Meadowlands Rail Line

Meadowlands Rail Line
Meadowlands Station, at top, sits next to MetLife Stadium
Overview
Type	Event shuttle
System	New Jersey Transit
Locale	North Jersey
Termini	Hoboken Terminal Meadowlands
Stations	3
Daily ridership	n/a
Operation
Opened	2009
Owner	New Jersey Transit
Operator(s)	New Jersey Transit
Technical
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Route map Legend Meadowlands Pascack Valley Line 7.6 Bergen County Line NJ 3 5.6 Hackensack River via HX Draw Main Line NJ Turnpike Secaucus Junction Northeast Corridor Morris & Essex Lines Bergen Tunnels 0.0 Hoboken Terminal Hudson River

Meadowlands Rail Line is a rail line in New Jersey, United States, operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT). Trains run between the MetLife Sports Complex and Secaucus Junction, some with continuing service to Hoboken Terminal. There is a limited service on the line, with trains only operating in conjunction with major events.^[1]

Upon its opening on July 20, 2009, it became the newest route of New Jersey Transit rail operations. It is represented on NJT maps with the color white; unlike other lines, it does not have a logo.^[2] It was built at a cost of $185 million.^[3]

Service

NJ Transit runs trains along the Meadowlands Rail Line for events where 50,000 or more attendees are expected, including New York Jets and New York Giants games. Trains begin running 3 1/2 hours before an event and stop up to two hours after its conclusion. Travel time between Meadowlands Station and Secaucus Junction is 10 to 13 minutes; the complete trip to or from Hoboken Terminal takes about 23 minutes.^[4] The agency considers full capacity to be 10,000 passengers per hour.^[5] NJT officials have said they will begin daily service when the American Dream Meadowlands retail and entertainment complex opens.^[6]

Stations and connections

The Meadowlands Station was built as a part of the rail network expansion and is next to MetLife Stadium, equidistant from the Meadowlands Racetrack and the American Dream Meadowlands, and near the Izod Center.^[7]

Secaucus Junction is a major interchange station for NJ Transit where all but three of its commuter lines stop. Connections are available to the Northeast Corridor Line and the North Jersey Coast Line to New York Penn Station and Newark Penn Station and points south; the Morris and Essex Lines Midtown Direct to New York Penn Station and points west; the Main Line, the Bergen County Line, and the Pascack Valley Line to points north. At its eastern terminus Hoboken Terminal connections to PATH trains, Hudson Bergen Light Rail, New York Waterway ferries and local buses are available.^[8][9]

The Train to the Game is an excursion train operated jointly by Metro-North Railroad and NJ Transit. For Sunday football games starting at 1 pm, three trains originate at New Haven. They travel through southwestern Connecticut and Westchester County cross Manhattan via New York Penn (thus avoiding the normally required transfer from Grand Central Terminal) and continue through the North River Tunnels as regular NJT trains to Secaucus Junction.^[10]

History

The Meadowlands Sports Complex, which opened in 1976, was until 2009 accessible only via automobile or bus. The decision to build a rail line to it was welcome but the route was a source of controversy. A portion of the line is 2.3-mile (3.7 km)-long spur connected via a new wye connection to the existing network. The line as built is a spur line off the Pascack Valley Line, which travels further than if it had branched directly off the Bergen County Line. The decision to spend $6.2 million to acquire a right-of-way that travels through a federal Superfund site was also contentious.^[11]

The opening ceremonies for the line took place on July 20, 2009. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, New York Giants owner John Mara, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, and players from the Giants and Jets rode a special train from Hoboken to the new station for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.^[3] The station opened to the public on July 26, 2009, for the championship game of the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament between the United States and Mexico. It is estimated that 6,000 arrived via the new rail line.^[12]

Ridership to National Football League games increased by 50 percent in the rail line's second year of operation. In 2010, about 10,500 attendees at New York Jets games and 8,000 attendees at New York Giants games arrived by train.^[13]

References

The rail line provides service to Secaucus Junction and Hoboken Terminal

1. ^ Brennan, John (November 9, 2010). "Train ridership for football up 50%, but Meadowlands rail use still sparse". The Record (Bergen County). http://www.northjersey.com/news/106940368_Train_ridership_for_football_up_50_.html. Retrieved 2011-02-14. 
2. ^ "Passenger Rail System Map". New Jersey Transit. July 2009. http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/Rail_System_Map.pdf. Retrieved 2010-01-08. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Brennan, John (July 20, 2009). "Meadowlands rail service rolls out". The Record. http://www.northjersey.com/news/transportation/mass_transit/Officials_to_launch_Meadowlands_rail_service.html. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
4. ^ "Take the New Meadowlands Rail Line to the Gold Cup" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. July 22, 2009. http://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&PRESS_RELEASE_ID=2535. Retrieved 2010-03-21. 
5. ^ "Meadowlands rails prove all the rage". The Star-Ledger. September 25, 2009. http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-14/12538449113430.xml&coll=1. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
6. ^ "N.J. officials launch rail service to Meadowlands". Associated Press. July 20, 2009. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/nj_officials_launch_rail_servi.html. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
7. ^ "Meadowlands Rail Station". New Jersey Transit. January 2008. http://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=Project077To. Retrieved 2009-10-08. 
8. ^ "Take the New Meadowlands Rail Line to the Gold Cup" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. July 22, 2009. http://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&PRESS_RELEASE_ID=2535. Retrieved 2009-10-12. 
9. ^ "Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Map showing Meadowlands Rail Line". New Jersey Transit. July 2009. http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/LightRail/sf_lr_hblr_map.pdf. Retrieved 2010-01-08. 
10. ^ "Train to the Game". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. http://www.mta.info/mta/sports/meadowlands.html. Retrieved 2009-10-08. 
11. ^ "Sports authority paid $6.2M for contaminated land for Meadowlands rail spur, report says". The Star-Ledger. February 3, 2009. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/sports_authority_paid_62m_for.html. Retrieved 2009-10-08. 
12. ^ Clunn, Nick (July 26, 2009). "Thousands hop on board new Meadowlands rail service". The Record. http://www.northjersey.com/news/transportation/Thousands_hop_on_board_new_Meadowlands_rail_service.html. Retrieved 2009-10-08. 
13. ^ Brennan, John (November 9, 2010). "Train ridership for football up 50%, but Meadowlands rail use still sparse". The Record. http://www.northjersey.com/sports/pro_sports/106940368_Train_ridership_for_football_up_50_.html. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 

External links

• Opening ceremonies video