The Greenway, originally the Essex–Hudson Greenway, is a planned

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

and greenway in the

northeastern New Jersey The Gateway Region is the primary urbanized area of the northeastern section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The region is anchored by Newark, the state's most populous city, and constitutes part of the New York metropolitan area. The area enc ...

counties of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

. It will follow an abandoned railroad

right of way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

(ROW) across the

New Jersey Meadowlands New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the Hackensack River, primary river flowing through it, is a general name for a large ecosystem of wetlands in northeastern New Jersey in the United States, a few miles to th ...

, over the Hackensack and Passaic rivers, as well pass through densely populated neighborhoods. The nearly long shared-use

linear park A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and Esplanade, shorelines. Examples o ...

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

will encompass about and will average in width. Running between

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

and Montclair it will pass through

Secaucus Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 census count of 16,264, which in turn reflected an in ...

(where it will run concurrently with the Hackensack River Greenway),

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

in northern Kearny, North Newark, Belleville, Bloomfield and Glen Ridge. Construction began in July 2025 for initial phase in Newark and Kearny is expected to open in late 2025. In 2021

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...

authorized studies for alternative options between the

Meadowlands Sports Complex The Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports complex located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The facility is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). It is named for the New Jersey Meadowlands ...

and

Secaucus Junction Secaucus Junction (signed as Secaucus) is an intermodal transit hub served by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) and Metro-North Railroad in Secaucus, New Jersey, Secaucus, New Jersey. It is one of the List of b ...

including a bus " transitway" along the ROW. A partial version is planned to go into service for the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

Railroad right-of-way

In 1878, New York and Greenwood Lake Railway, was created from a consolidation of several smaller railroads, with service provided by the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...

In 1887, the Erie created a new subsidiary, the Arlington Railroad, to create a new, more direct ROW in the

Kearny Meadows Kearny may refer to: People *Cresson Kearny (1914–2003), American author and researcher **Kearny fallout meter ** Kearny air pump *Eleanor Kearny Carr (1840–1912), American planter and political hostess, First Lady of North Carolina *Jillian ...

between the

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, about 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban ar ...

and

Passaic River The Passaic River ( or ) is a river, approximately long, in North Jersey, northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburb ...

. In 1897, it opened the DB Draw over the Hackensack and the

WR Draw WR Draw is an out-of-service railroad bridge crossing the Passaic River between Newark, New Jersey, Newark and the Kearny Uplands, Arlington section of Kearny, New Jersey, Kearny, New Jersey. The Plate girder bridge, plate girder rim-bearing swi ...

over the Passaic providing the company a modernized ROW from its

Pavonia Terminal Pavonia Terminal was the Erie Railroad terminal station, terminal on the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River located in the Harsimus section of Jersey City, New Jersey. The station opened in 1861 and closed in 1958 when the Erie Railroad ...

through the

Long Dock Tunnel The Long Dock Tunnel is a freight rail tunnel in Jersey City, New Jersey that is part of the North Jersey Shared Assets Area and used by CSX Transportation on the National Docks Secondary. The single track (formerly dual track) tunnel runs thro ...

and across the Meadows. The eastern portion in Hudson County was also used by the Newark Branch. The property was acquired directly in 1943 by the Erie. In 1960 the Erie merged with the

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of . The railroad was ...

to create the

Erie-Lackawanna Railroad 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 ...

and services were consolidated at

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 eight NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, an NJ T ...

via the

Bergen Tunnels The Bergen Tunnels are a pair of railroad tunnels with open Cut (earthmoving), cuts running parallel to each other under Bergen Hill in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. Originally built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W), they a ...

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 busine ...

operated

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

on the line from 1976 to 1982 on behalf of 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 transport ...

to 1982, when

New Jersey Transit Rail Operations NJ Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of NJ Transit. It operates commuter rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered on transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark. NJ Transit also operates rail servic ...

took over. When Conrail was split in 1999

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

came into possession of the line. NJ Transit provided communter service on its Boonton Line until 2002, when eastern part (Montclair to Hoboken) closed after a new alignment, the Montclair Connection, was built and Montclair-Boonton Line services began. Service at three stations was discontinued. Service at other stations on the line had previously been curtailed.

Abandonment of ROW and purchase by state

Although the ROW was not officially abandoned, proponents of early efforts to create a greenway called the plan the Ice & Iron Rail Trail because of its historical use as a freight line carrying iron and ice from western New Jersey to the

Port of New York and New Jersey The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York metropolitan area, New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the sy ...

. In 2020, Norfolk Southern (NS) officially abandoned an section (milepost WD 2.9 to milepost WD 11.5) of the rail line and the

Open Space Institute The Open Space Institute (OSI) is a conservation organization that protects land for clean drinking water, public recreation, healthy communities, wildlife habitat, and climate protection. Established in 1974, OSI achieves its goals through land acq ...

(OSI) reached a preliminary sale agreement with NS for the property. They commissioned Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects to develop a framework plan, produced in March 2023. In 2021 NJ Transit authorized a study to use a portion the rail ROW as bus "transitway". The

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staf ...

, which manages state parks and forests, acquired the property on August 19, 2022. The state purchased the ROW from NS for $65 million. It is expected site preparation will begin in 2023, with initial opening about one year later. A project team of

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy of Rutgers University (The Bloustein School) serves as a center for the theory and practice of urban planning, public policy and public health/health administration scholarship. The sc ...

is working with the NJDEP to envision the project.

Route

At its eastern end the greenway will start in Croxton in Jersey City () just west of U.S. Route 1/9, near the Bergen Arches, a disused rail tunnel, with potential connection to the

Hudson River Waterfront Walkway The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, also known as the Hudson River Walkway, is a promenade along the Hudson Waterfront in New Jersey. The ongoing and incomplete project located on Kill van Kull and the western shore of Upper New York Bay and t ...

. At the west in Montclair it will terminate near the Montclair-Boonton Line near Bay Street station (). In Secaucus it will run concurrently with the planned route of the Hackensack River Greenway. In Essex County a portion would run concurrently with the

September 11th National Memorial Trail September 11th National Memorial Trail, also known as the 9/11 Trail, is a network of trails and roadways nearly long connecting the Flight 93 National Memorial, the Pentagon Memorial, and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. It is tribut ...

. The

East Coast Greenway The East Coast Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle route between Maine and Florida along the East Coast of the United States. The nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance was created in 1991 with the goal to use the entire route with off-road, s ...

in would be partially re-routed to align with new greenway. * Saint Peter's Cemetery * site of the demolished Hudson Generating Station * Penhorn Creek * Riverbend Wetlands Preserve *

Portal Bridge The Portal Bridge is a two-track rotating swing-span railroad bridge over the Hackensack River in Kearny and Secaucus, New Jersey, United States. It is on the Northeast Corridor just west of Secaucus Junction and east of the Sawtooth Bridges. ...

(

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 in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

– Amtrak and NJ Transit) * Lewondowski Bridge –

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although ma ...

Eastern Spur * Laurel Hill County Park * DB Draw *

* Saw Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area/Kearny Brackish Marsh *

Western Spur * Saw Mill Creek Mud Flats * Belleville Turnpike * Arlington station site * West Arlington station site *

Kearny Riverbank Park Kearny Riverbank Park is a municipal linear park along the Passaic River in Kearny, New Jersey. It is located in the Kearny Uplands north of Bergen Avenue and was extended to Belleville Turnpike in 2011 with brownfield reclamation projects. In 20 ...

* McCarter Highway * Woodside * North Newark station site * Forest Hill * Second River *

Branch Brook Park Branch Brook Park is a county park of Essex County, New Jersey. It is located in the North Ward of Newark, between the neighborhoods of Forest Hill and Roseville. A portion of the park is also located within the Township of Belleville. A ...

* Rowe Street station site *

Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a Controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May, New Jersey, Cape May north to the New York ...

* Bloomfield Cemetery * Benson Street station site

Gallery

New Jersey Meadowlands with landfill.jpg, Kearny Meadows West Arlington Station site.JPG, West Arlington station site KearnyRiverbankParkboathouse.JPG, WR Draw over Riverbank Park, Passaic River, and McCarter Highway North Newark sta NY&GL platform cloudy jeh.jpg, Broadway North Newark Benson Street Station - February 2015.jpg, Benson Street station site Rowe Street Station.jpg, ROW at Rowe Street station site

References

External links

NJDEP Parks and Forests: The Greenway

Iron and Ice Rail Trail

Jersey Line Framework Plan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Essex-Hudson Greenway Hiking trails in New Jersey New Jersey Meadowlands District Protected areas of Hudson County, New Jersey Geography of Hudson County, New Jersey Parks in Hudson County, New Jersey Protected areas of Essex County, New Jersey Geography of Essex County, New Jersey Parks in Essex County, New Jersey State parks of New Jersey Rail trails in New Jersey