifton	Template:Njts	12.2 (19.6)	December 14, 1870Template:Sfn			●		NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
	6	Paterson	Template:Stn		April 2, 1963	1986<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
			Template:Njts Template:NJT acc	15.6 (25.1)	May 28, 1832<ref name="1950article">Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>			●		NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus link
			Template:Stn		1883	1977
	7	Hawthorne	Template:Njts	17.7 (28.5)	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
	8	Glen Rock	Ferndale		1894<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>	1920s		●
			Template:Njts	19.4 (31.2)	October 19, 1848<ref name="1848opening" /><ref name="1848opening-2" />			●
	9	Ridgewood	Template:Njts Template:NJT acc	20.9 (33.6)	October 19, 1848<ref name="1848opening" /><ref name="1848opening-2" />		●	●		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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External links

• New Jersey Transit website