Bergen County Line

Bergen County Line

Company type	Commuter rail route
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1833
Headquarters	United States
Area served	New Jersey, New York
Owner	New Jersey Transit
Parent	New Jersey Transit Rail Operations

The Bergen County Line is a commuter rail route managed and operated by New Jersey Transit within New Jersey. This line diverges from the Main Line between the Meadowlands area and Glen Rock, with trains continuing travel along the Main Line in either direction. On NJ Transit maps, it is depicted in grey and features a cattail icon symbolizing the Meadowlands ecosystem.

Certain trains from the Metro-North Railroad Port Jervis Line also utilize this route. Freight operations are conducted by Norfolk Southern Railway under trackage rights agreements.

Train services employ diesel locomotives operating in push-pull configurations, using either Comet or MultiLevel passenger cars.

History

The segment stretching from Secaucus, located just south of the Hackensack River bridge, to East Rutherford, north of the Rutherford station, follows the former Erie Railroad Main Line. This portion was initially opened in 1833 by the Paterson and Hudson River Railroad and subsequently leased to the New York and Erie Rail Road in 1852. The extension from East Rutherford to Glen Rock was inaugurated in 1881 as part of the Bergen County Railroad.

Up until the late 1950s, this corridor primarily functioned as a freight and express bypass circumventing the at-grade Main Line running through Passaic, offering limited commuter service. In 1963, following abandonment of the Main Line segment through downtown Passaic and construction of Interstate 80 along the former Boonton Branch right-of-way, the Lackawanna Boonton Branch up to Paterson was integrated into the Erie-Lackawanna Main Line. As a result, the old Main Line east of Rutherford became exclusively part of what is now known as the Bergen County Line.

Prior to the inauguration of Secaucus Junction in 2003, Bergen County Line trains traveled a longer stretch along the old Erie Main Line within Secaucus to Croxton Yard, where they merged with the former Lackawanna Boonton Branch. To facilitate access to Secaucus Junction station, a new connecting track was constructed between the HX Drawbridge and the Main Line west of the station.

Secaucus train collision

On February 9, 1996, a collision occurred near Secaucus involving a Bergen County Line train and a Main Line train, resulting in three fatalities and 162 injuries. This incident represented the most severe rail accident in both New York City and New Jersey since the 1958 Newark Bay rail disaster that caused at least 48 deaths.

2007 Ridgewood Junction derailment

On February 21, 2007, a Bergen County Line train underwent a minor derailment after traversing an improperly repaired switch located at Ridgewood Junction.

Service

Westward from Secaucus Junction, Bergen County Line tracks separate from the Main Line via a right-of-way that opened on December 15, 2003, connecting these two lines. Heading westbound here, the Hackensack River lies to the left side while warehouses and manufacturing plants line Meadowlands Parkway on the right. The area was formerly served by Harmon Cove station from 1978 until its closure in 2003.

The train then merges onto the old Erie Main Line right-of-way and crosses the Hackensack River via HX Bridge, a two-track bascule drawbridge. For approximately two miles, it traverses through Meadowlands beneath the western spur of the New Jersey Turnpike; during this stretch, Meadowlands Sports Complex appears on the right side. The route runs adjacent to Berrys Creek before crossing it and passing under Route 3.

Past Route 3, the line cuts through industrial areas featuring office buildings with sidings for service. At Pascack Junction, the Pascack Valley Line branches off. The train crosses Route 17 while approaching Rutherford station.

After briefly passing residential neighborhoods, the route veers right and departs from the Erie Main Line near coordinates . It continues through industrial zones along the border between Carlstadt and Wallington before entering Wood-Ridge and South Hackensack. Wesmont station opened along this section on May 15, 2016. The line then crosses over Saddle River en route to Garfield station.

Proceeding northward through Garfield—passing residential homes, commercial establishments, and Dahnerts Lake County Park—the train arrives at Plauderville station situated on Midland Avenue at the boundary between Garfield and Saddle Brook. After passing beneath U.S. Highway 46, tracks form part of the border between Saddle Brook and Elmwood Park before crossing Midland Avenue once more. Interstate 80 and Garden State Parkway overpasses precede arrival at Broadway station in Fair Lawn near Route 4.

Within Fair Lawn, Plaza Road runs parallel to the line adjacent to Radburn Plaza shopping district and Radburn station. The track passes beneath Route 208 just prior to Radburn station; residential areas lie on one side while industrial facilities—including a Nabisco plant spur—are located on the opposite side. Next is Glen Rock–Boro Hall station on Rock Road; shortly beyond at Ridgewood Junction, Bergen County and Main Lines converge. From there, trains proceed north toward Waldwick or Suffern, with some peak-hour services terminating at Ridgewood—the first stop after these lines join.

Stations

"|New York (state) " "|Suffern, New York "

State	Zone	Location	Station	Mile (km)	Date opened	Date closed	Line services			Connections
							BC	ML	PJ
NJ	1	Hoboken	Hoboken Terminal Template:NJT acc	0.0 (0.0)	1903		●	●	●	NJ Transit Rail: Gladstone, Main Line, Meadowlands, Montclair–Boonton, Morristown, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley Lines Hudson-Bergen Light Rail: 8th Street-Hoboken, Hoboken-Tonnelle lines PATH: HOB-WTC, HOB-33, JSQ-33 (via HOB) NJ Transit Bus: 22, 23, 63, 64, 68, 85, 87, 89, 126 New York Waterway to Battery Park City
		Secaucus	Secaucus Junction Template:NJT acc	3.5 (5.6)	December 15, 2003		●	●	●	NJ Transit Rail (upper level): Gladstone, Montclair–Boonton, Morristown, Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast, and Raritan Valley lines NJ Transit Rail (lower level): Main, Meadowlands and Pascack Valley lines NJ Transit Bus: 2, 78, 129, 329, 353
	3		Template:Njts		June 26, 1978	August 4, 2003
		Rutherford	Template:Njts Template:NJT acc	8.4 (13.5)	December 4, 1833		●			NJ Transit Bus: 76, 190
	4	Wood-Ridge	Template:Njts	10.4 (16.7)	May 15, 2016		●
		Garfield	Template:Njts	11.3 (18.2)	October 1, 1881		●			NJ Transit Bus: 160,161,702,707,709,758
			Spring Tank		October 1, 1881		●
	5		Template:Njts Template:NJT acc	12.7 (20.4)			●			NJ Transit Bus: 160,758
	6	Fair Lawn	"Template:Njts"	"15.3 (24.6)"	"October 1, 1881"		"●"			"NJ Transit Bus: 144,166,770"
			"Template:Njts"	"16.5 (26.6)"	"October 1, 1881"		"●"			"NJ Transit Bus: 145,171"
	"8"	"Glen Rock, New Jersey"	"Template:Njts"	"18.2 (29.3)"	"October 1, 1881"		"●"			"NJ Transit Bus: 164,175,746"
	"9"	"Ridgewood, New Jersey"	"Template:Njts Template:NJT acc"	"20.9 (33.6)"	"October 19, 1848"		"●"	"●"		"NJ Transit Bus:163,164,175,722,746,752"
	10	"Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey"	"Template:Njts"	"22.1 (35.6)"	"October 19, 1848"		"●"	"●"
	"Waldwick, New Jersey"	"Template:Njts"	"23.2 (37.3)"	"1886"		"●"	"●"
	"11"	"Allendale, New Jersey"	"Template:Njts"	"24.6 (39.6)"	"October 19, 1848"		"●"	"●"
	"12"	Ramsey, New Jersey"	"Ramsey – Main Street (NJT station) Template:NJT acc"	"26.5 (42.6)"	"October 19, 1848"		"●"	"●"
	"13"		"Template:Njts Template:NJT acc"	"27.9 (44.9)"	"August 22, 2004"		"●"	"●"	"●"
	14	"Mahwah, New Jersey"	"Template:Njts "	"29.1 (46.8)"	"October 19, 1848"		"●"	"●"	"●"		"Short Line Bus:17 "
"Template:Njts "	'30.5 (49.1) '	'June 30, 1841'		'●'	'●'	'●'		'Transport of Rockland:59,93, Monsey Loop 3,Tappan ZEExpress Short Line Bus:17M/MD/SF '

Bibliography

• Clayton, W. Woodford. A History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey: Including Biographical Accounts of Numerous Pioneers and Notable Figures. 1882. Everts & Peck, Philadelphia.
• Lucas, Walter Arndt. From the Hills to the Hudson: The Chronicle of the Paterson and Hudson River Rail Road and Its Affiliates, the Paterson and Ramapo, and the Union Railroads. 1944. The Cornwall Press, New York.
• Mott, Edward Harold. Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Erie Railroad Narrative. 1899. John S. Collins, New York.
• Poor, Henry Varnum. Poor's Railroad Manual. 1884. H.V. & H.W. Poor, Pittsburgh.
• Van Valen, James M. Bergen County, New Jersey: A Historical Account. 1900. New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Company, New York.
• Wardell, Patricia Webb. Allendale: The Borough’s Historical Background. 1994. Allendale Historical Society.
• Citizens Semi-Centennial Association. Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey: Past and Present. 1916. Citizens Semi-Centennial Association, Ridgewood.