The Montclair Connection is a short section of double-track railroad on the

NJ 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 service ...

system in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, United States, connecting the former end of the Montclair Branch at Bay Street station to the old Boonton Line southeast of Walnut Street station. The connection opened on Monday, September 30, 2002, at a cost of $63 million. At the same time, Bay Street Station was rebuilt and

Montclair State University station Montclair State University, signed as Montclair State University Station at Little Falls, is a NJ Transit Rail Operations, NJ Transit rail station on Clove Road near U.S. Route 46 and the Montclair State University campus in the Great Notch, Ne ...

was built. The Montclair and Boonton lines were combined into the Montclair-Boonton Line, and passenger service was ended on the former Boonton Line east of the connection; the line was single-tracked and used by

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 ...

for freight for a time; it is currently out of service. Disuse has caused sections of the line to become derelict, in particular east of the

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 ...

where DB and WR drawbridges have been condemned. As part of the project, three Boonton Line stations were closed on September 20, 2002; Benson Street, Rowe Street, and Arlington. Montclair Connection Old Boonton Line Split

Montclair Connection Old Boonton Line Split

The Montclair Connection was built to give passengers on the Boonton Line direct access to

New York Penn Station Pennsylvania Station (also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station) is the main intercity railroad station in New York City and the busiest transportation facility in the Western Hemisphere, serving more than 600,000 passengers ...

; prior to the change, Boonton Line trains could only go 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 eight NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, an NJ T ...

. The idea for the connection was first proposed in 1929 when the Regional Plan Association proposed linking the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Montclair Branch with the Erie Railroad's Greenwood Lake Branch, but the plan was abandoned due to the economic difficulties associated with the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. The merger between the Erie and Lackawanna Railroads in 1960 sped up the reconfiguration that was completed in March 1963, when the former Erie Main Line was connected to the Lackawanna’s Boonton Line south of Paterson station to form today’s Main Line. Meanwhile, the Boonton Line west of Mountain View station was linked to the Erie’s Greenwood Lake Branch to form the current Boonton Line. The reconfiguration again spurred the Montclair Connection idea, and in preparation, service was cut back from Lackawanna Terminal to Bay Street by

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 ...

in 1981. But the proposal was introduced until the late 1980s, when New Jersey Transit proposed for a one-track connection that would have accommodated only diesel trains. Later, the plans were revised to include a two-track connection and five miles of overhead

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary ( , ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or wire rope, cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, ...

wires, allowing for electric train service and increased travel destinations. After negotiations with the Township of Montclair, an agreement was reached in 1998, and construction began in 1999.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 40.8102, -74.2073, name=Montclair Connection (NJT), display=title 2002 establishments in New Jersey Railway lines opened in 2002 NJ Transit Rail Operations Montclair, New Jersey Transportation in Essex County, New Jersey