North Jersey Coast Line

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ALP-46 #4626 pulls train #3270, an eight-car multilevel train, into the Middletown station.
Overview
Type	Commuter rail line
System	New Jersey Transit
Locale	New Jersey
Termini	New York Penn Station (some peak service from Hoboken Terminal) Bay Head
Stations	28
Daily ridership	17,862
Operation
Owner	Amtrak (New York to Rahway Junction) New Jersey Transit (all other trackage)
Operator(s)	New Jersey Transit
Rolling stock	ALP-45DP locomotives ALP-46 locomotives F40PH-2CAT locomotives GP40FH-2/GP40PH-2B locomotives Alstom PL42AC Arrow III Comet series Bombardier Multilevel coaches
Technical
Track length	104.6 km (65 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	11kV 25Hz AC 25 kV 60 Hz AC
Route map Legend Northeast Corridor/LIRR Sunnyside Yard East River Tunnels East River Penn Station New York Hudson R., N.Y./N.J. border North River Tunnels Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Yard Bergen Tunnels Secaucus Junction Meadows Maintenance Complex Portal Bridge-Lower Hack Lift Waterfront Connection Kearny Connection New Jersey Turnpike PATH Harrison Dock Bridge Newark Penn Station Newark South Street Raritan Valley Line diverges Lehigh Line Interstate 78 Newark Airport AirTrain Newark North Elizabeth Elizabeth South Elizabeth Staten Island Railway Linden CSAO Linden Industrial Track North Rahway Rahway Diverging from Northeast Corridor Avenelweekdays only CSAO Port Reading Line Woodbridge New Jersey Turnpike CSAO Chemical Coast Line NJ 440 CSAO Amboy Running Track Perth Amboy River Draw CSAO Amboy Secondary South Amboy NJ 35 Morgan Draw Laurence Harbor Garden State Parkway Matawan Creek Aberdeen-Matawan 25 kV 60 Hz electrification starts Garden State Parkway Hazlet Middletown NWS Earle Track Navesink River Red Bank CSAO Southern Secondary NJ 35 Little Silver Parkers Creek Oceanport Creek Monmouth Parkseasonal service Branchport Creek NJ 36 Long Branch Long Branch Yard end of electrification Elberon NJ 71 Allenhurst Deal Lake North Asbury Park Asbury Park NJ 33 Bradley Beach Avon Shark River Belmar Spring Lake Sea Girt Manasquan Manasquan River Point Pleasant Beach NJ 35 Bay Head Bay Head Yard

The North Jersey Coast Line is a New Jersey Transit commuter rail service between New York Penn Station or Hoboken Terminal and Bay Head, New Jersey. It is electrified as far south as Long Branch. On rail system maps it is colored light blue, and its symbol is a sailboat. It is based on what was once the New York & Long Branch Railroad which was co-owned by the Central of New Jersey and the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Most trains operate between New York Penn Station and Long Branch with frequent rush-hour service and hourly local off-peak service. Diesel shuttle trains between Long Branch and Bay Head meet these electric trains. Hourly New York to Long Branch service operates on weekends, with bi-hourly diesel shuttle service (with some extra trains) between Long Branch and Bay Head. Full hourly service operates during the peak summer season.

During weekdays, five round trip diesel trains have run from Bay Head to Hoboken Terminal using the Waterfront Connection since September 9, 1991. Passengers can reach New York via the Northeast Corridor Line at Newark, or PATH at Newark or Hoboken.

On May 18, 2015, NJ Transit expanded service to include 3 inbound and 3 outbound weekday trains running from Bay Head directly to New York Penn Station and back. These trains are pulled by ALP-45DP Locomotives since electrification ends at Long Branch.

Some electric trains terminate at South Amboy or Aberdeen-Matawan and make all stops from New York Penn Station, providing local service for the Northeast Corridor stops of Rahway, Linden, Elizabeth, and North Elizabeth during rush hours.

Service

The line is double track except for the bridge over the Manasquan River at Brielle. The line has cab signals and wayside block signals; the line from Rahway to Long Branch is signaled for operation in either direction on both tracks (NORAC Rule 261). Twelve interlockings facilitate flexibility in operation between the two tracks; these and other interlockings control movements to or from freight lines such as the Chemical Coast Secondary, the Perth Amboy Secondary, and the Monmouth Secondary, as well as Long Branch Yard.

Passenger yards are at Long Branch and Bay Head. Long Branch Yard is fully electrified, and mostly interlocked. Bay Head contains a large balloon (circular looping) track where entire trains can reverse direction without backing up or uncoupling the locomotive, and obviating the need for a turntable. It remains in service, even though push-pull operation has eliminated the need for turning of trains. Bay Head Yard has no interlocking; all switches are hand-operated. A yard and sidings formerly existed at South Amboy, dating back to when electrification ended there, but have been removed; trains terminating at South Amboy can be bypassed by using the other track, as the new station has a single island platform.

On May 18, 2015 six new trains (Inbound: 3312, 3318, 3326) (Outbound: 3361, 3363, 3373)were created providing "One Seat Ride" service between Bay Head and New York during peak period commuting hours.

Weekdays:

• 4300 series shuttle trains operate between Bay Head and Long Branch.
• 3200 series trains operate between Long Branch and New York Penn Station
• 3300 series trains operate "One Seat Ride" direct between Bay Head and New York Penn Station
• 3400 series trains operate between Aberdeen-Matawan and New York Penn Station
• 3500 series trains operate between South Amboy and New York Penn Station
• 2300 series trains operate between Bay Head and Hoboken
• 2600 series trains operate between Long Branch and Hoboken

Weekends / Major Holidays:

• 4700 series shuttle trains operate between Bay Head and Long Branch.
• 7200 series trains operate between Long Branch and New York Penn Station
• 7300 series trains operate "One Seat Ride" direct between Bay Head and New York Penn Station

Summer shore express 7300 series operates during the summer months only from June through September.**

Conrail Shared Assets also operates over the North Jersey Coast Line to reach customers south of Red Bank.

Movable bridges

The North Jersey Coast Line has five movable bridges of the twelve used by the NJT rail network, the most on any one line. River Draw is a swing bridge at Raritan Bay. Other draw spans cross the Cheesequake or Morgan Creek (bascule), Oceanport over the Shrewsbury River (swing, with non-movable catenary), Shark River (bascule) and Manasquan River (bascule). All these bridges are double-track spans, but the Manasquan bridge has been single-tracked since the mid-1970s. The line also crosses over several other waterways on fixed bridges, the longest of which is over the Navesink River at Red Bank.

Electrification

The North Jersey Coast Line is electrified north (railroad east) of Long Branch.

Electrified operation between Rahway and South Amboy began about 1936; the catenary poles from the junction in Rahway to South Amboy are the Pennsylvania Railroad design used on their 1930s projects.

Electrification was extended to Matawan in 1982, with catenary installed in the early 1980s. This was originally 11 kV, increased to 12 kV in 1978 along with Amtrak's New York-Washington electrification, with insulators capable of supporting 25 kV.

Electrification at 12.5 kV 60 Hz was extended to Long Branch in 1988, with catenary installed in 1986–88. As on the 1982 extension the insulators can handle 25 kV. The catenary is self-adjusting (constant tensioning) with ambient temperature.

In 2002 the voltage from Matawan to Long Branch was changed from 12.5 kV to 25 kV. As a result, the Arrow III passenger cars can no longer run between those two points, since those trains can not run on two different voltages on one trip (the transformer voltage taps must be manually changed from alongside the MU).

The line remains electrified at 12 kV 25 Hz AC north of Matawan. Three phase breaks segregate the different power sources, at the Morgan Creek Drawbridge, Laurel(Hazlet/Holmdel), and east of Bergen Place in Red Bank. As of January 2010, NJ Transit Customer Service says there are no plans to extend the electrification south of Long Branch.

NJCL Traction Infrastructure

Name	Location	Comments
South Amboy Substation		PRR Sub Number 48; supplied from Amtrak 138 kV 25 Hz network
Morgan (Cheesequake Creek) Drawbridge
Matawan Substation
Matawan Phase Break		Boundary between 12 kV, 25 Hz and 25 kV, 60 Hz
Laurel Avenue Phase Break
Red Bank Substation
Bergen Place Phase Break
Long Branch Substation

Commuter Clubs

The line was home to the last remaining private commuter passenger Club in the United States. The Jersey Shore Commuters Club was established in 1933 under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It used of half of a Comet IIM car - car #5459. In 2004, the Club Car went through a custom overhaul and was furnished, with the Club's own money, to include reclining lounge chairs, spacious seating, at-seat fold down tables, and private conference tables. The Club also hosted various onboard activities to preserve its heritage. Club members enjoyed guaranteed and spacious seating as part of their annual membership fee that the Club remits to New Jersey Transit as part of its lease agreement. Membership was "open" and on a "first come first served basis" to those willing to pay the membership fee and abide by the Club's bylaws. The Club end of the car was furnished similar to Amtrak's Amfleet and Horizon fleet of cars. The Club Car seats were actually former Amfleet Metroliner seats that the Club had re-conditioned. The Club Car only ran during peak rush hour periods and was always run with the club end coupled to the locomotive when used. Due to damage sustained to the Club Car in Hurricane Sandy, the commuter club was disbanded in August 2013. Per posts on the Club's Facebook page, the Club Car took its last trip on the line in October 2012, just prior to the hurricane.

Rolling stock

The Coast Line has among the most diverse selection of fleet in the NJT system.

• Long Branch trains to and from New York or Hoboken use ALP-46 locomotives with Comet series or Multi-Level coaches.

• Arrow III EMUs are occasionally seen on South Amboy and Aberdeen-Matawan locals. Arrow IIIs can not be used for service south of Aberdeen-Matawan since they are unable to change operating voltages automatically; a manual transformer tap-changer must be adjusted from alongside the MU.

• All service south of Long Branch is diesel, generally utilizing Alstom PL42AC, F40PH-2CAT, or GP40PH-2B locomotives with a 4- to 6-car set of Comet series or Multi-Level coaches. Usually, passengers are required to transfer at Long Branch for service to Bay Head. Five round trip weekday trains used to provide direct service between Hoboken and Bay Head using all diesel. After the May 18, 2015 service adjustment incorporating "One Seat Rides" between Bay Head and Penn Station in New York, only two weekday direct trains remain between Hoboken and Bay Head using ALP-45DP locomotives. Weekday service to Hoboken now terminates at Long Branch using ALP-46 electric locomotives with Comet series or Multi-Level coaches. Inbound trains 2302, 2304 and 2308 between Bay Head and Hoboken were replaced by trains 2602, 2606, and 2608 between Long Branch and Hoboken. Outbound trains 2305, 2307, and 2311 between Hoboken and Bay Head were replaced by trains 2605, 2607, and 2611 between Hoboken and Long Branch. "One Seat Ride" service utilizes ALP-45DP locomotives with an 8-car set of Comet series or Multi-Level coaches. Two "One Seat Ride" consists utilize an 8-car Multi-level set, while the third utilizes an 8-car Comet Series set. Inbound trains 3312, 3318, and 3326 provide service between Bay Head and New York Penn Station. Outbound trains 3363, 3371, and 3373 provide service between New York Penn Station and Bay Head.

• In June 2014, NJ Transit added ALP-45DP locomotives to incorporate limited stop summer shore express "One Seat Ride" trains to and from Bay Head and Penn Station in New York on weekend and holidays only. This limited time service only ran through the summer and ended on September 1, 2014. Based on ridership for the summer service, NJT had proposed the implementation of a possible year round "One Seat Ride" service the following year. ALP-45DP locomotives remained in service on Bay Head to Long Branch Shuttle trains after the "One Seat Ride Service" ended. On May 18, 2015 year round "One Seat Ride" weekday rush hour service was implemented with three early/mid morning peak period inbound trains to Penn Station in New York, and three afternoon/evening peak period outbound trains to Bay Head. On June 21, 2015, NJ Transit restored the limited stop summer shore express weekend and holiday "One Seat Ride" trains to and from Bay Head and Penn Station in New York in addition to the weekday trains. As with the prior year, the limited time service would only run through the summer and end on September 12, 2015.

Hurricane Sandy

Main article: Effects of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey

As a line paralleling the New Jersey coastline, the North Jersey Coast Line received exceptionally severe damage from Hurricane Sandy on October 29–30, 2012. Track was washed out in several places from Perth Amboy southward, most notably between South Amboy and Aberdeen-Matawan stations, where the line runs closest to the Atlantic Ocean. The Raritan Bay and Morgan Creek drawbridges were struck by boats, storage containers and other floating debris, knocking the bridges' tracks out of alignment. Trees also fell over parts of the line. Service remained suspended for three weeks; a resumption of service only as far as Woodbridge (and skipping Avenel) on November 4 was halted after only one day due to severe overcrowding. The Christie Administration announced that most North Jersey Coast Line trains would return to service on Monday, November 19, with slightly longer trip times and omission of trains to Hoboken Terminal.

Stations

Zone	Station	Miles (km) from NYP	Date opened	Date closed	Connections / notes
Northeast Corridor and City Terminal Zone continue east
1	New York – Penn Station	0.0 (0.0)	1910		Amtrak: Acela Express, Adirondack, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf, Northeast Regional, Pennsylvanian, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Vermonter LIRR: Babylon, Belmont Park, City Terminal Zone, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Montauk, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Port Washington, Ronkonkoma, and West Hempstead Branches NJ Transit: Gladstone, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, Northeast Corridor, and Raritan Valley Lines NYC Subway: (at 34th Street – Penn Station (Seventh Avenue)) (at 34th Street – Penn Station (Eighth Avenue)) NYCT Bus: M4, M7, M20, M34 / M34A SBS, Q32 Academy Bus: X23, X24 Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach: New York Airport Service Greyhound Lines: BoltBus, NeOn Megabus: M21, M22, M23, M24, M27 Eastern Shuttle Vamoose Bus
	New York / Hudson county line
	Secaucus Junction	3.5 (5.6)	2003		NJ Transit: Gladstone, Main, Meadowlands, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, Northeast Corridor, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley Lines Metro-North: Port Jervis Line NJT Bus: 2, 78, 129, 329, 353
	Hoboken Terminal (limited service)	0.0 (0.0)	1903		NJ Transit: Bergen County, Gladstone, Main, Meadowlands, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley Lines Metro-North: Port Jervis Line Hudson-Bergen Light Rail: 8th Street-Hoboken, Hoboken-Tonnelle PATH: HOB-WTC, HOB-33, JSQ-33 (via HOB) NJT Bus: 22, 22X, 23, 54, 68, 85, 87, 89, 126 New York Waterway to Battery Park City
	Hudson / Essex county line
	Montclair-Boonton and Morristown, and Gladstone Lines diverge at Kearny Connection North Jersey Coast Line service from Hoboken converges at Waterfront Connection
	Newark – Penn Station	10.0 (16.1)	1935		Amtrak: Acela Express, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Keystone Service, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Pennsylvanian, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Vermonter NJ Transit: Northeast Corridor and Raritan Valley Lines PATH: Newark – World Trade Center Newark Light Rail: Grove Street – Newark Penn, Broad Street – Newark Penn NJT Bus: 1, 5, 11, 21, 25, 28, 29, 34, 39, 40, 62, 67, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 78, 79, 108, 308, 319, 361, 375, 378, go25, go28 ONE Bus: 31, 44 Greyhound Lines
	Newark South Street
	Raritan Valley Line diverges at Hunter Connection
	Newark Liberty International Airport	12.6 (20.3)	2001		Amtrak: Acela Express, Northeast Regional NJ Transit: Northeast Corridor Line AirTrain Newark
Essex / Union county line
5	North Elizabeth (limited service)	14.4 (23.2)			NJ Transit: Northeast Corridor Line NJT Bus: 112
	Broad Street – Elizabeth	15.4 (24.8)	1836		NJ Transit: Northeast Corridor Line NJT Bus: 26, 48, 52, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 112 ONE Bus: 24
	South Elizabeth
7	Linden	18.6 (29.9)			NJ Transit: Northeast Corridor Line NJT Bus: 56, 57, 94
8
	North Rahway	20.1 (32.3)		1993	Closed due to maintenance issues
	Rahway	20.7 (33.3)	1971		NJ Transit: Northeast Corridor Line NJT Bus: 48, 62 Rahway Community Shuttle
Northeast Corridor Line diverges
Union / Middlesex county line
9	Avenel (limited service)
10	Woodbridge		1939		NJT Bus: 48, 116, 803
12	Perth Amboy		1923		NJT Bus: 48, 116, 813, 815, 817
13	South Amboy		1938		NJT Bus: 815, 817
	Laurence Harbor				Formerly proposed station in 1985, 2001, and 2008
Middlesex / Monmouth county line
15	Aberdeen-Matawan				NJT Bus: 135
16	Hazlet				Academy Bus: PNC Bank Arts Center Shuttle
17	Middletown
18	Red Bank				NJT Bus: 831, 832, 833, 834, 835 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
19	Little Silver		1875		Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
	Monmouth Park (limited service)		1892
20	Long Branch				NJT Bus: 831, 837 Academy Bus: 36 Terminus of electrification
	Elberon		1899
21	Allenhurst				NJT Bus: 837
	North Asbury Park
	Asbury Park				NJT Bus: 317, 830, 832, 836, 837 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
	Bradley Beach				NJT Bus: 317, 830 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
22
	Avon
	Belmar				NJT Bus: 317, 830 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
	Spring Lake				NJT Bus: 317, 830 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
23
	Sea Girt
	Manasquan				NJT Bus: 317, 830 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
	Monmouth / Ocean county line
	Point Pleasant Beach				NJT Bus: 317, 830 Academy Bus: Shore Points Line
	Bay Head

See also

• New York and Long Branch Railroad
• Perth Amboy and Woodbridge Railroad
• Union Tower
• Essay Tower

External links

• North Jersey Coast Timetable
• Videos of the passing trains of the North Jersey Coast Line, by Eric K.