Editing Morristown Line (section)

{{short description|Commuter rail line in New Jersey}}
{{Infobox rail line
| name = Morristown Line
| color = {{rcr|NJ Transit|Morristown}}
| logo = MorristownLine.svg
| logo_width = 50px
| image = Morristown Express.jpg
| image_width = 300px
| caption = A [[Dover station (NJ Transit)|Dover]]-bound Morristown Line train preparing to bypass [[Mountain Station]] 
| type = [[Commuter rail]]
| system = [[New Jersey Transit Rail Operations]]
| locale = [[Northern New Jersey]]
| start = [[Hoboken Terminal]] or [[New York Penn Station]]
| end = [[Dover (NJT station)|Dover]]<br />[[Hackettstown (NJT station)|Hackettstown]] <small>(limited service)</small><br />[[Mount Olive (NJT station)|Mount Olive]] <small>(limited service)</small>
| stations = 26
| daily_ridership = 50,000<ref name="ridership1">[http://www.njtransit.com/nn_press_release.jsp?PRESS_RELEASE_ID=2228 NJ Transit celebrates 10-year anniversary of MidTOWN Direct service] ''New Jersey Transit'' Retrieved 2007-09-08</ref><br />(13.5 million annually)<ref name="ridership1"/>
| open = November 19, 1836 (Newark&ndash;Orange)<br />January 1, 1838 (Orange&ndash;Morristown)<br />July&nbsp;4, 1848 (Morristown&ndash;Rockaway)<br />July 31, 1848 (Rockaway&ndash;Dover)<br />January&nbsp;16, 1854 (Dover&ndash;Hackettstown)<br /> June 10, 1996 (New York&ndash;Newark via [[Kearny Connection]]/[[Midtown Direct]])
| owner = [[Amtrak]]<br /><small>(New York Penn Station to [[Kearny Connection]])</small><br />[[New Jersey Transit]] <br /><small>(all other trackage)</small>
| operator = [[New Jersey Transit]]
| stock = [[ALP-46]] and [[ALP-45DP]] locomotives, [[Bombardier MultiLevel Coach|MultiLevel coaches]], [[Comet (railcar)|Comet coaches]], [[Arrow (railcar)|Arrow III multiple units]]
| linelength_mi = 57.4
| tracks = 
| gauge = {{RailGauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| electrification = {{25 kV 60 Hz|conductor=overhead}}
| speed = 
| map = {{NJTransit-Morristown-infobox}}
| map_state = collapsed
}}
The '''Morristown Line''' is an [[NJ Transit]] commuter rail line connecting [[Morris County, New Jersey|Morris]] and [[Essex County, New Jersey|Essex]] counties to [[New York City]], via [[New York Penn Station]] or [[Hoboken Terminal]]. It is one of the two routes that make up the [[Morris & Essex Lines]], alongside the [[Gladstone Branch]]. Out of 52 inbound and 53 outbound daily weekday trains, 34 inbound and 37 outbound Midtown Direct trains (about 67%) use the [[Kearny Connection]] (opened June 10, 1996) to Penn Station, and the rest go to Hoboken. Passengers can transfer at [[Newark Broad Street Station|Newark Broad Street]] or [[Summit (NJT station)|Summit]] to reach another destination. On rail system maps, the line is colored dark green, and its symbol is a drum, a reference to Morristown's history during the [[American Revolution]].

As of February 3, 2025, the Morristown Line operates 105 trains (52 inbound, 53 outbound) on weekdays. Of these, 33 inbound trains originate from [[Dover station (NJ Transit)|Dover]], 5 from [[Hackettstown station|Hackettstown]], 2 from [[Mount Olive station|Mount Olive]], 1 from [[Lake Hopatcong station|Lake Hopatcong]], 10 from [[Summit station (NJ Transit)|Summit]], and 1 from [[Maplewood station|Maplewood]]. 15 outbound trains terminate at Summit, 1 at Lake Hopatcong, 1 at Mount Olive, 4 at Hackettstown, and 32 at Dover. Stations east of Chatham are also served by Gladstone Branch trains throughout the day.

There is hourly service to/from New York (none going beyond Dover) on weekends. Until August 13, 2006, there was also hourly service to Hoboken. On that date, service between Hoboken and Summit was cut back to once every two hours on weekends. On May 11, 2008, off-peak weekday Hoboken-Dover trains (600 Series) were cut. In addition, weekend Gladstone trains were cut back to Summit, and a shuttle train is operated every two hours between [[Newark Broad Street Station|Newark Broad Street]] and [[Hoboken Terminal]].

The Millburn-Summit segment underwent extensive rehabilitation in the mid-2010s. This included the replacement of the creosote crossties on both tracks with concrete crossties, the replacement of all crossties on the double trestle over Short Hills Avenue, and the replacement of several sections of rail. Work has also progressed on rehabilitating both tracks between Summit and Dover with concrete crossties and new welded rail, and rehabilitation of select road overpasses.

[[Hurricane Sandy]] inflicted considerable damage on the Morristown Line on October 29–30, 2012, as fallen trees brought down catenary and signal wires and washed out sections of track, most notably through the New Jersey Meadowlands on both the main line and the Kearny Connection. Midtown Direct service was restored from Dover to New York on November 12, 2012;<ref>{{cite web|title=NEW FERRY OPTION TO MIDTOWN MANHATTAN FROM HOBOKEN: EFFECTIVE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12|url=http://www.njtransit.com/sa/sa_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=CustomerNoticeTo&NoticeId=2313|work=NJ Transit Customer Notices: Post-Hurricane Service Updates and Travel Options|publisher=NJTransit.com|access-date=12 November 2012}}</ref><ref name=mshpatch12>{{cite web|title=Midtown Direct Will Resume Limited Service Monday|url=http://millburn.patch.com/articles/midtown-direct-will-resume-limited-service-monday#pdf-12125571|work=Millburn-Short Hills Patch|access-date=12 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118011953/http://millburn.patch.com/articles/midtown-direct-will-resume-limited-service-monday#pdf-12125571|archive-date=18 November 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> service to Hoboken and west of Dover resumed on November 19.<ref name=njt1119>{{cite web|title=All But One NJ TRANSIT Rail Lines Fully or Partially Restored Starting Monday, November 19|url=http://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&PRESS_RELEASE_ID=2816|work=njtransit.com|publisher=New Jersey Transit|access-date=19 November 2012}}</ref>