Kearny Connection

West end of Kearny Connection, looking NW

Coordinates: 40°44′39″N 74°07′27″W / 40.7441°N 74.1242°W / 40.7441; -74.1242 (Kearny Connection) The Kearny Connection in Kearny, New Jersey, allows suburban passenger trains from New Jersey Transit's Morris and Essex Lines (former Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad) to run to New York Penn Station,^[1][2]instead of their traditional ferry terminal on the river in Hoboken. New Jersey Transit dubbed the new service Midtown Direct; the connection opened on June 10, 1996. Two tracks, one on each side of the Northeast Corridor (NEC), carry trains from the DL&W main line, which passes under the NEC, northeast onto the NEC.^[3][4] The new junction on the NEC is designated "Swift" and is seven miles west of New York.

Of 116 inbound and 121 outbound daily weekday trains on the three Morris and Essex Lines, 49 inbound and 48 outbound trains (about 40%) use the Kearny Connection.

Both rail lines power trains from AC catenary, but the two lines use different voltage/frequency. The Northeast Corridor (former Pennsylvania Railroad) runs at 12.5kV/25Hz, while the Morris and Essex Lines (former DL&W) run at 25kV/60Hz. ALP-44 and ALP-46 locomotives can switch between the two electrical systems while traveling through the junction.

References

1. ^ Miller, Luther S. "For NJT, $444 million - New Jersey Transit - includes article on Shirley DeLibero, executive director of NJT", 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."
2. ^ Hanley, Robert (May 1, 1991). "New Jersey to Add Trains to Midtown". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5D7173AF932A35756C0A967958260&scp=1&sq=Kearny%20connection&st=cse. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
3. ^ Chen, David W. (December 8, 1996). "All Aboard for New York, if There's Parking Near the Train". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E5D6163FF93BA35751C1A960958260&sec=&spon=&&scp=5&sq=Kearny%20connection&st=cse. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
4. ^ 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. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E3DC1730F931A15752C1A96E958260&&scp=14&sq=Amtrak%20substation%20penn&st=cse.