Midtown Direct

The Kearny Connection is a railroad junction in Kearny, New Jersey's Morris and Essex Lines to enter Amtrak's Northeast Corridor (NEC) and travel to and from New York Penn Station. The junction, which opened in 1996, is notable for demonstrating the popularity of "one-seat" commutes and the potential such projects have for increasing state tax revenues through the subsequent boom in real estate prices.

Location and design

The Kearny Connection lies immediately north of the Waterfront Connection which serves to connect Hoboken with the NEC. Two tracks, one in each direction, carry trains from the former DL&W main line, which passes under the NEC, onto the NEC. The new junction on the NEC is designated "Swift Interlocking" and is seven miles west of New York.

There is a difference in voltage/frequency between the Northeast Corridor and the Morris and Essex Lines so only electric locomotives and EMUs that can switch between the two electrical systems are able to travel through the junction.

Impact

With the opening of service on June 10, 1996, travel time to Midtown, Manhattan was reduced by 20 minutes, eliminating the need for riders to first travel to Hoboken Terminal and transfer to PATH trains for transport under the Hudson River. New Jersey Transit dubbed the new service Midtown Direct. By the 2000s, of 138 inbound and 150 outbound daily weekday trains on the three Morris and Essex Lines, 73 inbound and 71 outbound trains (about 50%) use the Kearny Connection.

The project's construction took three years, and $70 million to complete. The reduced commute times and the "one-seat" commute provided by the Kearny Connection increased ridership on the Morris and Essex Lines and increased residential property prices along the line. In 2010, it was estimated that the state of New Jersey collected hundreds of millions of dollars annually in additional property tax revenue due to the increased property prices along the Morris and Essex Lines.Homeowners Will Reap $18B in Benefits from ARC, TRI-STATE TRANSPORTATION CAMPAIGN JULY 29, 2010, http://blog.tstc.org/2010/07/29/homeowners-will-reap-18b-in-benefits-from-arc/

The Kearny Connection's popularity and success led to other transportation improvements such as the opening of the Secaucus Junction station seven years later. Additional attempts to create "one-seat" commutes to Midtown for riders from the Raritan Valley Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line using dual-mode Bombardier ALP-45DP locomotives have been stalled due to rush-hour capacity issues at Penn Station in New York. A proposal for "one-seat" commutes to Penn Station for Pascack Valley Line, Main Line and Bergen County Line riders via a loop at the Secaucus Junction station is part of the Gateway Project plan but faces criticism due to the existing overcrowding at Penn Station.

References

{{New Jersey Transit Rail

NJ Transit Rail Operations
Kearny, New Jersey
Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey