NJ Transit

NJT operates 871 bus routes using 2,477 buses[2] (leasing out the remainder to private operators) and the Newark Light Rail with 20 light rail vehicles (with numerous other line runs being subsidized by NJT).[8] The bus fleet includes buses purchased for other New Jersey operators above the 2,477.

NJT operates three light rail systems:

• Hudson–Bergen Light Rail – a 24-stop 20.6 miles (33.2 km) multi-branch line along the Gold Coast from Bayonne to North Bergen, with a major stop at Hoboken Terminal, all in Hudson County. The fleet consists of 52 Kinki Sharyo electric light rail vehicles owned by NJT and operated under contract by 21st Century Rail.
• Newark Light Rail – two segments serving Newark and the surrounding area. The Newark City Subway has 12 stops, is 4.3 miles (6.9 km) long, connecting Newark Penn Station to North Newark and Bloomfield. The Broad Street Extension has five stops, is 1.0 mile (1.6 km) long, and connects Newark Penn Station to Newark Broad Street Station. The fleet consists of 21 Kinki Sharyo electric light rail vehicles owned and operated by the Central Division of NJT Bus Operations.
• River Line – a 21-stop 34 miles (55 km) line from Trenton to Camden along the Delaware River, mostly along the Bordentown Secondary line formerly owned by Conrail and CSX. The fleet consists of 20 Stadler GTW diesel light rail vehicles owned by NJT and operated under contract by Bombardier Transportation.

NJT has 11 commuter rail lines:

• Atlantic City Line
• Bergen County Line
• Main Line
• Meadowlands Rail Line
• Montclair-Boonton Line
• Morris & Essex Lines, consisting of:
  • Morristown Line
  • Gladstone Branch
• North Jersey Coast Line
• Northeast Corridor Line (includes the Princeton Branch)
• Pascack Valley Line
• Raritan Valley Line

White House station on the Raritan Valley Line

Additional special event service is provided on the Meadowlands Rail Line.

NJT operates over 100 diesel locomotives, of which 11 are supplied by Metro-North Railroad as part of an operating agreement for the Port Jervis Line, and 61 electric locomotives. It has over 650 push-pull cars, of which 65 are supplied by Metro-North, and 230 electric multiple unit cars.

The Gateway Program is a major rail infrastructure improvement project designed to improve current services and create new capacity that will allow the doubling of passenger trains running under the Hudson River. The program will increase track, tunnel, bridge, and station capacity, eventually creating four mainline tracks between Newark, NJ, and Penn Station, New York, including a new, two-track Hudson River tunnel. It is being undertaken in partnership with Amtrak, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the State of New Jersey, and the State of New York.[9]

The project would replace the existing century-old bridge swing-span bridge with a new, fixed-span bridge over the Hackensack River. The current bridge causes train traffic and delays due to maritime traffic, as well as malfunctions occurring from opening and closing. The new bridge's goal is to eliminate the movable span, improve reliability, increase train speeds, and remove conflict with maritime traffic. The project is partnered with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, NJ Transit, Amtrak, and United States Department of Transportation, with funding provided by NJ Transit, Amtrak, and the Federal Railroad Administration.[10][11]

The project is the design and construction of a new Hudson River rail tunnel serving Penn Station, New York, and the rehabilitation and modernization of the existing North River Tunnels, which incurred serious and ongoing damage during Hurricane Sandy. The tunnel was flooded with millions of gallons of saltwater during Hurricane Sandy, causing corrosion that continues to damage the century-old tunnel. It plans to build a new tunnel, rather than close and renovate the existing tunnel, as doing so would leave only one of the North River Tunnels in service, which would cause a massive reduction in rail service. As of 2018, the final design was completed and it is being advanced through the U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant. The project is partnered with the FRA, PANYNJ, NJ Transit and Amtrak, all of which have provided a total funding of $86.5 million.[10][12][13]

The project will extend Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service from North Bergen, Hudson County to Englewood, Bergen County. The goal of the project is to meet the needs of travelers in the area, advance cost-effective transit solutions, attract growth and development in Bergen and Hudson counties, including the Hudson River Waterfront, improve regional mobility and access, reduce roadway congestion, and enhance the transit network. There have been several public hearings so far, and have received the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement from the Environmental Protection Agency. The final EIS is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.[10][13][14]

The project will expand Hudson-Bergen Light Rail access in Jersey City. It will extend service from West Side Avenue Station by 0.7 miles (1.1 km) of new rail to a new terminus on the west side of Route 440. An environmental assessment has been prepared by NJ Transit, and the Federal Transit Administration has issued a Finding of No Significance Impact (FONSI). Preliminary engineering began in 2018. The new station will be a contributing factor to the $180 million urban renewal project of Bayfront. There is also a project to improve Route 440 itself near the rail extension.[10][15]

In May 2001, the State of New Jersey acquired the right-of-way of the Lackawanna Cut-Off. Constructed by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad between 1908 and 1911, this provided a direct route with minimal curves and grades between Slateford Junction, two miles (3.25 km) below the Delaware Water Gap, and the crest of the watershed at Lake Hopatcong (Port Morris Junction), the connection with NJT's Montclair-Boonton Line. This would restore long-distance service that the Erie Lackawanna last provided with the Lake Cities in 1970.

At the time of the Cut-Off's construction, the DL&W had extensive experience with concrete construction, but not on the scale that would be employed on the Cut-Off. All structures, including stations, bridges, interlocking towers and two large viaducts and thousands of fence posts, were made of concrete. Despite the lack of maintenance on these structures over the past four decades (and in some cases much longer), most are still in operational or near-operational condition. A 2009 study by NJT estimated that bringing the line back into operation to Scranton, Pennsylvania, would cost approximately $551 million, although service may be extended in several interim phases before reaching Scranton.

In 2011, the retracking of the Cut-Off from Port Morris to Andover, a distance of 7.3 miles (11.8 km), began. The project was delayed by a lack of environmental permits to clear the roadbed between Lake Lackawanna and Andover. Based on current projections from NJ Transit, the restart of construction, including extensive work on Roseville Tunnel, will occur in mid- to late-2016. The re-opening of service to Andover is projected to occur in 2020. The proposed rehabilitation west of Andover, which has not yet been funded, would provide commuter rail service between Hoboken Terminal and New York's Penn Station, and would serve the growing exurban communities in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, and the Poconos, as well as northern Warren County and southern Sussex County in New Jersey. In October 2015, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requested that a preliminary engineering study be performed in order to update the cost figures on the previous study. Funding for this study is currently being sought.[16] As of 2018, there has been progress made on the project.[13]

The Glassboro–Camden Line is an 18-mile (28.97 km) diesel multiple unit (DMU) light rail system planned for southwestern part of New Jersey in the United States. At its northern end in Camden, it will connect with the River Line, with which its infrastructure and vehicles will be compatible. At the northern terminus, the Walter Rand Transportation Center, paid transfers will be possible to the PATCO Speedline. The project's goal is to improve mobility and connect towns in Gloucester and Camden counties. An environmental assessment is anticipated to be published in 2019.[17][18][19][13]

Bus rapid transit in New Jersey includes limited stop bus lines, exclusive bus lanes (XBL) and bus bypass shoulders (BBS). Next Generation Bus[20][21] is the term used by NJT to refer to the development of numerous bus rapid transit (BRT) systems across the state which are being studied by the agency, NJDOT, the metropolitan planning organizations of New Jersey (MPO), and contract bus carriers. In 2011, NJT announced that it would equip its entire bus fleet with real-time location, creating the basis for "next bus" scheduling information at bus shelters and web-abled devices and considered an important feature of BRT.

As of 2018, there are several projects in progress. A project to replace the auxiliary power cables, traction power, and signal and communication devices along the HBLR that were to affected by Hurricane Sandy was in the works. Repairs to Hoboken Terminal are said to be complete by 2020. Numerous power line, power system, and flood protection systems were in progress or completed at numerous terminals and stations. The 110-year old Raritan River Bridge is said to be replaced by a new higher lift bridge[13]

The West Trenton Line is a proposed service connecting West Trenton Station with Newark Penn Station, connecting with the Raritan Valley Line at Bridgewater. As of 2004, NJT's estimate of the cost was $197 million.[22] To date, no funding has been secured.[22] Service ran on the line prior to 1983.

The West Shore Route is a proposal to reactivate passenger service on the New Jersey-New York section of the West Shore Railroad from Hoboken, NJ to West Nyack, NY. [23] The project has been included in the NJ Transit's portion of the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for the fiscal years of 2016–2019.[24] The route holds perhaps the greatest promise in all of New Jersey since it travels through the heart of NJ Transit Bus Operations' Midtown "commuter shed", with four bus routes (165, 167, 168 & 177) running well beyond capacity. Issues regarding the restart of commuter rail service include:

• CSX owns the trackage and uses them heavily to link the NYC area to their national network at Selkirk Yard in upstate New York.
• CSX offers to allow NJ Transit use of the ROW if the agency constructed sound barriers along the entire length of track for commuter operations out of its own pocket.
• A city terminal is not connected to this line, since the Weehawken & Pavonia Terminals were demolished decades ago. A loop connecting this line with the North River Tunnels into New York Penn Station where the West Shore Tracks pass under the Northeast Corridor just south of NJ Route 3 and Tonnelle Ave would directly connect this line into New York Penn Station. This configuration would provide a 25-minute travel time to New York Penn Station, but would bypass Secaucus Junction, leaving the West Shore with no transfer connection to the rest of New Jersey other than a possible transfer station on Tonnelle Ave with the Hudson Bergen Light Rail.

With these considerable technical issues, as well as no available space in New York Penn Station for West Shore Line trains, this proposal was put on hold until capacity into New York Penn Station will increase in the future.

The leadership of the municipalities along the route have been organizing for decades to get service running again[25][26] and have been rezoning the areas around the former train stations ever since being told by NJ Transit that the number of projected riders is too low to justify investment.

The Passaic-Bergen Passenger Rail Project would reintroduce passenger service on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway right-of-way between Hawthorne and Hackensack using new Diesel Multiple Unit rail cars.[27][28]

The Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM)[29][30] line is a proposed south and central New Jersey commuter rail route to New Brunswick, Newark and New York's Penn Station. This would restore service previously provided by the Central Railroad of New Jersey with similar station sequences. Prior to 1941 cancellation the CNJ operated Blue Comet trains (Jersey City-Atlantic City) and some local trains on this route.[31]

The line was originally proposed by the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders in March 1980. It would run on a 40.1-mile rail corridor and would provide diesel commuter rail service from Monmouth Junction (South Brunswick), where the Jamesburg Branch partially joins the Northeast Corridor (NEC), south to Lakehurst in the interior of northern Ocean County. As of 2006, the line was opposed by Jamesburg and Monroe Township.[32]

From Monmouth Junction the line would continue southeast to Jamesburg, Monroe, Englishtown, Manalapan, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell and Farmingdale. A new rail connection would be required in Farmingdale. It would proceed southward from Farmingdale to Lakehurst, passing through Howell, Lakewood, Jackson, Toms River, Townships, and Lakehurst/Manchester. Trains would also operate on the NEC between Monmouth Junction and Newark. Passengers for New York would transfer at Newark. Eight new stations and a train storage yard would be constructed.

In mid-February 2008, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine withdrew the Monmouth Junction alignment from the MOM Plan. Corzine opted to endorse the two remaining alternate alignments (via Red Bank or Matawan-Freehold, the latter which is currently part of the Henry Hudson Rail Trail). NJT is still planning to study all the routes as to not delay action further on the EIS, and says all three routes are still up for evaluation, although it will take the Governor's comments into consideration.

In late May 2009 representatives of the three counties agreed to back one potential route from Ocean County to Red Bank, instead of to Monmouth Junction, ending years of stalemate. Under that compromise, the line's southern terminus would be in Lakehurst, and it would run through Lakewood along existing freight tracks to join the North Jersey Coast Line in Red Bank. It also includes the possibility of a spur between Freehold and Farmingdale.[33]

In August 2010, NJT received $534,375 in Federal Funds to investigate the possibilities of a MOM line.[34] Since that time there has been no further advancement of the project.[35] The inertia is partially attributed to the cancellation of the Access to the Region's Core project.[36]

In November 2008, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), along with both Lehigh and Northampton counties, commissioned a study to explore extending the Raritan Valley Line to the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, which would potentially include stops in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton.[37] This would resume passenger service previously provided jointly by the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey. These cities were last served in 1967.[38][39][40]

NJT intended to construct a new two-track Hudson River tunnel adjacent to the two single-track Northeast Corridor tunnels built in the early 20th century by the Pennsylvania Railroad. NJT referred to the project as Access to the Region's Core, which would have used dual-power locomotives and a new rail junction at Secaucus, allowing for a one-train ride between the Port Jervis, Main, Bergen County, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley lines and New York Penn Station. The Lehigh and the West Trenton extension plans would require added capacity and the ARC project would provide that capacity.

The project broke ground in June 2009.[41] Both the Federal Transit Administration and the Port Authority made public commitments of $3 billion to the project. However, the project was suspended on October 7, 2010, due to concerns that the State of New Jersey would be solely responsible for projected $5 billion in overruns. On October 27, 2010, Governor Chris Christie made a final decision to cancel the project. Amtrak later unveiled the Gateway Project, which addresses some of the issues ARC was meant to resolve.

Planned to connect Downtown Newark and Elizabeth via Newark Liberty International Airport, NJT is no longer pursuing the Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link. The airport has a monorail link to NJT's Northeast Corridor Line and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, both of which run to both Newark and Elizabeth.