Kearny Connection
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40°44′39″N 74°07′27″W / 40.7441°N 74.1242°WThe Kearny Connection is a railroad junction in
Location and design
The Kearny Connection is located west of Secaucus Junction and lies immediately north of the Waterfront Connection which serves to connect Hoboken Division with the NEC. Two tracks, one in each direction, carry trains from the former DL&W main line, which passes under the NEC, onto the NEC.[4][5] The new junction on the NEC is designated "Swift Interlocking" and is seven miles west of New York.[6]
There is a difference in voltage/frequency between the Northeast Corridor and the Morris and Essex Lines so only electric locomotives and EMUs that can switch between the two electrical systems are able to travel through the junction.
Predecessors
There is precedent for trains from the Morris and Essex lines to route through a connection to a PRR-associated railroad and use its terminal for better access to New York City. The Morris and Essex Railroad, from the time of its arrival in Newark in 1836 until it established its own depot in Hoboken in 1855, built a junction with the New Jersey Rail Road (the Pennsylvania Railroad's predecessor) in Newark, to get to the NJRR's Paulus Hook terminal in Jersey City and its ferries to Manhattan, although this was to the south of Hoboken rather than to the north. To be precise, the junction was with the NJRR's Market Street branch, which joined with the NJRR main line in Newark to cross the Passaic on the Center Street Bridge, then through the
Impact
With the opening of service on June 10, 1996, travel time to
The project's construction took three years, and $70 million to complete. The reduced commute times and the "one-seat" commute provided by the Kearny Connection increased ridership on the Morris and Essex Lines and increased residential property prices along the line. In 2010, it was estimated that the state of New Jersey collected hundreds of millions of dollars annually in additional property tax revenue due to the increased property prices along the Morris and Essex Lines.[11]
The Kearny Connection's popularity and success led to other transportation improvements such as the opening of the
References
- ^ Miller, Luther S. "For NJT, $444 million - New Jersey Transit - includes article on Shirley DeLibero, executive director of NJT" Archived July 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Railway Age, October 1991. Accessed August 11, 2007. "The Kearny Connection, in many ways the keystone of the master plan, will link the Gladstone Branch and Morristown rail lines with the Northeast Corridor line to provide direct access to Manhattan at a saving of at least 15 minutes in travel time. Riders on these lines must now journey to Hoboken and transfer to PATH or a ferry to reach Manhattan."
- ^ Hanley, Robert (May 1, 1991). "New Jersey to Add Trains to Midtown". New York Times. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
- ^ "Kearny Connection". www.betconsultantsinc.com. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ Chen, David W. (December 8, 1996). "All Aboard for New York, if There's Parking Near the Train". New York Times. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
- ^ Kannapell, Andrea (November 22, 1998). "Growing Pains; The Midtown Direct Line, a Victim of Its Own Success, Leaves Riders Grumbling About the Rush-Hour Madness". The New York Times.
- ^ "FY 2010 High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program - Service Development Programs" (PDF). njtransit.com. New Jersey Transit. August 6, 2010. p. 19. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
- ISBN 978-0823219544.
- ^ "The Morris and Essex" (PDF), The New York Times, June 6, 1854, retrieved August 5, 2012
- ^ "Fatal Railroad Accident" (PDF), The New York Times, December 3, 1855, retrieved August 5, 2012
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
- ^ Homeowners Will Reap $18B in Benefits from ARC, TRI-STATE TRANSPORTATION CAMPAIGN JULY 29, 2010, http://blog.tstc.org/2010/07/29/homeowners-will-reap-18b-in-benefits-from-arc/