Atlantic City Line
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The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is a
commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
line operated by
NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
(NJT) in the United States between
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and
Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.
, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike. It runs over trackage that was controlled by both the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
(PRR) and the
Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was a railroad that operated in South Jersey in the 20th century. It was created in 1933 as a joint consolidation venture between two competing railroads in the region: the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Rea ...
. It shares trackage with
SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...
and
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
on the
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...
(NEC) until it crosses the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
on its own
Delair Bridge The Delair Bridge (officially the Delair Memorial Railroad Bridge) is a railroad bridge with a vertical-lift section that crosses the Delaware River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, just south of the Betsy ...
into
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. The Atlantic City Line also shares the
right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
with the PATCO Speedline between
Haddonfield :''Not the fictional Illinois town from the Halloween film series.'' Haddonfield is a borough located in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 11,593,
and
Lindenwold, New Jersey Lindenwold is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 21,641, an increase of 4,028 from the 2010 census count of 17,613,Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
also uses short sections of the line for freight movements (which are segregated), including the NEC-Delair Bridge section to its main freight yard in
Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...
. Unlike all other NJT railway lines, the Atlantic City line does not have traditional rush hour service. The Atlantic City line is colored dark blue on New Jersey Transit's system maps, and the line's symbol is a
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...
.


History

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Atlantic City was the major seaside vacation destination for the
Philadelphia area The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...
for both wealthy and working class alike. Similar to
Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...
in New York, the popularity of Atlantic City was made possible by rail transport providing inexpensive service between the city where people lived and the seashore where they played. By its height in the 1920s, there were no fewer than three competing railroad Main Lines connecting the Atlantic City resort with Philadelphia, the
Atlantic City Railroad The Atlantic City Railroad was a Philadelphia and Reading Railway subsidiary that became part of Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in 1933. At the end of 1925 it operated of road on of track; that year it reported 43 million ton-miles of re ...
(ACRR), owned by the Reading Company, the
Camden and Atlantic The West Jersey and Seashore Railroad (WJ&S) was a Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary in the U.S. state of New Jersey with a connection to Philadelphia. It was formed through the merger of several smaller roads in May 1896. At the end of 1925 it ...
(C&A) and the West Jersey and Seashore (WJ&S), both owned by the PRR. Competition was fierce and the ACRR and C&A lines boasted some of the fastest trains in the world, while the WJ&S was a pioneering example of
railroad electrification A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), e ...
. The
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
caused the first consolidation of the various competing lines into the new
Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was a railroad that operated in South Jersey in the 20th century. It was created in 1933 as a joint consolidation venture between two competing railroads in the region: the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Rea ...
(PRSL), but the post-war rise of the automobile and the
Atlantic City Expressway The Atlantic City Expressway, officially numbered, but unsigned, as Route 446 and abbreviated A.C. Expressway, ACE, or ACX, and known locally as the Expressway, is a long toll road in the U.S. state of New Jersey, managed and operated by ...
not only caused people to abandon the railroad for their cars, but also to abandon Atlantic City for more exotic vacation destinations. By the late 1960s, the surviving former Camden and Atlantic ''Main Line'' was reduced to a commuter service funded by the
New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...
(NJDOT) running trains of
Budd RDC The Budd Rail Diesel Car, RDC, Budd car or Buddliner is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcar. Between 1949 and 1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The cars were primarily adop ...
railcars operating from a small terminal at the Lindenwold PATCO station.
Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
took over from the PRSL in 1976, maintaining service between Lindenwold and Atlantic City, Ocean City and Cape May. In 1981 NJDOT discontinued the chronically under-performing
South Jersey South Jersey comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey located between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of South Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquialism rather than an administrative ...
rail services. Almost immediately, there was talk of restoring the line to Atlantic City.
Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
gambling had brought the aging resort back from the brink of financial collapse and local politicians were irritated that most railway transportation projects benefited the more populous northern portion of the state. A deal with Amtrak was worked out where the line, suffering from decades of deferred maintenance and in places outright abandonment, would be completely rebuilt for a new Amtrak service. Dubbed the "Gambler's Express," service connected Atlantic City with cities up and down the
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...
as well as a local commuter service run by NJT.


1989 revival

The line reopened May 23, 1989, with Amtrak '' Atlantic City Express'' service running from New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. Service was soon extended to Springfield, Massachusetts, and Richmond, and for a brief period, the
Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The airport served 19.6 million passengers annually in 2021, making it the 21st busiest airport in the United States. The airport is located from t ...
. NJT commuter service between Atlantic City and Lindenwold began in September. At Lindenwold, passengers had to transfer to PATCO. By 1994, Amtrak realized that their Atlantic City plan was poorly marketed, and high fares hurt potential ridership. As a result, it was announced that Amtrak would discontinue service effective April 1, 1995. Initially, there were worries that NJT would also cease operations, as Amtrak had been helping maintain the track and NJT would be forced to buy its own fueling facility. However, NJT reluctantly opted to stay, as the line was the transit agency's only commuter line in South Jersey. For the time being, a target of a US $1 million subsidy reduction was set in March 1996. NJT eventually extended service into Philadelphia (via Amtrak's 30th Street Station), and a new station facility was built in
Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census.
. Ridership increased and NJT decided to maintain the line after declaring that the line's ridership had met the target set for it. Another improvement that has since occurred was the starting of a shuttle service between the Atlantic City Rail Terminal and the city's casinos. Free jitneys shuttle passengers to the shore and the various casinos. On May 12, 2009, New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine, in conjunction with the Delaware River Port Authority (the agency which manages the PATCO Speedline), announced plans to review ways to expand and enhance the Atlantic City Line, in which the DRPA would "examine opportunities to improve this system including the development of a Transfer Station at the PATCO
Woodcrest Station Woodcrest station is an at-grade rapid transit station on the PATCO Speedline, operated by the Delaware River Port Authority. It is located in Woodcrest section of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, after which the station is named, near the intersecti ...
allowing for more convenient transfers between PATCO, New Jersey Transit and convenient access from I-295" and "also identify track improvements to facilitate more frequent, reliable service and a better connection to the Atlantic City Airport Terminal." The study would be part of a comprehensive transportation plan for South Jersey that would include a new diesel light rail line between Camden and Glassboro and express bus service along the NJ 42 and NJ 55 freeways. However, in 2014, any plans described by the study to increase frequency to reliable hourly service, and to add planned Woodcrest and Airport transfer stations, were nixed because of state budget tightening. Later, NJ Transit built a transfer station in Pennsauken to connect the Atlantic City Line with the River Line, which runs from Camden to Trenton, where it meets up with
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...
trains to New York. This enables Atlantic City passengers to travel as far as New York completely on New Jersey Transit rail and light rail and avoid transfers in Pennsylvania for the first time. The
Pennsauken Transit Center Pennsauken Transit Center is a New Jersey Transit train station in Pennsauken Township, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. It serves as an intermodal transfer station between the light rail River Line and the commuter rail Atlanti ...
opened to passengers on October 14, 2013. The line received some damage from
Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
on October 29–30, 2012, causing suspension of service after the storm moved away. However, the damage was not as severe as on other NJT rail lines in the northern part of the state, and normal rail service was restored by November 4, one of the few NJT rail lines to do so in such short time. Also operating along the line, but not making any stops along it, was the Atlantic City Express Service (ACES), a route owned by
Caesars Entertainment Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corpora ...
and the
Borgata Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is a hotel, casino, and spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The casino hotel features 2,798 rooms and is the largest hotel in New Jersey. Borga ...
and operated by NJ Transit under contract. This route operated between the Atlantic City Rail Terminal and
Pennsylvania Station Pennsylvania Station (often abbreviated Penn Station) is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to several of its grand passenger terminals. Several are still in active use by Amtrak and other transportation services; others have been ...
in
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
. This service began in February 2009 and ended in March 2012. On September 4, 2018, the line was shut down so NJ Transit could replace a portion of the track, as well as install
positive train control Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains a ...
to comply with a December 31 deadline from the
Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail saf ...
. The rail line was the only one in New Jersey that was shut down in its entirety, which sparked criticism from residents. NJ Transit operated bus service along the route while the rail line was shut down. Service - including an additional morning peak trip to Philadelphia - resumed along with the
Princeton Branch The Princeton Branch is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line is a short branch of the Northeast Corridor Line, running from Princeton Junction northwest to Prin ...
on May 12, 2019.


Operations

The line was originally double-tracked but is now a single-track operation, with passing sidings along its length. The Atlantic City Rail Terminal incorporates a fueling facility and trains are fueled in between midday runs. Daily inspections and light maintenance are performed at the Atlantic City Rail Terminal by Herzog Transit Services, while heavy maintenance must take place in NJT's facility in North Jersey. Both cars and locomotives involved with servicing are shuttled up and down Amtrak's Northeast Corridor on weekends for washing and heavy maintenance as needed. As rebuilt by Amtrak, most of the line was equipped with
cab signaling Cab signaling is a railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is continually updated giving an e ...
and built to Class 4 track standards allowing speeds up to . Around of tangent track around Absecon was built to Class 5 standards, allowing speeds up to . Several years after Amtrak ceased operation on the line, NJT downgraded this segment to Class 4 due to maintenance cost considerations. Until 1995, Amtrak's Section E dispatcher controlled the line from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, but after the incorporation into the NJT system, the dispatching was shifted to
Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by nine NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, one Metr ...
, and later the Meadows Maintenance Complex. Prior to the 1995 takeover, NJT trains terminating at Lindenwold would actually run to just east of the present day Cherry Hill Station where the nearest passing siding was located in order to clear the line for "Gambler's Express" trains and to allow the crew to change ends. After the terminal was moved to 30th Street Station, NJT commuter trains laid over at the south end of the station platforms to allow the diesel locomotives to exhaust into the open air (as opposed to under the confined space under 30th Street Station).


Service

Regularly scheduled service on the Atlantic City Line consists mainly of GP40PH-2B or
ALP-45DP The Bombardier ALP-45DP is a type of single cab dual-mode locomotive built by Bombardier Transportation (later Alstom) and operated by New Jersey Transit and Exo. Operators New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit (NJT) purchased 26 ALP-45DP ...
diesel locomotives pushing or pulling primarily three to four
Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
passenger cars. When Amtrak had regular service on this line, power was provided by now-retired F40PH locomotives, with a Metroliner cab car on the opposite end to provide push-pull operation. All trains run with the locomotive on the west end and the cab control car on the east end to facilitate boarding and reduce diesel noise and exhaust issues at the Atlantic City Terminal. Originally, a type of
proof-of-payment Proof-of-payment (POP) or proof-of-fare (POF) is an honor-based fare collection system used on many public transportation systems. Instead of checking each passenger as they enter a fare control zone, passengers are required to carry a ticket, p ...
fare collection was envisioned for the line to cut down on operating costs. Standard railway tickets were purchased from vending machines which then had to be validated prior to boarding. However, the system was never fully implemented and tickets were always collected normally on board by conductors. In 2014, the line had around 1 million riders, which declined to 800,000 in 2016. Daily ridership is around 2,000 passengers.


Cross-honoring

Atlantic City Line train tickets are also honored on the 551 and 554 NJT bus lines for travel to and from railroad stations at all times. Customers using rail tickets to ride the 554 line must board and alight directly at or within one block of the Lindenwold, Hammonton, Egg Harbor City, or Absecon train stations, or at the Atlantic City Bus Terminal. Tickets for travel between Philadelphia and Atlantic City are honored on the 551 between the bus terminals in the two cities.


Stations


References


External links


Current schedule
{{Delaware Valley transit NJ Transit Rail Operations Atlantic City, New Jersey Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines lines Transportation in Atlantic County, New Jersey Standard gauge railways in the United States