Northeast Corridor Line
The Northeast Corridor Line is a commuter rail service operated by NJ Transit between the Trenton Transit Center and New York Penn Station on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor in the United States. The service is the successor to Pennsylvania Railroad commuter trains between Trenton and New York, and is NJ Transit's busiest commuter rail service. After arrival at New York Penn Station, some trains load passengers and return to New Jersey, while others continue east to Sunnyside Yard for storage. Most servicing is done at the Morrisville Yard, at the west end of the line.
As of April 27, 2025, the Northeast Corridor Line operates 131 trains on weekdays. Of these, 49 inbound trains originate from Trenton, 12 from Jersey Avenue, 4 from New Brunswick, 1 from Metropark, 1 from Newark Airport, and 1 from Newark Penn Station. 13 outbound trains terminate at Jersey Avenue, and 50 at Trenton. Stations north of Metropark are also served by North Jersey Coast Line trains throughout the day.
The Northeast Corridor Line is colored red on NJ Transit system maps, and its symbol is the New Jersey State House. The Princeton Branch is a shuttle service connecting to the line. Connecting SEPTA Trenton Line service between Philadelphia and Trenton is listed in the timetable.
History
19th century
Service on what is now the Northeast Corridor dates to the 1830s, with trains originating and terminating at the PRR's terminal at Exchange Place in Jersey City, New Jersey, which was the terminus of the PRR's network for most of the 19th century.In December 1855, work to extend the line's second track from Elizabethtown to Rahway was completed, eliminating the need for trains to meet in single-track territory. The New Jersey Railroad Board approved a contract for the rails for the second track between New Brunswick and Rahway to Cooper & Hewitt on February 5, 1859. The completion of the second track was authorized by the Board on April 23, 1859.
In May 1859, the New Jersey Railroad began work on the project. The second track was completed in November, completing the second track from New Brunswick to Jersey City.
In June 1873, the PRR began grading the right-of-way to widen the line from two to four tracks between Rahway and Elizabeth. In September 1873, the two additional tracks were completed between Scott Street in Rahway and Linden, and grading for the third track between Elizabeth and Waverly was underway.
In March 1882, the PRR completed the four-tracking of the line between Houtenville and South Elizabeth with the completion of a four-track bridge over the Rahway River in Rahway. On April 1, 1882, Uniontown station was renamed Iselin. On November 5, 1882, the new PX interlocking tower was placed into service at Perth Amboy Junction in Rahway.
In 1885, with the exception of through the cities of Trenton, New Brunswick, Elizabeth, and Newark, the line was completely four-tracked between Trenton and Jersey City.
20th century
Penn Station opened in 1910, but was originally designed for long-distance passenger trains. As a result, steam-hauled commuter traffic continued to use the older Jersey City station.On May 10, 1914, the new DX tower at Rahway was placed into service. Newly elevated tracks 3 and 4 were completed that year between Colonia and North Rahway. In addition, a new station was built at Linden.
The new northbound tracks at Linden opened on July 9, 1914. In 1915, the six tracking of the line between South Elizabeth and Colonia was completed, including grade separation work in Rahway and Linden. On July 11, 1915, the westbound platforms at Rahway and the flying junction with the Perth Amboy Branch were completed. The new Rahway station was completed on December 1, 1915.
On September 25, 1929, the PRR Board authorized the extension of the line's fifth and sixth tracks between "LANE" and "ELMORA" interlockings. The Board authorized the widening of the line's right-of-way between Elizabeth and Trenton on October 9, 1929.
On November 1, 1929, the PRR announced it would build a new $1.75 million station at Trenton. This plan was abandoned the following spring as a result of the Great Depression.
On April 15, 1930, the section of eastbound track 1 between Colonia station and St. George Street in Rahway was relocated to ground level. The jump over track completed in 1914 and 1915 was abandoned. On July 3, 1930, the PRR notified officials in Elizabeth that it would abandon plans to widen the line to six tracks between "LANE" and "ELMORA" as acquiring the condemnation award for the 30-foot wide strips was $290,828, when the railroad had estimated the cost would be $56,000. On September 10, 1930, the tracks on the line between "UNION" in Rahway and Colonia were realigned to eliminate a curve.
After overhead catenary lines were built between Trenton and Penn Station, it was possible to run trains of electric multiple units direct to Manhattan. Accordingly, the PRR began running commuter trains from Trenton to Penn Station in 1933.
The three westernmost tracks at the new Pennsylvania Station in Newark opened for operation on March 24, 1935. An old swing bridge was replaced by a new three-track lift Dock Bridge. In addition, "DOCK" tower, located at the east end of the station, was put into service.
The PRR Board authorized the construction of a new waiting room and concrete platform at Rahway on June 26, 1940.
The weekday schedule in September 1951 had six trains a day from New York City to Trenton, seven from New York City to New Brunswick, two from Jersey City to Trenton and six from Jersey City to New Brunswick. That includes just the trains that terminated at Trenton or New Brunswick; many more trains from New York City to Philadelphia and beyond carried passengers to some suburban stations.
By the 1960s, the financial situation of the Pennsylvania Railroad began deteriorating. With the railroad unable to sustain the money losing commuter operation, let alone invest in improved physical plant and rolling stock, the New Jersey Department of Transportation became involved with maintaining the service.
In 1968, NJDOT funded construction of the new Metropark station. The following year, in 1969, they funded 35 new stainless steel "Jersey Arrow" MU cars.
After 1968, the service was taken over by the merged Penn Central railroad and following the Penn Central's bankruptcy the commuter service was taken over by Conrail in 1976. Conrail continued to operate the line under contract to NJDOT. The state continued to fund replacement of the aging pre-war MU equipment with the Arrow II and Arrow III orders. Finally in 1983, NJ Transit, which already operated nearly all bus service in New Jersey, took over all of Conrail's commuter lines, including the Northeast Corridor Line.
Clockers
Clocker trains were started by the Pennsylvania Railroad between Philadelphia and New York City; until the 1950s, weekday trains departed New York City and Philadelphia on the hour through the day, giving rise to the Clocker name. After the Amtrak takeover of the Northeast Corridor the no-longer-hourly "Clocker" service was targeted at commuters making local stops bypassed by the high speed Metroliner and individually named trains.During the 1990s, NJ Transit contracted with Amtrak to accept monthly NJ Transit passholders on the Clocker trains. Soon the Clockers were primarily used by NJ Transit commuters with only a handful of riders taking the trains to or from Philadelphia; the Clockers were much faster than a typical NJ Transit train, but slower and more crowded than a typical Amtrak train causing the former's riders to prefer the trains and the latter's riders to avoid them.
With most Clocker riders using NJ Transit tickets, NJ Transit supplied new ALP-46 locomotives to haul the trains' Amfleet coaches; Amtrak soon discontinued the Clocker service altogether and sold the capacity slots to NJ Transit for new Trenton express trains. The Clocker last ran on October 28, 2005, and thereafter NJ Transit began several extra Trenton-New York express trips.
Service
During the peak period, stations between North Elizabeth and Rahway are mostly covered by North Jersey Coast Line trains. Stations between Rahway and New Brunswick are served by Jersey Avenue Locals, which originate and terminate at Jersey Avenue station in New Brunswick, while Trenton Express trains make their first or last stop at Princeton Junction or New Brunswick. A few all-stops locals operate sporadically on weekdays as well and all day on weekends. Jersey Avenue Locals make local stops between Rahway and Elizabeth outside peak periods. North Elizabeth station is skipped by most NEC Line trains and trains cannot stop at Jersey Ave.The line's route is part of the middle leg of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. All eleven of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor services run along this line. New York Penn, Newark Penn, and Trenton have long been among Amtrak's busiest stations; connections to Amtrak are also available at Newark International Liberty Airport, Metropark, New Brunswick, and Princeton Junction. With fast and frequent Amtrak and NJ Transit service, the Trenton to New York City portion of the Northeast Corridor is one of the busiest rail lines in North America.