Passaic and Harsimus Line
Encyclopedia
Conrail's Passaic and Harsimus Line serves freight in northeastern New Jersey
Gateway Region
The Gateway Region is located in the northeastern part of State of New Jersey in the United States of America. The area encompasses Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Union and Middlesex counties...

, as an alternate to the mainly passenger 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...

. It takes trains from 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...

 and Lehigh Line
Lehigh Line (Conrail)
The Conrail Lehigh Line is a railroad line in the state of New Jersey operated as part of the North Jersey Shared Assets Area. It runs from Jersey City to Bound Brook along the former main line of the Lehigh Valley Railroad...

 near Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...

 northeast and east into Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...

, serving as part of CSX
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...

's main corridor from upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...

 to the rest of the east coast.

Route description

The line begins at a junction with 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...

's 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...

 at Lane 40.69188°N 74.1982°W Interlocking near Waverly Yard 40.695856°N 74.194566°W. It runs next to the Northeast Corridor, just to the east, along what was originally Track 0 (the old P&H Branch east of the yard is now abandoned).

After about a mile, the Greenville Secondary
National Docks Secondary
National Docks Secondary is freight rail line within Conrail's North Jersey Shared Assets Area in Hudson County, New Jersey, used by CSX Transportation. It provides access to the national rail network to maritime, industrial, and distribution facilities at Port Jersey, the Military Ocean Terminal...

 splits to the east to the Lehigh Valley Railroad Bridge
Lehigh Valley Railroad Bridge
The Lehigh Valley Railroad Bridge is a vertical lift bridge spanning the Newark Bay in northeastern New Jersey. It is used by CSX Transportation travelling through the North Jersey Shared Assets Area of the United States rail network along the National Docks Secondary line. The bridge is just north...

, and the P&H Line passes under the Lehigh Line
Lehigh Line (Conrail)
The Conrail Lehigh Line is a railroad line in the state of New Jersey operated as part of the North Jersey Shared Assets Area. It runs from Jersey City to Bound Brook along the former main line of the Lehigh Valley Railroad...

 and turns east. Access to the Lehigh Line eastbound is provided from the Greenville Branch via a track into the Oak Island Yard
Oak Island Yard
Oak Island Yard is a freight rail yard located north of Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal and Newark International Airport in an industrial area of Ironbound, Newark, New Jersey, USA. The sprawling complex includes engine house, classification yard, auto unloading terminal, and maintenance...

 40.70867°N 74.138103°W; another track leaves the Oak Island Yard
Oak Island Yard
Oak Island Yard is a freight rail yard located north of Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal and Newark International Airport in an industrial area of Ironbound, Newark, New Jersey, USA. The sprawling complex includes engine house, classification yard, auto unloading terminal, and maintenance...

 to join the P&H Line headed northbound.

After crossing the Passaic River
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...

 on the Point-No-Point Railroad Bridge 40.741672°N 74.121095°W, the P&H Line passes over PATH
Port Authority Trans-Hudson
PATH, derived from Port Authority Trans-Hudson, is a rapid transit railroad linking Manhattan, New York City with Newark, Harrison, Hoboken and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey...

 and turns east, parallel to PATH. A track splitting just before the overpass accesses the area south of PATH. The P&H Line then heads east through West Hudson
West Hudson, New Jersey
West Hudson is the collective name of the municipalities of Kearny , Harrison , and East Newark located west of the Hackensack River and east of the Passaic River in Hudson County in northeastern New Jersey. The Passaic River separates it from Newark and Belleville, and the Hackensack River...

 and then across the Hackensack River
Hackensack River
The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles 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 area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,...

 to Marion Junction 40.737665°N 74.07372°W, where the Northern Running Track goes north, with most rail traffic.

The P&H Line past Marion Junction is now a secondary connection through the Journal Square Transportation Center 40.732141°N 74.063114°W to the National Docks Branch via a short section of the former River Line
River Line (Conrail)
The River Line is a rail corridor located between Jersey City, New Jersey and Selkirk, New York, running along the west bank of the Hudson River. A parallel track, which was operated as part of the River Line from Jersey City to Weehawken, New Jersey, was known as the Weehawken Branch...

. River Line in Hoboken and Weehawken is now used for the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City , and North Bergen.The system began...

.

History

The P&H Line, before passing to Conrail, was 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....

's P&H Line. Before that, it was the Waverly and Passaic Branch south of the bridge over PATH, the PRR's main line from there to the River Line, and the Harsimus Branch where track no longer exists, east along the Harsimus Stem Embankment
Harsimus Stem Embankment
The Harsimus Stem Embankment, also called Sixth Street Embankment, is a half-mile-long historic railroad embankment, now abandoned and largely overgrown with foliage, in the heart of Jersey City's historic downtown...

 to Harsimus Cove.

See also

  • Timeline of Jersey City area railroads
    Timeline of Jersey City area railroads
    For the purposes of this article, the Jersey City area goes north to Edgewater , south to Bayonne, and includes Kearny Junction and Harrison but not Newark...

  • National Docks Secondary
    National Docks Secondary
    National Docks Secondary is freight rail line within Conrail's North Jersey Shared Assets Area in Hudson County, New Jersey, used by CSX Transportation. It provides access to the national rail network to maritime, industrial, and distribution facilities at Port Jersey, the Military Ocean Terminal...

  • List of Hudson County railroad terminals
  • List of bridges, tunnels, and cuts in Hudson County, New Jersey
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