North Jersey Coast Line

The North Jersey Coast Line is a commuter rail line running from Rahway, to Bay Head, New Jersey. Operated by New Jersey Transit, the line is electrified as far south as Long Branch. On rail system maps it is colored light blue, and its symbol is a sailboat. The line runs along the former New York & Long Branch Railroad, which was co-owned by the Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Pennsylvania Railroad.[2]

North Jersey Coast Line
ALP-46 #4626 pulls train #3270 into Middletown.
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	NJ Transit Rail Operations
Status	Operational
Locale	New Jersey
Termini	Rahway Long Branch Bay Head
Stations	20
Daily ridership	24,900 (FY 2012)[1]
Operation
Owner	New Jersey Transit Corporation
Operator(s)	NJ Transit Rail Operations
Rolling stock	ALP-45DP locomotives ALP-46 locomotives GP40PH-2B locomotives Alstom PL42AC locomotives Comet IIM, IV, and V Bombardier MultiLevel Coaches
Technical
Track length	104.6 mi (168.3 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	12 kV 25 Hz until 2002 25 kV AC since then
Route map Northeast Corridor & LIRR Main Line to Boston & Eastern Long Island Sunnyside Yard East River Tunnels (East River) 0.0 mi 0 km New York Penn Station Hudson River NY NJ North River Tunnels Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Yard Bergen Tunnels 3.5 mi 5.6 km Secaucus Junction (Main Line) Meadows Maintenance Complex Portal Bridge | Lower Hack Lift Waterfront Connection Kearny Connection I-95 / N.J. Turnpike to World Trade Center Harrison Dock Bridge 10.0 mi 16.1 km Newark Penn Station South Street Route 21 Lehigh Line to Oak Island Yard Hunter Connection RVL to High Bridge I-78 / US 22 12.6 mi 20.3 km Newark International Airport 14.4 mi 23.2 km North Elizabeth 15.4 mi 24.8 km Elizabeth South Elizabeth closed Staten Island Railway 18.6 mi 29.9 km Linden Linden Industrial Track North Rahway closed Rahway River Bridge (Rahway River) 20.7 mi 33.3 km Rahway Northeast Corridor to Washington Avenel Port Reading Line Woodbridge I-95 / N.J. Turnpike Chemical Coast Line to Oak Island Yard Route 440 Amboy Running Track Perth Amboy Raritan Bay Drawbridge (Raritan River) Amboy Secondary South Amboy Route 35 Morgan Draw Laurence Harbor G.S. Parkway Matawan Creek Aberdeen-Matawan G.S. Parkway Hazlet Middletown to NWS Earle Navesink River Red Bank Southern Secondary Little Silver Parkers Creek Oceanport Draw (Oceanport Creek) Monmouth Park Branchport Creek Route 36 Long Branch Long Branch Yard Elberon Allenhurst Deal Lake North Asbury Park Asbury Park Bradley Beach Avon Shark River Draw (Shark River Inlet) Belmar Spring Lake Sea Girt Manasquan Brielle Draw (Manasquan River) Point Pleasant Beach Bay Head Bay Head Yard

Most trains operate between New York Penn Station and Long Branch, with frequent rush-hour service and hourly local off-peak service. Diesel shuttle trains between Long Branch and Bay Head meet these electric trains. Hourly New York to Long Branch service operates on weekends, with bi-hourly diesel shuttle service (with some extra trains) between Long Branch and Bay Head. Full hourly service operates during the peak summer season. Some electric trains terminate at South Amboy or Aberdeen-Matawan and make all stops from New York Penn Station, providing local service for the Northeast Corridor stops of Rahway, Linden, Elizabeth, and North Elizabeth during rush hours.

Service

The line is double track, except for the bridge over the Manasquan River at Brielle. The line has cab signals and wayside block signals; the line from Rahway to Long Branch is signaled for operation in either direction on both tracks (NORAC Rule 261). Twelve interlockings facilitate flexibility in operation between the two tracks; these and other interlockings control movements to or from freight lines such as the Chemical Coast Secondary, the Perth Amboy Secondary, and the Southern Secondary, as well as Long Branch Yard.

Passenger yards are at Long Branch and Bay Head. Long Branch Yard is fully electrified, and mostly interlocked. Bay Head contains a large balloon (circular looping) track where entire trains can reverse direction without backing up or uncoupling the locomotive, and obviating the need for a turntable. It remains in service, even though push-pull operation has eliminated the need for turning of trains. Bay Head Yard has no interlocking; all switches are hand-operated. A yard and sidings formerly existed at South Amboy, dating to when electrification ended there, but have since been removed; trains terminating at South Amboy cannot be bypassed by using the other track, as the new station has a single island platform.

Conrail Shared Assets also operates over the North Jersey Coast Line to reach customers south of Red Bank.

Movable bridges

The North Jersey Coast Line has five movable bridges of the twelve used by the NJT rail network, the most on any one line.

• River Draw (swing) at Raritan Bay
• Morgan Draw (bascule) spans cross the Cheesequake or Morgan Creek
• Oceanport Draw (swing, with non-movable catenary) over the Shrewsbury River
• the Shark River Draw (bascule) on Shark River
• Brielle Draw over the Manasquan River

All these bridges were originally double-track spans, but Brielle Draw has been single-tracked since the mid-1970s. The line also crosses over several other waterways on fixed bridges, the longest of which is over the Navesink River at Red Bank.

Electrification

The North Jersey Coast Line is electrified north (railroad east) of Long Branch.

Electrified operation between Rahway and South Amboy began about 1936. Electrification was extended to Matawan in 1982, with catenary installed in the early 1980s. This was originally 11 kV, increased to 12 kV in 1978 along with Amtrak's New York-Washington electrification, with insulators capable of supporting 25 kV. Electrification at 12.5 kV 60 Hz was extended to Long Branch in 1988, with catenary installed in 1986–88. As on the 1982 extension, the insulators can handle 25 kV. The catenary is self-adjusting (constant tensioning) with ambient temperature. In 2002, the voltage from Matawan to Long Branch was changed from 12.5 kV to 25 kV. As a result, the Arrow III passenger cars can no longer run between those two points, since those trains can not run on two different voltages on one trip (the transformer voltage taps must be manually changed from alongside the MU).

The line remains electrified at 12 kV 25 Hz AC north of Matawan. Three phase breaks segregate the different power sources, at the Morgan Creek Drawbridge, Laurel (Hazlet/Holmdel), and east of Bergen Place in Red Bank.

History

With the completion of the Waterfront Connection in 1991, five weekday round trip diesel trains began running from Bay Head to Hoboken Terminal using the Waterfront Connection. On May 18, 2015, NJ Transit expanded service to include three inbound and three outbound weekday trains running from Bay Head directly to and from New York Penn Station.

Commuter Clubs

The line was home to the last remaining private commuter passenger Club in the United States. The Jersey Shore Commuters Club was established in 1933 under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Railroad.[3] It used half of a Comet IIM car - car 5459 (built as Comet IIB 5759 in 1988). In 2004, the Comet II Club Car went through a custom overhaul by Alstom and was furnished, with the Club's funding, to include reclining lounge chairs, spacious seating, at-seat fold down tables, and private conference tables. The Club also hosted various onboard activities to preserve its heritage. Club members enjoyed guaranteed and spacious seating as part of their annual membership fee that the Club remitted to New Jersey Transit as part of its lease agreement. Membership was "open" and on a "first come first served basis" to those willing to pay the membership fee and abide by the Club's bylaws. The Club end of the car was furnished similar to Amtrak's Amfleet and Horizon fleet of cars. The Club Car seats were actually former Amfleet Metroliner seats that the Club had re-conditioned. The Club Car only ran during peak rush hour periods with one weekday round trip per day and was always run with the club end coupled to the locomotive when used. Due to damage sustained to the Club Car in Hurricane Sandy, the commuter club was disbanded in August 2013. Per posts on the Club's Facebook page, the Club Car took its last trip on the line in October 2012, just prior to the hurricane.

Summer Shore Express

A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train at Bay Head station in 1971

In June 2014, NJ Transit began running one-seat limited-stop summer shore express trains to and from Bay Head and New York on weekend and holidays. This limited time service only ran through the summer and ended on September 1, 2014. This service was brought back for the 2015, 2016, and 2017 summer seasons. Service consisted of four inbound and outbound trips, with two trips during the morning, and two in the evening in both directions.

Hurricane Sandy

Main article: Effects of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey

As a line paralleling the New Jersey coastline, the North Jersey Coast Line received exceptionally severe damage from Hurricane Sandy on October 29–30, 2012. Track was washed out in several places from Perth Amboy southward, most notably between South Amboy and Aberdeen-Matawan stations, where the line runs closest to the Atlantic Ocean. The Raritan Bay and Morgan Creek drawbridges were struck by boats, storage containers and other floating debris, knocking the bridges' tracks out of alignment. Trees also fell over parts of the line.[4] Service remained suspended for three weeks; a resumption of service only as far as Woodbridge (and skipping Avenel) on November 4 was halted after only one day due to severe overcrowding.[5] The Christie administration announced that most North Jersey Coast Line trains would return to service on Monday, November 19, with slightly longer trip times and omission of trains to Hoboken Terminal.[6]

Rolling stock

The Coast Line has among the most diverse selection of fleet in the NJT system.

• Long Branch trains to and from New York or Hoboken use ALP-45DP or ALP-46 locomotives with Comet series or Multi-Level coaches.
• All service south of Long Branch is diesel, generally utilizing Alstom PL42AC, or GP40PH-2B locomotives with a 4 to 6 car sets of Comet series or Multilevel coaches. Usually, passengers are required to transfer at Long Branch for service to Bay Head. Five round trip weekday trains used to provide direct service between Hoboken and Bay Head using all diesel. After the May 18, 2015 service adjustment incorporating "One Seat Rides" between Bay Head and Penn Station in New York, only two weekday direct trains remain between Hoboken and Bay Head using ALP-45DP locomotives. Weekday service to Hoboken now terminates at Long Branch using ALP-46 electric locomotives with Comet series or Multi-Level coaches. "One Seat Ride" service utilizes ALP-45DP locomotives with an 8-car set of Comet series or Multi-Level coaches.
• In June 2014, NJ Transit added ALP-45DP locomotives to incorporate limited stop summer shore express "One Seat Ride" trains to and from Bay Head and Penn Station in New York on weekend and holidays only. This limited time service only ran through the summer and ended on September 1, 2014. Based on ridership for the summer service, NJT had proposed the implementation of a possible year round "One Seat Ride" service the following year. ALP-45DP locomotives remained in service on Bay Head to Long Branch Shuttle trains after the "One Seat Ride Service" ended. On May 18, 2015 year round "One Seat Ride" weekday rush hour service was implemented with three AM peak period inbound trains to Penn Station in New York, and three PM peak period outbound trains to Bay Head.

Stations

State	Zone[7]	Location	Station[7]	Miles (km)	Date opened	Date closed	Connections / notes[7]
NY	1	Manhattan	Pennsylvania Station	0.0 (0.0)	1910		Amtrak (long distance): Cardinal, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star Amtrak (intercity): Acela Express, Adirondack, Carolinian, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, Maple Leaf, Northeast Regional, Pennsylvanian, Vermonter Long Island Rail Road: Babylon, Belmont Park, City Terminal Zone, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Montauk, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Port Washington, Ronkonkoma, West Hempstead branches NJ Transit: Gladstone, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, Raritan Valley, Northeast Corridor lines New York City Subway: 1, ​2, and ​3 (at 34th Street – Penn Station (Seventh Avenue)), A, ​C, and ​E (at 34th Street – Penn Station (Eighth Avenue)) New York City Bus: M7, M20, M34 SBS, M34A, Q32 Academy Bus: SIM23, SIM24 Flixbus: Eastern Shuttle Vamoose Bus
NJ		Secaucus	Secaucus Junction	3.5 (5.6)	2003		NJ Transit: Bergen County, Gladstone, Main, Meadowlands, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, Pascack Valley, Raritan Valley, and Northeast Corridor lines Metro-North Railroad: Port Jervis Line NJ Transit Bus: 2, 78, 129, 329, 353
		Hoboken	Hoboken Terminal (limited service)	–	1903		NJ Transit: Bergen County, Gladstone, Main, Meadowlands, Montclair-Boonton, Pascack Valley, Raritan Valley, and Northeast Corridor lines Metro-North Railroad: Port Jervis Line Hudson-Bergen Light Rail: 8th Street-Hoboken, Hoboken-Tonnelle PATH: HOB-WTC, HOB-33, JSQ-33 (via HOB) NJ Transit Bus: 22, 22X, 23, 68, 85, 87, 89, 126 New York Waterway
		Newark	Pennsylvania Station	10.0 (16.1)	1935[8][9]		Amtrak (long-distance): Cardinal, Crescent, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star Amtrak (intercity): Acela Express, Carolinian, Keystone Service, Northeast Regional, Pennsylvanian, Vermonter NJ Transit: Northeast Corridor and Raritan Valley lines PATH: Newark – World Trade Center Newark Light Rail: Grove Street – Newark Penn, Broad Street – Newark Penn NJ Transit Bus: 1, 5, 11, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 34, 39, 40, 41, 62, 67, 70, 71, 72, 73, 76, 78, 79, 108, 308, 319, 361, 375, 378, go25, go28 ONE Bus: 31, 44 Greyhound Lines
			South Street
			Newark Liberty International Airport Station	12.6 (20.3)	2001[10]		Amtrak: Keystone Service, Northeast Regional NJ Transit: Northeast Corridor Line AirTrain Newark
	5	Elizabeth	North Elizabeth	14.4 (23.2)			NJ Transit: Northeast Corridor Line NJ Transit Bus: 112
			Elizabeth	15.4 (24.8)	1836		NJ Transit: Northeast Corridor Line NJ Transit Bus: 26, 48, 52, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 112 ONE Bus: 24
			South Elizabeth
	7	Linden	Linden	18.6 (29.9)			NJ Transit: Northeast Corridor Line NJ Transit Bus: 56, 57, 94
	8	Rahway
			North Rahway	20.1 (32.3)		January 31, 1993[11]	Closed due to maintenance issues
			Rahway	20.7 (33.3)			NJ Transit: Northeast Corridor Line NJ Transit Bus: 48 Rahway Community Shuttle
	9	Woodbridge	Avenel[12]
			Edgar			July 21, 1975[13]
	10		Woodbridge		October 11, 1864[14]		NJ Transit Bus: 48, 116, 803
			Genasco
	12	Perth Amboy	Perth Amboy		1923[15]		NJ Transit Bus: 48, 116, 813, 815, 817
	13	South Amboy	South Amboy		1938		NJ Transit Bus: 815, 817
		Old Bridge	Laurence Harbor				Formerly proposed station in 1985, 2001, and 2008
	15	Matawan	Aberdeen-Matawan		June 25, 1875[16]		NJ Transit Bus: 135
	16	Hazlet	Hazlet		June 25, 1875[16]		Academy Bus: PNC Bank Arts Center Shuttle
	17	Middletown Township	Middletown		June 25, 1875[16]
	18	Red Bank	Red Bank		June 25, 1875[16]		NJ Transit Bus: 831, 832, 834, 838 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
	19	Little Silver	Little Silver		1875		Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
		Oceanport	Monmouth Park (limited service)		1892
	20	Long Branch	Long Branch		June 25, 1875[16]		NJ Transit Bus: 831, 837 Academy Bus: 36 Terminus of electrification
		Elberon	Elberon		1899
	21	Allenhurst	Allenhurst		May 17, 1897[17][18]		NJ Transit Bus: Template:NJ bus linK
		Asbury Park
			North Asbury Park			July 21, 1975[13]
			Asbury Park		August 25, 1875[19][20]		NJ Transit Bus: 317, 830, 832, 836, 837 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
		Bradley Beach	Bradley Beach				NJ Transit Bus: 317, 830 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
	22
		Avon-by-the-Sea	Avon
		Belmar	Belmar				NJ Transit Bus: 317, 830 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
		Lake Como	Como			June 1934[21]	Demolished by New York & Long Branch Railroad in November 1934.[22]
		Spring Lake	Spring Lake				NJ Transit Bus: 317, 830 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
	23
		Sea Girt	Sea Girt			July 21, 1975[13]
		Manasquan	Manasquan				NJ Transit Bus: 317, 830 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
		Point Pleasant Beach	Point Pleasant Beach		July 29, 1880[23]		NJ Transit Bus: 317, 830 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
		Bay Head	Bay Head

See also

• New York and Long Branch Railroad
• Perth Amboy and Woodbridge Railroad
• Union Tower
• Essay Tower

Bibliography

• Poor, Henry Varnum (1893). Poor's Manual of Railroads, Volume 26. New York, New York: American Bank Note Company. Retrieved February 2, 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

References

1. Quarterly Ridership Trends Analysis, First Quarter, Fiscal Year 2013, July Through September, 2012 Archived December 27, 2012, at WebCite, NJ.com Retrieved December 16, 2016
2. Wood, Don, The Unique New York & Long Branch, (1985, Audio-Visual Designs)(ISBN 0917451104).
3. "Jersey Shore Commuters Club Inc". Jersey Shore Commuters Club. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012.
4. "Hurricane Sandy Storm Damage (slideshow)". New Jersey Transit. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
5. "Update as of November 10: Rail and Light Rail Service". New Jersey Transit. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
6. "All But One NJ TRANSIT Rail Lines Fully or Partially Restored Starting Monday, November 19". New Jersey Transit. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
7. "North Jersey Coast Line Timetable" (PDF). New York, New York: New Jersey Transit. November 19, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
8. "Newark Dedicates New Station Today". The New York Times. March 23, 1935. p. 13. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
9. "Newark Dedicates Its New Terminal". The New York Times. March 24, 1935. p. N1. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
10. Gootman, Elissa (October 22, 2001). "New Train Service To Newark Airport". The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
11. "North Jersey Coast Line Timetable Effective January 31, 1993". New Jersey Transit. January 31, 1993. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
12. Deak, Mike (September 6, 2019). "NJ Transit increases train service at Avenel station". My Central Jersey. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
13. "Penn Central Fare Hike, Service Cuts Given OK". The Asbury Park Press. July 17, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved September 28, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Poor 1893, pp. 897–898.
15. Wang, Paul W.; Massopust, Katherine A. (2009). Perth Amboy (Then and Now). Charleston, SC: Arcadia. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-7385-6241-4.
16. "New York and Long Branch Railroad". The Monmouth Inquirer. Freehold, New Jersey. July 1, 1875. p. 3. Retrieved February 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Items of Local Interest". The Freehold Transcript. January 22, 1897. p. 4. Retrieved May 21, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Items of Local Interest". The Freehold Transcript. May 14, 1987. p. 8. Retrieved May 21, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Central Railroad of New Jersey New York and Long Branch Division". The Monmouth Inquirer. Freehold, New Jersey. August 26, 1875. p. 2. Retrieved February 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Monmouth County". The Monmouth Inquirer. Freehold, New Jersey. September 2, 1875. p. 3. Retrieved February 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "Spring Lake Wins Depot Name Fight". The Asbury Park Press. May 8, 1934. p. 2. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
22. "Now". The Asbury Park Press. November 30, 1934. p. 25. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
23. "Monmouth County Notes". The Red Bank Register. August 5, 1880. p. 1. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• North Jersey Coast Timetable