Atlantic City Line
Encyclopedia
The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is a rail line operated by New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...

 (NJT) between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

 and Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike
U.S. Route 30 in New Jersey
U.S. Route 30 is a U.S. highway running from Astoria, Oregon east to Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the U.S. state of New Jersey, US 30 runs from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge at the Delaware River in Camden, Camden County while concurrent with Interstate 676 southeast to Virginia...

. It runs over trackage that was controlled by both the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

 (PRR) and the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines
Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines
Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was a railroad that operated in southern New Jersey in the 20th century. It was created as a joint venture of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company .- History :...

. It shares trackage with SEPTA and Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

 on the Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...

 (NEC) until it crosses the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...

 on its own Delair Bridge
Delair Bridge
The Delair Bridge is a lift bridge carrying the New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line and a former Conrail line, now a shared asset between Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation. It crosses the Delaware River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, just...

 into New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. The Atlantic City Line also shares the right-of-way
Right-of-way (railroad)
A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...

 with the PATCO Speedline between Haddonfield
Haddonfield, New Jersey
Haddonfield is a borough located in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 11,593....

 and Lindenwold, New Jersey
Lindenwold, New Jersey
Lindenwold is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 17,613.The Borough of Lindenwold was created on April 23, 1929, from Clementon Township, one of seven municipalities created from the now-defunct township, and one of...

. There are 14 departures each day in each direction. Conrail
Conrail Shared Assets Operations
Conrail Shared Assets Operations is an American railroad company. It operates three networks—the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Areas, where it serves as a local carrier and switching company for CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway...

 also uses short sections of the line for freight movements (which are segregated), including the NEC-Delair Bridge section to its main freight yard in Camden, New Jersey
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...

. Unlike all other NJT railway lines, the Atlantic City line does not have traditional rush hour service. The Atlantic City line is colored dark blue on New Jersey Transit's system maps, and the line's symbol is a lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

.

History

In the 19th and early 20th century, Atlantic City was the major seaside vacation destination for the Philadelphia area
Delaware Valley
The Delaware Valley is a term used to refer to the valley where the Delaware River flows, along with the surrounding communities. This includes the metropolitan area centered on the city of Philadelphia. Such educational institutions as Delaware Valley Regional High School in Alexandria Township...

 for both wealthy and working class alike. Similar to Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....

 in New York, the popularity of Atlantic City was made possible by rail transport providing inexpensive service between the city where people lived and the seashore where they played. By its height in the 1920s there were no fewer than three competing railroad Main Lines connecting the Atlantic City resort with Philadelphia, the Atlantic City Railroad
Atlantic City Railroad
The Atlantic City Railroad was a Philadelphia and Reading Railway subsidiary that became part of Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in 1933.- History :...

 (ACRR), owned by the Reading Company
Reading Company
The Reading Company , usually called the Reading Railroad, officially the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway until 1924, operated in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states...

, the Camden and Atlantic (C&A) and the West Jersey and Seashore (WJ&S), both owned by the PRR. Competition was fierce and the ACRR and C&A lines boasted some of the fastest trains in the world, while the WJ&S was a pioneering example of railroad electrification.

The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 caused the first consolidation of the various competing lines into the new Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines (PRSL), but the post-war rise of the automobile and the Atlantic City Expressway
Atlantic City Expressway
The Atlantic City Expressway is a , controlled-access toll road in New Jersey, managed and operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority...

 not only caused people to abandon the railroad for their cars, but also to abandon Atlantic City for more exotic vacation destinations. By the late 1960s, the surviving former Camden and Atlantic Main Line was reduced to a commuter service funded by the New Jersey Department of Transportation
New Jersey Department of Transportation
The New Jersey Department of Transportation is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey. It is headed by the Commissioner of Transportation...

 (NJDoT) running trains of Budd RDC railcars operating from a small terminal at the Lindenwold PATCO station. Conrail took over from the PRSL in 1976, maintaining service between Lindenwold and Atlantic City, Ocean City and Cape May. By 1983, the federally-dependent railroad was ordered to cease operating its contracted commuter rail services. NJDoT used this as an opportunity to terminate the chronically under-performing South Jersey
South Jersey
South Jersey comprises the southern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation is a colloquial one, reflecting not only geographical but perceived cultural differences from the northern part of the state, with no official...

 rail services.

Almost immediately, there was talk of restoring the line to Atlantic City. Casino gambling
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

 had brought the aging resort back from the brink of financial collapse and local politicians were irritated that most railway transportation projects benefited the more populous northern portion of the state. A deal with Amtrak was worked out where the line, suffering from decades of deferred maintenance
Deferred maintenance
Deferred maintenance is the practice of postponing maintenance activities such as repairs on both real property and personal property in order to save costs, meet budget funding levels, or realign available budget monies. The failure to perform needed repairs could lead to asset deterioration...

 and, in places, outright abandonment, would be completely rebuilt for a new Amtrak service. Dubbed the "Gambler's Express," service connected Atlantic City with cities up and down the Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...

 as well as a local commuter service run by NJT.

1989 Resurrection

The current Atlantic City line opened April 1, 1989, with Amtrak running from New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Service was soon extended to Springfield, MA and Richmond and, for a brief period, the Philadelphia International Airport
Philadelphia International Airport
Philadelphia International Airport is a major airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and is the largest airport in the Delaware Valley region and in Pennsylvania...

. The following September, NJT moved in, serving commuters between Atlantic City and Lindenwold. At Lindenwold, passengers had to transfer to PATCO. By 1994, Amtrak realized that their Atlantic City plan was poorly marketed, and high fares hurt potential ridership. As a result, it was announced that Amtrak would discontinue service effective April 1, 1995.

Initially, there were worries that NJT would also cease operations, as Amtrak had been helping maintain the track and NJT would be forced to buy its own fueling facility. However, NJT reluctantly opted to stay, as the line was the transit agency's only commuter line in South Jersey. For the time being, a target of a US $1 million subsidy reduction was set in March 1996. NJT eventually extended service into Philadelphia (via Amtrak's 30th Street Station), and a new station facility was built in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a township in Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a population of 71,045, representing an increase of 1,080 from the 69,965 residents enumerated during the 2000 Census...

. Ridership increased, and NJT decided to maintain the line after declaring that the line's ridership had met the target set for it.

Another improvement that has since occurred was the starting of a shuttle service between the Atlantic City Rail Terminal and the city's casinos. Free jitneys
Atlantic City Jitney Association
The Atlantic City Jitney Association is an association of operators of minibus service in Atlantic City, New Jersey, providing service at all times on 3 fixed routes, daytime service on a fourth fixed route, and bus-to-rail connections from the Atlantic City Rail Terminal, providing connections to...

 shuttle passengers to the shore and the various casinos.

On 12 May 2009, New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine and the Delaware River Port Authority, the agency which manages the PATCO Hi-Speed Line, announced plans to review ways to expand and enhance the Atlantic City Line, in which the DRPA would "examine opportunities to improve this system including the development of a Transfer Station at the PATCO Woodcrest Station allowing for more convenient transfers between PATCO, New Jersey Transit and convenient access from I-295" and "also identify track improvements to facilitate more frequent, reliable service and a better connection to the Atlantic City Airport Terminal." The study would be part of a comprehensive transportation plan for South Jersey that would include a new diesel light rail line between Camden and Glassboro and express bus service along the NJ 42 and NJ 55 freeways..

Express service to New York City

Also operating along the line, but not making any stops along it, is the Atlantic City Express Service, a route owned by Caesars Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment may refer to:* Caesars Entertainment, Inc., the now defunct company that was Park Place Entertainment, Bally's, and formerly the gambling arm of Hilton Hotels, and purchased by Harrah's Entertainment...

 and the Borgata
Borgata
The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa is a luxury hotel, casino, and spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by Marina District Development, a joint venture between Boyd Gaming and a divesture trust established by MGM Resorts International...

 and operated by NJ Transit under contract. This route operates between the Atlantic City Rail Terminal and Pennsylvania Station
Pennsylvania Station (New York City)
Pennsylvania Station—commonly known as Penn Station—is the major intercity train station and a major commuter rail hub in New York City. It is one of the busiest rail stations in the world, and a hub for inbound and outbound railroad traffic in New York City. The New York City Subway system also...

 in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...

. This service began in February 2009.

Operations and equipment

The line was originally double-tracked but is now a single-track operation, with 5000 feet (1,524 m) passing sidings along its length. Meeting points for trains moving in opposite directions are pre-scheduled and can be located in the employee timetable. Trains also are scheduled to pass on the NEC just prior to Frankford Junction (SHORE interlocking) in order to minimize the number of times Atlantic City trains obstruct through trains on the busy corridor. The Atlantic City Rail Terminal incorporates a fueling facility and trains are fueled in between midday runs. Daily inspections and light maintenance are performed at the Atlantic City Rail Terminal by Herzog Transit Services, while heavy maintenance must take place in NJT's facility in North Jersey. Both cars and locomotives involved with servicing are shuttled up and down Amtrak's Northeast Corridor on weekends for washing and heavy maintenance as needed.

As rebuilt by Amtrak, most of the line was equipped with cab signaling and built to Class 4 track standards allowing speeds up to 80 mph. Around 10 miles (16.1 km) of tangent track around Absecon was built to Class 5 standards, allowing speeds up to 90 mph. Several years after Amtrak ceased operation on the line, NJT downgraded this segment to Class 4 due to maintenance cost considerations. Until 1995, Amtrak's Section E dispatcher controlled the line from 30th Street Station
30th Street Station
30th Street Station is the main railroad station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the five stations in SEPTA's Center City fare zone. It is also a major stop on Amtrak's Northeast and Keystone Corridors...

 in Philadelphia, but after the incorporation into the NJT system, the dispatching was shifted to Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal is one of the New York Metropolitan area's major transportation hubs. The commuter-oriented intermodal facility, is located on the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey...

, and later the Meadows Maintenance Complex.
Prior to the 1995 takeover, NJT trains terminating at Lindenwold would actually run to just east of the present day Cherry Hill Station where the nearest passing siding was located in order to clear the line for "Gambler's Express" trains and to allow the crew to change ends. After the terminal was moved to 30th Street Station, NJT commuter trains laid over at the south end of the station platforms to allow the diesel locomotives to exhaust into the open air (as opposed to under the confined space under 30th Street Station).

Current service

Regularly scheduled service on the Atlantic City Line consists mainly of rebuilt ex-Penn Central GP40PH-2A and 2B diesel locomotives pushing or pulling primarily four-car Comet IV trains. When Amtrak had regular service on this line, power was provided by now-retired F40PH locomotives, with a Metroliner
Budd Metroliner
The Budd Metroliner car was an electric multiple unit train designed for first-class, high-speed service on the Pennsylvania Railroad's route between New York City and Washington, DC....

 cab car on the opposite end to provide push-pull operation. All trains run with the locomotive on the west end and the cab control car on the east end to facilitate boarding and reduce noise and exhaust issues at the Atlantic City Terminal.

Originally, a type of Proof-of-payment
Proof-of-payment
Proof-of-payment or POP is an honor-based fare collection approach used on many public transportation systems. Instead of checking each passenger as they enter a fare control zone, proof-of-payment requires that each passenger carry a ticket or pass proving that they have paid the fare. Ticket...

 fare collection was envisioned for the line to cut down on operating costs. Standard railway tickets were purchased from vending machines which then had to be validated prior to boarding. However, the system was never fully implemented and tickets were always collected normally on board by conductors
Conductor (transportation)
A conductor is a member of a railway train's crew that is responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve the actual operation of the train. The title of conductor is most associated with railway operations in North America, but the role of conductor is common to railways...

.

Station listing

The trains serve the following stations:
City Station Connections
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

30th Street Station SEPTA
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is a metropolitan transportation authority that operates various forms of public transit—bus, subway and elevated rail, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolley bus—that serve 3.9 million people in and around Philadelphia,...

, Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

Cherry Hill Township Cherry Hill
Cherry Hill (NJT station)
Cherry Hill Station is a New Jersey Transit train station in Cherry Hill Township, New Jersey on the Atlantic City Line. Eastbound service is offered to Atlantic City and Westbound service is offered to Philadelphia. The station runs through the former Garden State Racetrack property, currently...

NJT 406 (Stops on Route 70), 450 buses
Lindenwold
Lindenwold, New Jersey
Lindenwold is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 17,613.The Borough of Lindenwold was created on April 23, 1929, from Clementon Township, one of seven municipalities created from the now-defunct township, and one of...

Lindenwold
Lindenwold (NJT station)
Lindenwold Station is a New Jersey Transit train station in Lindenwold, New Jersey, United States on the Atlantic City Line. Eastbound service is offered to Atlantic City and Westbound service is offered to Philadelphia. The station is also the first station of the PATCO Speedline which also offers...

NJT 403, 451, 459, and 554 buses, PATCO
Port Authority Transit Corporation
The PATCO Speedline, also known colloquially as the High Speed Line, is a rapid transit system operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation, which runs between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden County, New Jersey...

Waterford Township
Waterford Township, New Jersey
Waterford Township is a Township in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,494....

Atco
Atco (NJT station)
Atco is a New Jersey Transit train station in the Atco section of Waterford Township, New Jersey on the Atlantic City Line. Its Amtrak station code is ATO. Eastbound service is offered to Atlantic City and Westbound service is offered to Philadelphia...

Hammonton
Hammonton, New Jersey
Hammonton is a town in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 14,791. It is located directly between Philadelphia and the resort town of Atlantic City, along a former route of the Pennsylvania Railroad currently used by New Jersey...

Hammonton
Hammonton (NJT station)
Hammonton Station is a New Jersey Transit train station in Hammonton, New Jersey on the Atlantic City Line. Its Amtrak station code is HTN. Eastbound service is offered to Atlantic City and Westbound service is offered to Philadelphia...

NJT 554 bus, Community Shuttle
Egg Harbor City
Egg Harbor City, New Jersey
Egg Harbor City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 4,243....

Egg Harbor City
Egg Harbor City (NJT station)
Egg Harbor City Station is one of the New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line rail stations, which is located in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey. Shuttles to the Egg Harbor Rail Station connect to the Atlantic City International Airport, the Visitors Center at the FAA Technical Center and the Richard...

NJT 554 bus NOTE: Buses stop on White Horse Pike.
Absecon
Absecon, New Jersey
Absecon is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 8,411.What is now the City of Absecon was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 29, 1872, from portions of Egg Harbor...

Absecon
Absecon (NJT station)
Absecon Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Absecon, New Jersey on the Atlantic City Line. It is located at Station and Ohio Avenues.In 1952 Absecon township forced the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines to raise all grade crossings to overpasses or underpasses...

NJT 554 bus NOTE: The 554 eastbound stops one block north on White Horse Pike.
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

Atlantic City Rail Terminal
Atlantic City Rail Terminal
The Atlantic City Rail Terminal is Atlantic City, New Jersey's train station. It is the easternmost stop on the Atlantic City Line to and from Philadelphia and the Atlantic City Express Service to and from New York City and Newark. The Atlantic City terminal is a 5-track, 3-platform terminal...

Atlantic City Bus Terminal (2 blocks east of the station): NJT 319, 501, 502, 504, 505, 507, 508, 509, 551, 552, 553, 554, 559 buses NOTE: The 552 stops directly at the rail terminal.

Cross-honoring of tickets on buses

Atlantic City Line train tickets are also honored on the 551 and 554 lines for travel to and from railroad stations at all times. Customers using rail tickets to ride the 554 line must board and alight directly at or within one block of the Lindenwold, Hammonton, Egg Harbor City, or Absecon train stations, or at the Atlantic City Bus Terminal. Tickets for travel between Philadelphia and Atlantic City are honored on the 551 between the bus terminals in the two cities.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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