Pascack Valley Line

The Pascack Valley Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Hoboken Division of New Jersey Transit, in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The line runs north from Hoboken Terminal, through Hudson and Bergen counties in New Jersey, and into Rockland County, New York, terminating at Spring Valley station. Service within New York is operated under contract with Metro-North Railroad. The line is named for the Pascack Valley region that it passes through in northern Bergen County. The line parallels the Pascack Brook for some distance. The line is colored purple on system maps, and its symbol is a pine tree.

Pascack Valley Line
A Hoboken Terminal-bound train at River Edge.
Overview
Owner	New Jersey Transit
Locale	Northern New Jersey and Hudson Valley, New York, United States
Termini	Hoboken Terminal Spring Valley
Stations	18
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	New Jersey Transit Rail Operations Metro-North Railroad
Operator(s)	New Jersey Transit
Rolling stock	F40PH-3C/GP40PH-2/GP40FH-2/PL42AC/ALP-45DP locomotives Comet V/Multilevel Coaches
Daily ridership	7,200 (weekday average, FY 2012)[1]
Ridership	495,890 (annual ridership, 2024)[2]
Technical
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map Show interactive map Legend NJ&NY RR Haverstraw Branch 31.2 mi 50.2 km Woodbine Yard Erie Piermont Branch 30.6 mi 49.2 km Spring Valley I-87 / I-287 / New York Thruway Erie Piermont Branch NJ&NY RR New City Branch 27.9 mi 44.9 km Nanuet 25.4 mi 40.9 km Pearl River NY NJ 24.2 mi 38.9 km Montvale 23.6 mi 38 km Park Ridge 22.7 mi 36.5 km Woodcliff Lake Hillsdale Manor 21.4 mi 34.4 km Hillsdale stub siding 20.5 mi 33 km Westwood Kuiken Brothers Lumber. 19.3 mi 31.1 km Emerson 17.8 mi 28.6 km Oradell New Milford 16.4 mi 26.4 km River Edge 14.7 mi 23.7 km New Bridge Landing Route 4 siding Fairmount Avenue 13.5 mi 21.7 km Anderson Street Passaic Street Central Avenue NYSW Railway 12.4 mi 20 km Essex Street Essex Street Runaround Green Street Runaround I-80 Ford's Lead Industrial Track Lodi Branch Railroad US 46 11.2 mi 18 km Teterboro siding Hasbrouck Heights 9.6 mi 15.4 km Wood-Ridge MDW to Meadowlands Carlstadt 7.6 mi 12.2 km BCL to Suffern via Fair Lawn Route 3 I-95 / N.J. Turnpike Western Spur 5.6 mi 9 km HX Draw (Hackensack River) NS Croxton Intermodal Terminal MAIN to Suffern via Paterson I-95 / N.J. Turnpike Eastern Spur Secaucus Junction (Amtrak NEC) NYS&W / Northern Branch Morris & Essex Lines Bergen Tunnels Hoboken Yard 0.0 mi 0 km Hoboken Terminal Hudson River This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram map

Description

NJ Transit GP-40PH-2 4213 leading an outbound Pascack Valley Line train at Main St. level crossing in Hackensack, N.J.

The Pascack Valley Line runs between Spring Valley, New York, and Hoboken Terminal. The line is 31 miles (50 km) long, of which the northernmost 6 miles (9.7 km) are in New York State. The entire line is owned by NJ Transit, but the Pearl River, Nanuet and Spring Valley stations are leased to Metro-North Railroad. The line is single tracked, but sidings at points along the line, including the Meadowlands, Hackensack and Nanuet, permit bi-directional off-peak service. A siding in Oradell was also planned for increased service and reliability, but the project was halted due to local opposition.^[3][4] Service on this line operates seven days a week.^[5]

History

1893 map of the New Jersey and New York Railroad

The line was originally chartered as the Hackensack and New York Railroad in 1856. It later became the New Jersey and New York Railroad, which was bought by the Erie Railroad in 1896. The New Jersey and New York Railroad continued to exist as an Erie subsidiary until October 17, 1960 merger that created the Erie Lackawanna Railroad.^{[6][citation needed]}

Passenger Timetable for the New York & New Jersey Railroad and Piermont Branch, effective 1931-09-27

On April 1, 1976 the Erie Lackawanna was merged with several other railroads to create Conrail.^[7][8] In 1983, after several years under operation by Conrail, operations of the Pascack Valley Line were transferred to NJ Transit Rail Operations.

The line used to continue north of Spring Valley to Haverstraw, New York. This portion of the line has been abandoned and most of the right-of-way has been sold off. Part of the line (between Spring Valley and Nanuet) was once part of the main Erie Railroad line from Piermont, New York to Buffalo, New York.^[9] Into the 1930s there had been Erie passenger service from Spring Valley at the end of the Pascack line to Suffern station on the newer Erie Main Line.^[10] By 1941, this was reduced to a single weekday trip in each direction.^[11]

In August 2020, amidst the financial repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that it would shut down service on the line in Rockland County if federal bailout money were not available.^[12]

Route description

The Pascack Valley is largely a one-track line but the line starts from Hoboken Terminal as with the rest of the Hoboken Division lines, The line heads through the Bergen Tunnels and then heads down West End Interlocking as trains not only split off with the Morristown Line, Montclair-Boonton Line, and Gladstone Branch but the train heads into diesel-powered rail zones. After a few miles, the train arrives at its first station stop: Secaucus Junction which serves as a major transfer point between NJ-transit rail's Newark and Hoboken Divisions.

Just after Leaving Secaucus, the line follows the right of way as it splits off with the Main Line as it follows the Bergen County Line through the Meadowlands, the line not only passes the former Harmon Cove station but it also parallels the Hackensack River to its left and Meadowlands Parkway complexes to its right. The line uses the HX Draw to cross the Hackensack River and enters into Bergen County, the train heads through the Meadowlands, the line not only crosses under the New Jersey Turnpike but it also crosses under Route 3 at Berry's Creek. The Pascack Valley Line splits off with the Bergen County Line at Pascack Junction as the line heads through East Rutherford and the line passes sport Interlocking before it heads onto a 1 track line towards Spring Valley station.

The first stop for trains after leaving Secaucus Junction is Wood-Ridge station, from Wood-Ridge the line bypasses Hasbrouck Heights and as the line passes a siding, it arrives at its next station stop : Teterboro station.

After Teterboro, the line crosses under U.S. Route 46 and as the line inches closer to Hackensack, the line crosses under Interstate 80 before it enters Hackensack, the line has two station stops in Hackensack, first is the Essex Street station in Hackensack and from Essex Street, trains head through the streets of Hackensack and pass by Hackensack High School before arriving at its next station stop : Anderson Street station.

After Anderson Street, the line heads out of Hackensack and as the line crosses under Route 4 it arrives at its next station stop: New Bridge Landing station. After New Bridge Landing, the line heads up into the suburbs where it enters River Edge, New Jersey, which is where the line serves the namesake station. After River Edge, the line bypasses New Milford and heads into Oradell where the line enters its next station stop that serves the namesake town.

After Oradell, the line enters the Pascack Valley and in the Pascack Valley, the line serves Emerson, Westwood, and Hillsdale but the line bypasses the former Hillsdale manor station and then the trains serves three more municipalities within the Pascack Valley which include Woodcliff Lake, Park Ridge, and Montvale. Trains cross the New York State line into Rockland County, where the line serves Pearl River in Orangetown and Nanuet in Clarkstown. Afterwards the train would cross over a highway that carries Interstate 87, Interstate 287, and the New York State Thruway before arriving at its final stop at Spring Valley station.

Rolling Stock

since the Pascack Valley line is a diesel powered line, the utilizes diesel locomotives and these include: the GP40PH-2, GP40FH-2, F40PH-3C, PL42AC, and ALP-45DP with most trains consisting of Comet V cars while oftentimes trains also use Multilevel coaches too.

September 2016 crash

Main article: 2016 Hoboken train crash

On September 29, 2016, Pascack Valley Line Train 1614 crashed into Hoboken Terminal injuring 108 and killing one.^[13] It was later determined that the engineer Thomas Gallagher had been suffering from sleep apnea and had failed to report it.

Stations

State	Zone[14]	Location	Station[14]	Milepost (km)	Date opened	Date closed	Connections[14]
NJ	1	Hoboken	Hoboken Terminal	0.0 (0.0)	1903		NJ Transit Rail: ■ Bergen County Line, ■ Meadowlands Rail Line, ■ Gladstone Branch, ■ Main Line, ■ Montclair–Boonton Line, ■ Morristown Line, ■ Raritan Valley Line Metro-North Railroad: ■ Port Jervis Line Hudson–Bergen Light Rail: ■ 8th Street–Hoboken, ■ Hoboken–Tonnelle PATH: HOB-33 HOB-WTC JSQ-33 (via HOB) NJ Transit Bus NY Waterway to Battery Park City
		Secaucus	Secaucus Junction	3.5 (5.6)	December 15, 2003[15]		NJ Transit Rail (upper level): ■ Gladstone Branch, ■ Montclair–Boonton Line, ■ Morristown Line, ■ Northeast Corridor Line, ■ North Jersey Coast Line, ■ Raritan Valley Line NJ Transit Rail (lower level): ■ Bergen County Line, ■ Meadowlands Rail Line, ■ Main Line Metro-North Railroad: ■ Port Jervis Line NJ Transit Bus
	3	Carlstadt	Carlstadt		January 21, 1861[16][17]	1967[18]
		Wood-Ridge	Wood-Ridge	9.6 (15.4)	January 21, 1861[16][17]
		Hasbrouck Heights	Hasbrouck Heights		January 21, 1861[16][17]	1967[18]
	4		Teterboro	11.2 (18.0)	May 29, 1904[19]		Formerly Williams Avenue
	5	Hackensack	Essex Street	12.4 (20.0)	January 21, 1861[16][17]		NJ Transit Bus
			Central Avenue		1870	1953
			Passaic Street			September 9, 1869[20]
			Anderson Street	13.5 (21.7)	September 9, 1869[20]		NJ Transit Bus
			Fairmount Avenue		March 4, 1870[18]	1983[21]
	6	River Edge	New Bridge Landing	14.7 (23.7)	March 4, 1870[18]		NJ Transit Bus, Rockland Coaches
			River Edge	16.4 (29.4)	March 4, 1870[22]		NJ Transit Bus, Rockland Coaches
			New Milford		March 4, 1870
	7	Oradell	Oradell	17.8 (28.6)	March 4, 1870[23]		NJ Transit Bus, Rockland Coaches
	8	Emerson	Emerson	19.3 (31.1)	March 4, 1870		NJ Transit Bus, Rockland Coaches
	9	Westwood	Westwood	20.5 (33.0)	March 4, 1870[24]		NJ Transit Bus, Rockland Coaches
		Hillsdale	Hillsdale	21.4 (34.4)	March 4, 1870[24]		Rockland Coaches
			Hillsdale Manor		1893[25][26]
	10	Woodcliff Lake	Woodcliff Lake	22.7 (36.5)	May 27, 1871[27]
		Park Ridge	Park Ridge	23.6 (38.0)	May 27, 1871[27]
		Montvale	Montvale	24.2 (38.9)	May 27, 1871[27]		Rockland Coaches
NY	MNR	Orangetown	Pearl River	25.6 (41.2)	May 27, 1871[27]		Transport of Rockland
		Clarkstown	Nanuet	27.9 (44.9)	June 30, 1841[28][29]		Transport of Rockland, Rockland Coaches
		Spring Valley	Spring Valley	30.6 (49.2)	June 30, 1841[28][29]		Transport of Rockland, Hudson Link, Rockland Coaches

Bibliography

• Mott, Edward Harold (1899). Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie. New York, New York: John S. Collins. Retrieved July 31, 2020.