Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project

The Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project is a project under study by NJ Transit to reintroduce passenger service on a portion of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) right-of-way (ROW) in Passaic, Bergen and Hudson counties using newly built, FRA-compliant diesel multiple unit rail cars.

[1][2][3] Plans call for service to run from Hawthorne south through Paterson, east to Hackensack and then southeast to North Bergen, where it would join the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR).

[8] The Vince Lombardi Park & Ride was seen as a potential interchange station for the HBLR, the Cross County, and West Shore.

[13] Also by 2002, cost, construction and operating complications of running the line through the North Bergen Yard led to a decision for the HBLR terminus being located east of that yard at the Tonnelle Avenue station in North Bergen and was decided to extend the HBLR along the Northern Branch.

[18] In 2007, NJ Transit stated construction of the Passaic-Bergen Passenger Service Restoration Project could begin in early 2009 and last approximately 3 years; estimated the cost to be $156 million.

In a memorandum of understanding NJT agreed to pay NYSW more than $20 million for a 75-year easement for trackage rights on its freight line.

[23] While outside of the scope of the project, in 2013 the city of Hackensack replaced a rail trestle at River Street close to the proposed terminus with a contingency for a future additional track and passenger platform.

[27] In August 2017 NJT released a request for proposal to examine current conditions on the line and needs of communities it would serve[28][29] and expanded the project to include the connection to the HBLR.