The Kearny Connection in Kearny, New Jersey

Kearny, New Jersey

Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....

, allows suburban passenger trains from 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...

's Morris and Essex Lines (former Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad) to run to New York Penn Station,instead of their traditional ferry terminal on the river in Hoboken

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...

. New Jersey Transit dubbed the new service Midtown Direct; the connection opened on June 10, 1996. Two tracks, one on each side of 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), carry trains from the DL&W main line, which passes under the NEC, northeast onto the NEC. The new junction on the NEC is designated "Swift" and is seven miles west of New York.

Of 116 inbound and 121 outbound daily weekday trains on the three Morris and Essex Lines, 49 inbound and 48 outbound trains (about 40%) use the Kearny Connection.

Both rail lines power trains from AC catenary, but the two lines use different voltage/frequency. The Northeast Corridor (former 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....

) runs at 12.5kV/25Hz, while the Morris and Essex Lines (former DL&W) run at 25kV/60Hz. ALP-44

ALP-44

The ABB ALP-44 is an electric locomotive which was built by Asea Brown Boveri between 1990 and 1996 and are in operation on the New Jersey Transit and SEPTA railway lines.-New Jersey Transit:...

 and ALP-46

ALP-46

The ALP-46 is an electric locomotive built in Germany by Bombardier between 2001 and 2002 for use in the United States. It is derived from the German Class 101. New Jersey Transit is the only railroad to operate this model locomotive...

locomotives can switch between the two electrical systems while traveling through the junction.