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Main Line
A map of the Main and Bergen County Lines
Info
Type	Commuter rail line
System	New Jersey Transit and Metro-North Railroad
Locale	North Jersey, Hudson Valley
Terminals	Hoboken Terminal Port Jervis
No. of stations	26
Operation
Owner	New Jersey Transit (Hoboken Terminal to Suffern) Norfolk Southern Railway (Suffern to Port Jervis, leased to and maintained by Metro-North Railroad)
Operator(s)	New Jersey Transit
Rolling stock	F40PH-2 CAT locomotives GP40PH-2/GP40FH-2 locomotives PL42AC locomotives Comet I/Comet I-B/Comet V
Technical
Track length	152.9 km (95.0 miles)
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)

New Jersey Transit Main Line

Legend Port Jervis Otisville Middletown Campbell Hall Salisbury Mills - Cornwall Harriman Tuxedo Sloatsburg Suffern New York–New Jersey border Mahwah Ramsey Route 17 Ramsey-Main St. Allendale Waldwick Ho-Ho-Kus Ridgewood Bergen County Line rejoins Glen Rock (Main Line) Hawthorne Paterson Clifton Passaic Delawanna Lyndhurst Kingsland Hackensack R. via Upper Hack Lift Bergen County Line diverges Secaucus Junction Hoboken Terminal

The Main Line (or Erie Main Line) is a rail line owned and operated by New Jersey Transit in the United States that runs from Suffern, New York to Hoboken, New Jersey. It runs daily commuter service and was once the former north-south main line of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. Some trains continue as far as Port Jervis in partnership with Metro-North Railroad (see Port Jervis Line). The Bergen County Line splits off the Main Line just west of the Secaucus Junction transfer station and rejoins it at Ridgewood. Service is diesel-powered. Peak trains arrive in Hoboken on weekdays between 7:21 am and 8:48 am and leave Hoboken on weekdays between 4:17 pm and 6:50 pm. [1]

Departing the historic (1907) Hoboken terminal, the yards for the coaches are to your left. Trains pass over several city avenues before entering the Bergen Tunnels under the New Jersey Palisades. Midway through the tunnel there are air shafts allowing light through and venting out the diesel fumes. Exiting the tunnel, the train curves right onto the Main Line at West End interlocking in Jersey City. About a mile ahead is the former connection with the Bergen line (removed in 2003 during the Secaucus Junction transfer station construction). This is where two trains collided head-on in 1996, killing two engineers and a passenger. New Jersey Turnpike Interchange 15X now is located on this site.

Shortly thereafter is the Secaucus Junction, with trains stopping for passengers to change to and from Northeast Corridor Line trains on the upper level.

After the transfer station, the Main Line runs through an industrial section of Secaucus. Shortly afterwards the Bergen Line separates off on the new routing. The Main Line then crosses over the Hackensack River on the single-track Upper Hack Lift bridge, built in 1958.

The one track continues for a brief distance until it once again becomes two, under the New Jersey Turnpike's western spur. The train continues through the Meadowlands and passes the first grade crossing at Valley Brook Avenue in Lyndhurst. The line curves slightly and passes under the 1903 Kingsland tunnel. Kingsland station is shortly after the tunnel and is in an open cut. Just beyond Kingsland station is Lyndhurst station, located on an embankment.

After leaving Lyndhurst, the train crosses over the Passaic River on a bolted-shut swing bridge. The train passes under Route 3 and approaches Delawanna station.

Next stop is Passaic, which is located on an embankment. After Passaic, the Main Line has a stretch through some industrial areas before the Clifton station, which is also located on an embankment.

The Main Line passes under U.S. Route 46 and the Garden State Parkway before it crosses under and over several streets in south Paterson. This portion of the line was single-tracked, then double-tracked in a rehabilitation project in 2002. The line passes under Interstate 80 and heads into downtown Paterson. Paterson station is elevated, with a center platform.

Continuing north, the Main Line is on an elevated grade through Paterson, passing over streets. After several grade crossings in an industrial area, the tracks crosses over the Passaic River on a truss bridge. Hawthorne is the next stop, at grade level. After a long stretch, the train reaches Glen Rock station, at grade level at a crossing.

After Glen Rock station, Ridgewood Junction is reached. This is where Main Line will merge with the Bergen County Line. The line widens to three tracks. Ridgewood station is next, with Spanish-style design on the station building and platforms.

Next is Ho-Ho-Kus, also at grade. Waldwick follows with an abandoned station building on the northbound side and a footbridge connecting the two platforms. Waldwick Yard is just north of the station, and just following Waldwick Yard is a grade crossing. North of the grade crossing (which has 3 tracks) the line becomes two tracks.

Allendale and Ramsey follow, both as grade-level stations. Ramsey-Route 17 station (opened August 22, 2004) is next. It is a park-and-ride facility located off of Route 17 South in Ramsey.

Mahwah follows and is the last station in New Jersey. Crossing over the New York state line, the train arrives at Suffern, the last stop. Some trains continue past to Port Jervis. The yards are located just to the north, under the New York State Thruway overpass.

All trains on the Main/Bergen/Port Jervis lines are diesels, typically using GP40PH-2, F40PH-2CAT or PL42AC (with occasional GP40FH-2s) locomotives with Comet I and Comet I-B (ex-Arrow I) cars. Metro-North service to/from Port Jervis usually features Metro-North's own Comet V cars by Alstom, although Metro-North cars can also appear on local runs within New Jersey as well.

Glen Rock-Main Line railroad station in downtown Glen Rock.

Interior of the Main Line train with the conductor showing in the background

Metro-North Port Jervis train #53 to Port Jervis, entering Secaucus Junction.