The Otisville Tunnel is the longest tunnel on
New York's
Metro-North
Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connectic ...
commuter railroad
Commuter rail services in the United States, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica provide common carrier passenger transportation along railway tracks, with scheduled service on fixed routes on a non-reservation basis, primarily for sho ...
, at in length.
Although the track curves at the western opening, underground the tunnel is a straight line, allowing the observer to see all the way through.
It is currently owned by Metro-North, having been sold by the
Norfolk Southern Railway in 2003.
History
The tunnel was built in 1908 by the
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Er ...
at the highest point of the
Graham Line. The original Erie mainline went over the hill and connected at both ends with the tunnel. Later the "over the hill" tracks were abandoned and all trains ran through the tunnel.
It later operated under the auspices of the merged
Erie Lackawanna Railway
The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route" ...
from 1960 to 1976, and then
Conrail from 1976 until it was acquired by
Norfolk Southern
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...
as part of the breakup of Conrail.
Metro-North took over passenger service in 1983. Today, the tunnel serves trains between
Otisville and
Port Jervis
Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, ...
on
Metro-North Railroad's
Port Jervis Line
The Port Jervis Line is a predominantly single-track commuter rail line running between Suffern and Port Jervis, in the U.S. state of New York. At Suffern, the line continues south into New Jersey as NJ Transit's Main Line. The line is operate ...
Location
It passes underneath the
Shawangunk Ridge
The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of the border with New Jerse ...
at
Otisville, New York
Otisville is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 969 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York– ...
, just past
Otisville station on the Metro-North
Port Jervis Line
The Port Jervis Line is a predominantly single-track commuter rail line running between Suffern and Port Jervis, in the U.S. state of New York. At Suffern, the line continues south into New Jersey as NJ Transit's Main Line. The line is operate ...
.
See also
*
References
External links
*
Pictures of the eastern portal and Otisville Station
{{coord, 41, 28, 33, N, 74, 32, 44, W, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title
Otisville, New York
Railroad tunnels in New York (state)
Metro-North Railroad
Shawangunks
Erie Railroad tunnels
Historic American Engineering Record in New York (state)
Tunnels completed in 1908
1908 establishments in New York (state)
Transportation buildings and structures in Orange County, New York