The second of the options from Lehigh Valley Passenger Rail Analysis is Allentown to New York via High Bridge. This is identical to the Hackettstown routing until you cross the Delaware so I won’t repeat any of that here. That post also contains a discussion (“So you want to run a passenger train”) about challenges in general with the passenger rail landscape in the United States.
Phillipsburg-High Bridge
NJ Transit commuter rail service between Phillipsburg ended on January 1, 1984, leaving High Bridge as the westernmost station. The line was the main line of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, which formerly continued west across the Delaware into Pennsylvania, running along the north side of the Lehigh River.
The former main line is no longer intact. It was abandoned west of Bloomsbury, and during a rebuilding project I-78 severed the right-of-way in Alpha. A connection exists with the Lehigh Line west of Bloomsbury, so the study suggests using the Lehigh Line (“Corridor L”) for this stretch, and then the former CNJ main line (“Corridor C”) from Bloomsbury to High Bridge, about 13-14 miles. This line, now called the Central Industrial Track, hasn’t seen a passenger train since 1984. Speed is restricted to 10 MPH. Like the Washington Secondary, we’re looking at a full rebuild, but the resulting line would be mostly for passenger traffic.[1]
High Bridge-Newark
High Bridge is the westernmost extent of NJ Transit service on the Raritan Valley Line. On weekends, trains do not operate further west than Raritan. The line is single-tracked between High Bridge and Raritan, though there is room in the right-of-way for a second track, and double-tracked east of Raritan. The line isn’t electrified. As of writing, most trains terminate in Newark Penn, with passengers making a cross-platform transfer for the onward journey to New York. A limited number of trains use dual-mode locomotives, enabling direct service to New York. As with the Hackettstown alternative, the study assumes dual-modes for the new service, allowing direct service to New York from Allentown.
Scheduling
The study estimates 2 hours 20 minutes from Allentown to New York.[2] The existing RVL service, making all stops, is carded for an hour between Raritan and Newark, 20 minutes between Newark and New York, and 30 minutes between Raritan and High Bridge. In the Hackettstown study I considered 41 minutes possible for Allentown-Easton. Easton-Phillipsburg-High Bridge is an unknown. CNJ carded it for 50 minutes in 1963, and the track’s only gotten worse since then.
Costs
Capital costs are estimated at $469 million. This is similar to the Hackettstown alternative.[3] The major item is the additional track between Allentown and Easton. The line between Bloomsbury and High Bridge is a little shorter, but also in need of a full rebuild. With 47 miles of track that works out to 9.9 million/mile. The rolling stock is the same as the Hackettstown alternative: $150 million for dual-mode locomotives and coaches.
Thoughts
To me, this has always felt like the most natural path for restoring service between Allentown and New York. You still have the challenge of working with Norfolk Southern in Pennsylvania, but once you’re in New Jersey it’s a comparatively short distance to reach the Raritan Valley Line. The RVL is double-tracked, and with hourly passenger frequencies plus freight service, underused. The awkwardness of running a diesel service destined for New York remains. I think running a pure diesel to Newark with a cross-platform transfer would be acceptable. Until the new tunnels under the Hudson open Newark-New York is a bottleneck.
Notes
Lehigh Valley Passenger Rail Feasibility Analysis, p. 12. ↩︎
The study claims 1 hour 49 minutes in one place (p. 26) and 2 hours 20 minutes in another (p. 38). The former isn’t credible. ↩︎
p. 36 ↩︎