Montclair-Boonton Line
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The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line on New Jersey Transit Rail's Hoboken Division. It is a consolidiation of the Montclair Branch and the Boonton Line, formed when the Montclair Connection opened on September 30, 2002. Out of 33 inbound and 37 outbound daily weekday trains, 19 inbound and 20 outbound Midtown Direct trains (about 55%) use the Kearny Connection (opened June 10, 1996) to Secaucus Junction and New York Penn Station; the rest go to Hoboken Terminal. Passengers can transfer at Newark Broad Street Station, Montclair State University or Dover to reach the other destination if necessary. This line operates weekday service only. There are also plans for electrification from Dover to Lake Hopatcong due to capacity issues at the yard in Dover.
When the Montclair Connection was built, the Boonton Line, which had previously featured all-diesel operation, was electrified from the Connection to Great Notch Yard (west of the Montclair State University Station). The town of Montclair wanted diesels removed from the line, but electrification could only extend as far west as Great Notch Yard due to cost concerns (building electrification to Denville would also require an additional substation; Great Notch Yard represents the extent of the existing substation), so passengers to/from west of Montclair State University must transfer at that station if on Midtown Direct trains to New York. Passengers had originally transferred at Montclair Heights and a station listed as Transfer Platform on the schedules (the MSU Station platform, in fact) before the Montclair State University Station officially opened on October 20, 2004.
Peak trains arrive in New York City on weekdays between 7:03 am and 9:01 am, and in Hoboken on weekdays between 7:15 am and 9:01 am. Peak trains leave New York on weekdays between 4:52 pm and 6:40 pm, while peak trains depart Hoboken on weekdays between 4:29 pm and 6:51 pm. [1] This is the only major railroad line in the greater New York City area not to run on weekends.
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[edit] History
On October 17, 1960, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and Erie Railroad merged to form the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad. In 1963, the Erie-Lackawanna undertook some major track and line consolidations in the New York Division's Eastern District. To make way for a new Interstate 80 and State Highway 19, the old DL&W Boonton Line was abandoned between Wayne and Clifton. A single track could have been retained along the new highways, however the EL 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 joining of the east end of the Erie's former Greenwood Lake Branch between Bergen Jct. (Croxton) and Mountainview, Wayne, and the west end of the DL&W's former Boonton Line between Wayne and Denville, renaming it the Greenwood Lake-Boonton Line in recognition of the two predecessors. The original DL&W east of Clifton was joined with the Erie's Main Line.
The Montclair Branch was the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's branch of their Morris and Essex lines to Montclair, going through Bloomfield. It was built by the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad in 1856. The Terminus was a large 6-track station built in 1912, but closed in 1981. from 1928 to 1957 the Montclair Branch held the distinction of being the most heavily traveled branch in the United States [1]
Some time after New Jersey Transit assumed operation of all commuter rail operations in 1983, it simplified the name to Boonton Line (service to Greenwood Lake having been long since abandoned), and following the opening of the Montclair Connection and permanent consolidation of the Boonton Line with the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's Montclair Branch, renamed the new artery as the Montclair-Boonton Line.
Three passenger stations, all of which were on the former Erie Railroad's Greenwood Lake Branch east of Montclair, were abandoned when the Montclair Connection opened in 2002 and the "Lower Boonton" reverted to Norfolk Southern control:
- Arlington, in Kearny
- Rowe Street, in Bloomfield
- Benson Street, in Glen Ridge
[edit] Rolling Stock
Local service between Hoboken and Montclair State University consist either of Budd/GE Arrow III cars or ALP44/ALP46 trains. All MiDTOWN DIRECT through service to New York from Montclair State University consist of electric ALP-44/ALP-46 locomotives and Comet I/Comet IB/Comet IIM/Comet III/Comet IV/Comet V cars. Service west of Montclair State University via Dover uses GP40PH-2, F40PH-2CAT or PL42AC diesels with Comet I/Comet I-B cars.
[edit] Service
Service is as follows:
- Weekdays only
- 14 trains to Hoboken
- 21 trains to New York (18 stop at Secaucus Junction)
- 14 trains to Dover
- 11 trains to Lake Hopatcong (all stop at Dover)
- 8 to trains to Mount Olive (all stop at Dover and Lake Hopatcong)
- 4 trains to Hackettstown (all stop at Dover, Lake Hopatcong, and Mount Olive)
[edit] Station listing
| Milepost | City | Station | Oper | Connections |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Hoboken | Hoboken Terminal | NJT | PATH and New York Waterways to New York City, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to local points, NJT 22, 23, 64, 68, 85, 87, 89, 126 buses |
| Meadows Maintenance Complex | NJT | Main Overhaul and Maintenance Shop, employee stop | ||
| Midtown Direct trains join | ||||
| 5 | Kearny | Kearny Junction | Midtown Direct trains from New York Penn Station and Secaucus Junction join the line via the Kearny Connection | |
| Newark | Newark Broad Street Station | NJT | Newark Light Rail service, NJT 11, 13, 27, 28, 29, 39, 41, 43, 72, 76, 78, 108 buses | |
| Roseville Avenue | NJT Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch splits, abandoned station | |||
| East Orange | Ampere | NJT | abandoned | |
| Bloomfield | Watsessing Avenue | NJT | NJT 94 bus | |
| Bloomfield | NJT | NJT 11, 28, 29, 34, 92, 93, 709 buses | ||
| Glen Ridge | Glen Ridge | NJT | NJT 11, 28, 29 buses, Community Shuttle | |
| Montclair | Bay Street | NJT | NJT 11, 28, 29, 34 buses, Community Shuttle | |
| 12.1 | Walnut Street | NJT | ||
| 12.8 | Watchung Avenue | NJT | NJT 28 bus | |
| 13.8 | Upper Montclair | NJT | NJT 28 bus | |
| 14.2 | Mountain Avenue | NJT | NJT 28 bus | |
| 14.9 | Montclair Heights | NJT | NJT 28, 191, 705 buses | |
| Little Falls | Montclair State University | NJT | Montclair State University | |
| 16.5 | Great Notch | NJT | electric storage yard; only diesel trains permitted beyond this point, all trains go to Hoboken Terminal or Montclair State University as its western terminal NJT 191, 195, 705 buses |
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| 18.5 | Little Falls | NJT | NJT 11, 191, 704, 705 buses | |
| Wayne | Wayne-Route 23 | NJT | NJT Bus: 75, 194, 198, 324 | |
| 21.5 | Mountain View | NJT | NJT 75, 194, 197, 748 buses, MCM1 | |
| Lincoln Park | Lincoln Park | NJT | MCM1 | |
| Montville | Towaco | NJT | MCM1 | |
| Montville | NJT | abandoned | ||
| Boonton | Boonton | NJT | MCM1 | |
| Mountain Lakes | Mountain Lakes | NJT | ||
| Denville | Denville | NJT | NJT Morristown Line joins MCM10 |
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| Dover | Dover | NJT | Morristown Line electric train storage yard MCM 2, 10 buses |
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| Mount Arlington | Mount Arlington, NJ | NJT | Lakeland Route 80 bus | |
| Roxbury | Lake Hopatcong | NJT | ||
| Port Morris | NJT | Diesel Train Storage Yard and future Lackawanna Cutoff split | ||
| Netcong | Netcong | NJT | Lakeland Bus (Route 46/80 local) | |
| Mount Olive | Mount Olive | NJT | International Trade Center | |
| Hackettstown | Hackettstown | NJT | NJT 973 bus, WHEELS Shuttle | |
| Midtown Direct service | ||||
| 0 | New York City | New York Penn Station | NJT | Long Island Rail Road, Amtrak, New York City Subway, New York City Bus, MTA Bus |
| Secaucus | Secaucus Junction | NJT | All NJT Rail lines except the Atlantic City Line and Raritan Valley Line, NJT 2, 129, 772 buses | |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Notice of Exemption for Norfolk Southern on the old Boonton Line
- clevercommute.com, a grassroots information-sharing network of Montclair Branch and DeCamp bus riders
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