Gladstone Branch
| Company type | Commuter rail service |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Predecessor | Passaic and Delaware Railroad, Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad |
| Founded | 1872 |
| Fate | Operated by NJ Transit since 1983 |
| Headquarters | New Jersey , United States |
Area served | New Jersey |
| Products | Commuter rail transportation |
| Owner | NJ Transit |
| Website | www |
Gladstone Branch
The Gladstone Branch—also referred to as the Gladstone Line—is a commuter rail service managed by NJ Transit within New Jersey. It constitutes one of the two branches of the Morris & Essex Lines, connecting Gladstone with either Hoboken Terminal or New York Penn Station.
This branch stretches from Gladstone to a junction at Summit, where it links with the Morris & Essex Line. The track is mostly single-lined, featuring passing sidings located at Murray Hill, Stirling, Bernardsville, and just west of Far Hills.
At Summit, the Gladstone Branch converges with the Morristown Line. Eastward beyond Newark Broad Street station, trains either proceed to Hoboken Terminal—providing connections to PATH trains and NY Waterway ferries for access into New York—or utilize the Kearny Connection to reach New York Penn Station. During peak hours, two trains run direct service to and from Penn Station.
Weekday peak service is divided into two operational zones: local stops between Hoboken and Summit, or express service from Hoboken to Short Hills followed by local stops continuing to Gladstone. Outside peak times and on weekends, trains make all local stops along the entire route.
The Gladstone Branch primarily accommodates eastbound travel during weekday rush hours, offering limited service in the opposite direction. Weekend schedules provide hourly trips between Gladstone and Summit. Since August 13, 2006, weekend service between Hoboken and Summit has been reduced to intervals of two hours. On May 11, 2008, off-peak trains running from Hoboken to Dover were discontinued, and weekend trains on the Gladstone Branch were shortened to terminate at Summit. This was supplemented by a shuttle operating between Newark Broad Street and Hoboken, which was later extended to Bay Street on the Montclair–Boonton Line. Passengers traveling toward Penn Station transfer at Summit via Dover/Penn Station trains.
On NJ Transit maps, this line is depicted in pale green and marked with a horse emblem, symbolizing the nearby Grand National Hurdle Stakes steeplechase event.
History
The only segment completed of the New Jersey West Line Railroad was a stretch running from Summit westward to Bernardsville. Following the dissolution of that railroad in 1878, this portion was acquired by the Passaic and Delaware Railroad. In 1882, the Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W) leased it as a branch extending from the Morris and Essex line. Subsequently, in 1890, the Passaic and Delaware Extension Railroad lengthened the route to reach its present terminus at Gladstone, New Jersey. DL&W operated this as the Passaic and Delaware Branch, which later became known as the Gladstone Branch. The DL&W merged with the Erie Railroad in 1960 to create the Erie Lackawanna Railway, which then managed operations. Control passed to New Jersey Transit in 1983, which continues to oversee service on this line.
In October 2012, the branch sustained extensive damage due to Hurricane Sandy, particularly affecting its catenary wires and signaling infrastructure. This led to a month-long suspension of service. The storm destroyed five catenary poles along with approximately five miles of wiring and caused numerous trees to fall onto the tracks. Service resumed on December 3, 2012, with electric trains running to Penn Station while diesel-powered trains operated toward Hoboken; full electric functionality was restored following substation repairs completed in early 2013.
Description
Trains on the Gladstone Line primarily depart from Hoboken Terminal, with the exception of two weekday services originating at New York Penn Station. These trains proceed along the Morris & Essex line to Summit, where schedules are designed to facilitate seamless transfers between the Morristown and Gladstone lines.
The Gladstone Branch runs roughly parallel to the Amtrak Northeast Corridor, PATH, and I-280 for a short distance. Near Meadows interlocking, the Waterfront Connection allows certain North Jersey Coast Line and Raritan Valley Line trains to access Hoboken from the Northeast Corridor.
Following the I-280 corridor, the route crosses a two-track swing bridge over the Passaic River to reach Newark Broad Street station, which features two elevated platforms serving three tracks. Through Newark, the line travels in a cut beneath surface streets, I-280, and the Newark City Subway. At Roseville interlocking, the Montclair–Boonton Line diverges from this route. Between Roseville and just east of Millburn station, the track expands to three lines; beyond that point, it reduces to two tracks.
Stations such as East Orange, Brick Church, Orange, South Orange (close to Seton Hall University), Maplewood, Millburn, and Short Hills are equipped with elevated or side platforms accommodating two or three tracks. West of Summit, the Morristown Line separates while the Gladstone Branch continues through New Providence and Murray Hill stations. These areas include passing sidings that enable trains traveling in opposite directions to pass on predominantly single-track sections.
The line crosses several grade crossings and passes through Berkeley Heights, where parking sidings are available, before entering Morris County. Within Long Hill Township are three stations: Gillette, Stirling—which has passing sidings—and Millington. The route crosses the Passaic River multiple times as it approaches Bernards Township, which hosts stations at Lyons, Basking Ridge (noted for preserving original DL&W semaphore signals until recently), Bernardsville (with passing sidings), Far Hills (featuring a freight house and passing tracks), Peapack, and ultimately Gladstone.
At Gladstone yard, tracks widen to five for train storage before narrowing into a single track that leads into Gladstone station and its freight house.
Train schedules are arranged so that most meet at Far Hills and Murray Hill. Although Bernardsville and Stirling each have two tracks for passing purposes, their secondary tracks see infrequent use except during delays.
Freight service
When NJ Transit acquired the line, freight operations were managed by Conrail. Following Conrail’s division, Norfolk Southern Railway assumed responsibility for freight traffic. Customer demand declined over time; the last remaining customer was Reheis Chemical Company, later acquired by General Chemical and scheduled to close in 2008. The apparent final freight movement occurred on November 7, 2008; however, shipments resumed on June 19, 2009. Freight trains operate westward to Stirling for locomotive run-around procedures. In 2019, freight service along the line was taken over by the Dover and Delaware River Railroad.
Electrification
The Gladstone Branch operates under an overhead catenary system energized at 25 kV and 60 Hz, with electrical power supplied by the NJ Transit substation located in Summit. This substation also provides electricity for a significant portion of the Morristown Line. Positioned north of New Providence, the Summit substation lies between the Summit and Chatham stations and receives its power from the adjacent Summit Utility substation. Along the route, three additional switching stations are installed to manage electrical distribution.
Stations
| State | Zone | Location | Station | Distance (miles/km) from NYP | Opening Date | Closure Date | Connections/notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NY | 1 | Manhattan | New York Penn Template:NJT acc | 0.0 (0.0) | 1910 | Amtrak (long-distance): Cardinal, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited, Palmetto, Silver Meteor Amtrak (intercity): Acela, Adirondack, Carolinian, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, Maple Leaf, Northeast Regional, Pennsylvanian, Vermonter Branches of Long Island Rail Road NJ Transit Rail services New York City Subway access at 34th Street – Penn Station Bus connections including Academy Bus and Flixbus | |||||
| NJ | Secaucus | Secaucus Junction Template:NJT acc | 3.5 (5.6) | 2003 | NJ Transit Rail: several lines including Bergen County, Morristown, Montclair–Boonton Metro-North Railroad: Port Jervis Line NJ Transit Bus routes | ||||||
| Hoboken | Hoboken Terminal Template:NJT acc | – | 1903 | NJ Transit Rail: multiple lines Metro-North Railroad: Port Jervis Line Hudson-Bergen Light Rail PATH transit system NJ Transit Bus and New York Waterway ferry services | |||||||
| 2 | Harrison | Template:Njts | 7.13 (11.5) | September 16, 1984 | |||||||
| Newark | Template:Njts Template:NJT acc | 10.4 (16.7) | November 19, 1836 | NJ Transit Rail: Montclair–Boonton and Morristown Lines Newark Light Rail system NJ Transit Bus connections | |||||||
| 4 | Template:Njts | 11.6 (18.7) | September 16, 1984 | ||||||||
| East Orange | Grove Street | 12.2 (19.6) | April 7, 1991 | ||||||||
| Template:Njts Template:NJT acc | 12.6 (20.3) | November 19, 1836 | NJ Transit Rail: Morristown Line NJ Transit Bus and Community Coach routes | ||||||||
| Template:Njts | 13.2 (21.2) | November 19, 1836 | NJ Transit Rail: Morristown Line Bus connections including Community Coach and ONE Bus services | ||||||||
| Orange | Template:Njts | 14.1 (22.7) | November 19, 1836 | NJ Transit Rail: Morristown Line Bus links including Community Coach and ONE Bus routes West Orange Community Shuttle service | |||||||
| 5 | Template:Njts | 14.8 (23.8) | NJ Transit Rail: Morristown Line Bus services including ONE Bus route 44 | ||||||||
| South Orange | Mountain Station | 15.7 (25.3) | |||||||||
| Template:Njts Template:NJT acc | 16.5 (26.6) | September 17, 1837 | NJ Transit Rail: Morristown Line Bus connections including ONE Bus and local shuttle services | ||||||||
| rowspan=2 |6 | Maplewood | Template:Njts | 17.8 (28.6) | September 17, 1837 | NJ Transit Rail: Morristown Line Maplewood Community Shuttle service | ||||||
| Wyoming | November 10, 1907 | ||||||||||
| rowspan=2 |7 | Millburn | Template:Njts | 19.4 (32.2) | September 17, 1837 | NJ Transit Rail: Morristown Line NJ Transit Bus route 70 | ||||||
| Short Hills | Template:Njts | 20.4 (32.8) | July 1879 | NJ Transit Rail: Morristown Line Springfield Community Shuttle service | |||||||
| rowspan=2 |9 | Summit | Template:Njts Template:NJT acc | 22.7 (36.5) | September 17, 1837 | NJ Transit Rail: Morristown Line NJ Transit and Lakeland Bus routes | ||||||
| rowspan=2 |New Providence | Template:Njts | 24.4 (39.3) | January 29, 1872 | NJ Transit and Lakeland Bus services available | |||||||
| 10 | Template:Njts | 26.0 (41.8) | January 29, 1872 | Served by NJ Transit Bus route 986 | |||||||
| 11 | Berkeley Heights | Template:Njts | 28.4 (45.7) | January 29, 1872 | Lakeland Bus route 78 service provided | ||||||
| 12 | rowspan=3 |Long Hill | Template:Njts | 29.7 (47.8) | January 29, 1872 | |||||||
| rowspan=3 |14 | Template:Njts | 31.1 (50.1) | January 29, 1872 (shelter renovated in 1974) | ||||||||
| Template:Njts | 32.7 (52.6) | January 29, 1872 | |||||||||
| rowspan=2 |Basking Ridge | Template:Njts Template:NJT acc | 34.3 (55.2) | January 29, 1872 | Lakeland Bus route 78 available here as well | |||||||
| rowspan=2 |16 | Template:Njts | 36.2 (58.3) | January 29, 1872 | Lakeland Bus route 78 service continues here too | |||||||
| Bernardsville | Template:Njts | 37.2 (59.9) | January 29, 1872 | Lakeland Bus route 78 service present | |||||||
| 17 | Mine Brook | Previously a minor DL&W flag stop located at Whitenack Road | |||||||||
| "Far Hills" | Template:Njts | 41.6 (66.9) | October 10, 1890 | Lakeland Bus route 78 service available | |||||||
| 18 | "Peapack" | 43.9 (70.7) | October 10, 1890 | ||||||||
| Template:Njts Template:NJT acc | 44.9 (72.3) | October 10, 1890 |