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Pascack Valley Line

{{short description|Commuter rail line in New Jersey and New York}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2017}}

{{Infobox rail line

| logo = PascackValleyLine.svg

| logo_width = 50px

| name = Pascack Valley Line

| color = {{rcr|NJ Transit|Pascack Valley}}

| image = River Edge, NJ, train station.jpg

| image_width = 300px

| caption = A Hoboken Terminal-bound train at River Edge.

| type = Commuter rail

| system = New Jersey Transit Rail Operations
Metro-North Railroad

| locale = Northern New Jersey and Hudson Valley, New York, United States

| start = Hoboken Terminal

| end = Spring Valley

| stations = 18

| daily_ridership = 7,200 (weekday average, FY 2012){{Cite web |url=http://media.nj.com/bergen_impact/other/1Q2013.pdf |title=NJ TRANSIT QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS November 2012 |access-date=December 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419042253/http://media.nj.com/bergen_impact/other/1Q2013.pdf |archive-date=April 19, 2013 |url-status=dead }}

| ridership2 = 443,199 (annual ridership, 2023){{cite web | title=2023 ANNUAL RIDERSHIP REPORT | website=mta.info | date= | url=https://new.mta.info/document/138216| access-date=June 6, 2024}}

| open =

| owner = New Jersey Transit

| operator = New Jersey Transit

| stock = F40PH-3C/GP40PH-2/GP40FH-2/PL42AC/ALP-45DP locomotives
Comet V

| linelength =

| tracklength =

| tracks = 1

| gauge = {{RailGauge|ussg|allk=on}}

| electrification =

| speed =

| map = {{switcher

|{{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|type=line||stroke-color=#8E258D|zoom=8|id=Q11328810}}

|Show interactive map

|{{NJTransit-Pascack-infobox}}

|Show route diagram map

}}

| map_state =

}}

The Pascack Valley Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Hoboken Division of New Jersey Transit, in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The line runs north from Hoboken Terminal, through Hudson and Bergen counties in New Jersey, and into Rockland County, New York, terminating at Spring Valley. Service within New York is operated under contract with Metro-North Railroad. The line is named for the Pascack Valley region that it passes through in northern Bergen County. The line parallels the Pascack Brook for some distance. The line is colored purple on system maps, and its symbol is a pine tree.

Description

File:20220905 181226 NJT GP40 4213.jpg

The Pascack Valley Line runs between Spring Valley, New York, and Hoboken Terminal. The line is {{convert|31|mi|km}} long, of which the northernmost {{convert|6|mi|km}} are in New York State. The entire line is owned by NJ Transit, but the Pearl River, Nanuet and Spring Valley stations are leased to Metro-North Railroad. The line is single tracked, but sidings at points along the line, including the Meadowlands, Hackensack and Nanuet, permit bi-directional off-peak service. A siding in Oradell was also planned for increased service and reliability, but the project was halted due to local opposition.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090522222746/http://www.njtransit.com/an_cp_project003.shtml Pascack Valley Line Right-of-Way Improvement Project]. New Jersey Transit, January 2006.[http://www.njtransit.com/nn_press_release.jsp?PRESS_RELEASE_ID=1818 NJ TRANSIT RAMPS UP PROJECT TO PROVIDE BI-DIRECTIONAL, OFF-PEAK SERVICE ON PASCACK VALLEY LINE: Project also makes way for rail service to the Meadowlands], press release dated May 11, 2005 Service on this line operates seven days a week.[http://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&PRESS_RELEASE_ID=2350 PASCACK VALLEY LINE CUSTOMERS TO GET IMPROVED SERVICE THIS FALL, New Jersey Transit Press Release August 16, 2007] Accessed September 13, 2007

History

{{multiple image

|align=left

|direction=vertical

|total_width=200

|image1=1893 Map of the New Jersey & New York R.R.jpg

|caption1=1893 map of the New Jersey and New York Railroad

}}

The line was originally chartered as the Hackensack and New York Railroad in 1856. It later became the New Jersey and New York Railroad, which was bought by the Erie Railroad in 1896. The New Jersey and New York Railroad continued to exist as an Erie subsidiary until October 17, 1960 merger that created the Erie Lackawanna Railroad.{{Cite web|date=June 2, 2006|url=http://trn.trains.com/railroads/railroad-history/2006/06/conrail-merger-family-tree|title=Conrail merger family tree|work=Trains Magazine|access-date=September 30, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002202914/http://trn.trains.com/railroads/railroad-history/2006/06/conrail-merger-family-tree|archive-date=October 2, 2016}}{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}}

File:PiermontBranch 19310927.png

On April 1, 1976 the Erie Lackawanna was merged with several other railroads to create Conrail.{{Cite web|url=http://www.erielackhs.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=17|title=Erie Lackawanna Historical Society|website=www.erielackhs.org|access-date=September 30, 2016}}{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/erielackawannade0000gran|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/erielackawannade0000gran/page/208 208]|quote=erie lackawanna conrail 1976.|title=Erie Lackawanna: The Death of an American Railroad, 1938-1992|last=Grant|first=H. Roger|date=October 1, 1996|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=9780804727983|language=en}} In 1983, after several years under operation by Conrail, operations of the Pascack Valley Line were transferred to NJ Transit Rail Operations.

The line used to continue north of Spring Valley to Haverstraw, New York. This portion of the line has been abandoned and most of the right-of-way has been sold off. Part of the line (between Spring Valley and Nanuet) was once part of the main Erie Railroad line from Piermont, New York to Buffalo, New York.{{cite news |title=RAILROADS CENTERING IN NEW-YORK.; Time Tables, &c., of the New-York, Harlem and Albany, Hudson River, New-York and New-Haven, New-York and Erie, New-Jersey Central, New-Jersey, Long Island, Flushing, Hackensack and New-York, Morris and Essex, Staten Island, Brooklyn and Jamaica, Perth Amboy and Woodbridge, Millstone and New-Brunswick, Hackensack and New-York Railroads. NORTH. SOUTH. EAST. WEST. THE LOCAL RAILROADS |id={{ProQuest|92284310}} |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1866/01/21/archives/railroads-centering-in-newyork-time-tables-c-of-the-newyork-harlem.html |work=The New York Times |date=21 January 1866 }} Into the 1930s there had been Erie passenger service from Spring Valley at the end of the Pascack line to Suffern station on the newer Erie Main Line.'Official Guide of the Railways,' August 1936, Erie Railroad section, Table 47 By 1941, this was reduced to a single weekday trip in each direction.'Official Guide of the Railways,' June 1941, Erie Railroad section, Table 38

In August 2020, amidst the financial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that it would shut down service on the line in Rockland County if federal bailout money were not available.{{cite news |last1=Zambito |first1=Thomas C. |title=MTA could eliminate Pascack Valley, Port Jervis lines if federal bailout doesn't come through |url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/transit/2020/08/26/mta-cut-pascack-valley-port-jervis-lines/5634142002/ |access-date=25 April 2021 |work=Rockland/Westchester Journal News |publisher=Gannett |date=August 26, 2020}}

September 2016 crash

{{main|2016 Hoboken train crash}}

On September 29, 2016, Pascack Valley Line Train 1614 crashed into Hoboken Terminal injuring 108 and killing one.[http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a49076/new-jersey-train-crash-hoboken/?src=socialflowTW A New Jersey Train Crash Has Left at Least 100 People Injured] Esquire By Associated Press; September 29, 2016 It was later determined that the engineer Thomas Gallagher had been suffering from Sleep apnea and had failed to report it.

Stations

class="wikitable"

!State

!Zone{{cite web|url=http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/R0010.pdf|title=Pascack Valley Line Timetables - November 19, 2014 edition|year=2014|publisher=New Jersey Transit Rail Operations|access-date=November 26, 2014|location=New York, New York|archive-date=November 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107152439/http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/R0010.pdf|url-status=dead}}

!Location

!Station

!Milepost (km)

!Date opened

!Date closed

!Connections

rowspan=22|NJ

|rowspan=2|1

|Hoboken

|Hoboken Terminal {{NJT acc}}

|0.0 (0.0)

|1903

|

|{{rint|njt}} NJ Transit Rail: {{rcb|NJ Transit|Bergen County|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Meadowlands|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Gladstone|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Main|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Montclair-Boonton|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Morristown|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|North Jersey Coast|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Raritan Valley|inline=square}}
{{ric|MNRR|name=y}}: {{rcb|MNRR|Port Jervis|inline=square}}
{{rint|hblr}} Hudson–Bergen Light Rail: {{rcb|NJ Transit|8th Street-Hoboken|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Hoboken-Tonnelle|inline=square}}
{{ric|PATH|name=y}}: {{rcb|PATH|HOB-33|inline=route}} {{rcb|PATH|HOB-WTC|inline=route}} {{rcb|PATH|JSQ-33 (via HOB)|inline=route}}
{{bus icon}} NJ Transit Bus
{{rint|ferry}} NY Waterway to Battery Park City

Secaucus

|Secaucus Junction {{NJT acc}}

|3.5 (5.6)

|December 15, 2003{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/06/us_sen_frank_lautenberg_gets_on_last_ride_in_the_secaucus_station.html|title=U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg gets one last ride at the Secaucus station that bears his name|publisher=The Star-Ledger |date=June 5, 2013|access-date=June 5, 2013|author=Frassinelli, Mike}}

|

|{{rint|njt}} NJ Transit Rail (upper level): {{rcb|NJ Transit|Gladstone|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Montclair-Boonton|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Morristown|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Northeast Corridor|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|North Jersey Coast|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Raritan Valley|inline=square}}
{{rint|njt}} NJ Transit Rail (lower level): {{rcb|NJ Transit|Bergen County|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Meadowlands|inline=square}}, {{rcb|NJ Transit|Main|inline=square}}
{{ric|MNRR|name=yes}}: {{rcb|MNRR|Port Jervis|inline=square}}
{{bus icon}} NJ Transit Bus

rowspan="3" |3

|Carlstadt

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|{{stn|Carlstadt

Erie Railroad}}

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|January 21, 1861{{cite web |last=Baer |first=Christopher T. |url=http://www.prrths.com/newprr_files/Hagley/PRR1861.pdf |title=A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Its Predecessors and Successors and Its Historical Context: 1861 |publisher=Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society |date=April 2015 |accessdate=November 19, 2022 |quote=Jan. 21, 1861 – Hackensack & New York Railroad begins operating into the Jersey City Terminal of the New Jersey Railroad; 6'-0" gauge track extended in station.|page=6}}{{cite journal |title=Railroad Miscellany |date=January 17, 1861 |page=567 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LjenRzRaIxoC&dq=Hackensack+Railroad+January+1861&pg=PA567 |access-date=November 19, 2022 |journal=The Railroad Record|location=Cincinnati, Ohio}}

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|1967

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

Wood-Ridge

|{{njts|Wood-Ridge}}

|9.6 (15.4)

|January 21, 1861

|

|

rowspan="2" |Hasbrouck Heights

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|{{stn|Hasbrouck Heights

Erie Railroad}}

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|January 21, 1861

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|1967

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

4

|{{njts|Teterboro}}

|11.2 (18.0)

|May 29, 1904{{cite news |title=Miscellaneous Locals |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44544830/williams_avenue_may_28_1904/ |access-date=July 30, 2020 |work=The Evening Record and Bergen County Herald |date=May 28, 1904 |location=Hackensack, New Jersey |page=3|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}

|

|Formerly Williams Avenue

rowspan="5" |5

| rowspan="5" |Hackensack

|{{stn|Essex Street

NJ Transit}} {{NJT acc}}

|12.4 (20.0)

|January 21, 1861

|

|{{bus icon}} NJ Transit Bus

bgcolor=dfdfdf|{{stn|Central AvenueErie Railroad}}

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|1870

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|1953

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

bgcolor=dfdfdf|{{stn|Passaic StreetErie Railroad}}

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|September 9, 1869

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

{{njts|Anderson Street}}

|13.5 (21.7)

|September 9, 1869{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1869/09/09/79346182.pdf|title=Hackensack and New-York Railroad|date=September 9, 1869|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 9, 2010|location=New York, New York }}

|

|{{bus icon}} NJ Transit Bus

bgcolor=dfdfdf|{{njts|Fairmount Avenue}}

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|March 4, 1870{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Wilson E.|title=The Pascack Valley Line - A History of the New Jersey and New York Railroad|publisher=Railroadians of America|location=East Hanover, New Jersey|year=1996|page=44|isbn=0-941652-14-9}}

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|1983{{cite book|title=Pascack Valley Line Timetables|publisher=New Jersey Transit|location=Newark, New Jersey|year=1982}}

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

rowspan="3" |6

| rowspan="3" |River Edge

|{{njts|New Bridge Landing}}

|14.7 (23.7)

|March 4, 1870

|

|{{bus icon}} NJ Transit Bus, Rockland Coaches

{{njts|River Edge}}

|16.4 (29.4)

|March 4, 1870{{cite news |title=Railway Extension |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75477843/hnyer-march-6-1870/ |access-date=August 30, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=March 6, 1870 |page=8|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}

|

|{{bus icon}} NJ Transit Bus, Rockland Coaches

bgcolor=dfdfdf|{{stn|New MilfordErie Railroad}}

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|March 4, 1870

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

7

|Oradell

|{{njts|Oradell}}

|17.8 (28.6)

|March 4, 1870{{cite news |title=50th Anniversary Greetings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28452018/oradell_june_2_1944/ |access-date=February 15, 2019 |work=The Bergen Record |date=June 2, 1944 |location=Hackensack, New Jersey |page=14|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}

|

|{{bus icon}} NJ Transit Bus, Rockland Coaches

8

|Emerson

|{{njts|Emerson}}

|19.3 (31.1)

|March 4, 1870

|

|{{bus icon}} NJ Transit Bus, Rockland Coaches

rowspan="3" |9

|Westwood

|{{njts|Westwood}} {{NJT acc}}

|20.5 (33.0)

|March 4, 1870{{cite news |last1=Backus |first1=Kathleen S. |title=Removal of Historic Buildings Excites Interest in Borough |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26509526/woodcliff_lake_march_21_1957/ |access-date=December 25, 2018 |work=The Bergen Evening Record |date=March 21, 1957 |location=Hackensack, New Jersey |page=5|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}

|

|{{bus icon}} NJ Transit Bus, Rockland Coaches

rowspan="2" |Hillsdale

|{{njts|Hillsdale}}

|21.4 (34.4)

|March 4, 1870

|

|{{bus icon}} Rockland Coaches

bgcolor=dfdfdf|{{stn|Hillsdale ManorErie Railroad}}

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|1893{{cite news |title=Bergen County |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108578932/hillsdale-manor-april-13-1893/ |access-date=August 29, 2022 |work=The Paterson Evening News |date=April 13, 1893 |page=3|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}{{cite news |title=The Manor Section: 100 Years of Hillsdale History |url=https://hfpl.org/localhistory/HillsdaleNewsletterJuly1991.pdf |access-date=August 29, 2022 |work=The Hillsdale, New Jersey Newsletter |date=Summer 1991}}

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

|bgcolor=dfdfdf|

rowspan="3" |10

|Woodcliff Lake

|{{njts|Woodcliff Lake}}

|22.7 (36.5)

|May 27, 1871{{cite magazine |last=Adriance |first=Tim |date=Spring 2018 |title=A History of Bergen County Railroads |url=https://www.omagdigital.com/publication/?i=480456&article_id=3030138&view=articleBrowser&ver=html5 |magazine=Autumn Years |location=Bergen County, New Jersey |page=46|publisher= |access-date=August 29, 2022}}

|

|

Park Ridge

|{{njts|Park Ridge}}

|23.6 (38.0)

|May 27, 1871

|

|

Montvale

|{{njts|Montvale}} {{NJT acc}}

|24.2 (38.9)

|May 27, 1871

|

|{{bus icon}} Rockland Coaches

rowspan="3" |NY

| rowspan="3" |MNR

|Orangetown

|{{mnrr|Pearl River}}

|25.6 (41.2)

|May 27, 1871

|

|{{bus icon}} Transport of Rockland

Clarkstown

|{{mnrr|Nanuet}} {{MNR acc}}

|27.9 (44.9)

|June 30, 1841{{sfn|Mott|1899|p=331}}{{cite news |last1=Seymour |first1=HC |title=Eastern Division of the New York and Erie Railroad |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56291132/erie-railroad-goshen-october-28-1841/ |access-date=July 31, 2020 |work=The Evening Post |date=October 28, 1841 |location=New York, New York |page=1|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}

|

|{{bus icon}} Transport of Rockland, Rockland Coaches

Spring Valley

|{{mnrr|Spring Valley}}

|30.6 (49.2)

|June 30, 1841{{sfn|Mott|1899|p=331}}

|

|{{bus icon}} Transport of Rockland, Hudson Link, Rockland Coaches

Bibliography

  • {{cite book |last1=Mott |first1=Edward Harold |title=Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie |date=1899 |publisher=John S. Collins |location=New York, New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=exElAAAAMAAJ |access-date=July 31, 2020}}

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

External links

  • [https://new.mta.info/agency/metro-north-railroad/schedules Metro-North Railroad Schedules]
  • [http://piercehaviland.com/rail/pv.html Pascack Valley Line History]
  • [http://www.railfan.net/lists/erielack-digest/200112/msg00136.html Some additional history]

{{Commons category}}

{{New Jersey Transit Rail}}

{{Metro-North}}

Category:Erie Railroad lines

Category:Metro-North Railroad

Category:NJ Transit Rail Operations

Category:Pascack Valley

Category:Rail infrastructure in New Jersey

Category:Rail infrastructure in New York (state)

Category:Transportation in Bergen County, New Jersey

Category:Transportation in Rockland County, New York

Category:Rail lines in Rockland County, New York