Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project


The Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project is a New Jersey Transit effort to restore passenger service to the Lackawanna Cut-Off in northwest New Jersey.
The project's Phase 1 is slated to extend NJ Transit's commuter rail service from Port Morris Junction to Andover, from where trains will operate to New York Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal. Future phases could rebuild the tracks across the remainder of the Cut-Off and extend service into northeastern Pennsylvania, possibly as far as Scranton. Service into Penn Station would require full dual mode electro-diesel locomotives as the North River Tunnels into Penn Station cannot accommodate diesel engines.
Service to Andover is projected to begin in late-2026.

Operations (1908–79)

Built between 1908 and 1911 by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad to speed service between Hoboken, New Jersey, and Buffalo, New York, the Lackawanna Cut-Off was the last main line built in New Jersey. The line was considered an engineering marvel—a "super-railroad", in the vernacular of the day—with deep cuts, tall fills, and two large viaducts that allowed a mostly straight route through the mountains of the state's northwest region. Although the DL&W was profitable during its corporate life, competition from trucks and other economic pressures after World War II forced it to merge with competitor Erie Railroad to form the Erie Lackawanna Railroad in 1960.
The EL initially shifted most freight traffic away from the Cut-Off, though it continued to run passenger trains over the line. The railroad's flagship passenger train, the Phoebe Snow, traveled via the Cut-Off until it was discontinued in November 1966, and the last regularly scheduled passenger train ran over the line in early January 1970. In the early 1970s, freight traffic was revived on the line after the closure of a key junction with the Penn Central in Maybrook, New York. But the conveyance of EL into Conrail on April 1, 1976, gave Conrail excess east–west trackage, and service on the Cut-Off ended in January 1979.

Early preservation efforts (1979–86)

Efforts to preserve the Cut-Off began almost immediately upon the route's closing. In November 1979, Amtrak operated an inspection train between Hoboken and Scranton to investigate intercity rail service between the two cities. Dubbed the "Pocono Mountain Special", the train left Hoboken and ran west on the Morristown Line on November 13, 1979, reaching Port Morris shortly after 9 a.m. With the main line severed at Port Morris Junction, the special train detoured through Port Morris Yard, ran over Port Morris Wye, and then rolled onto the Cut-Off. The train ran to Scranton, where it was met by a group of political dignitaries. It was the last passenger train in the twentieth century—and the only Amtrak train—to operate over the entire route. The idea of Hoboken–Scranton service faded as Amtrak faced funding shortfalls and the need for significant track and station repairs in order to run passenger service on the line.
The inspection trip marked the end of one era, and the beginning of another: a 30-plus-year effort to save and then reactivate the Cut-Off. In the beginning, finding an operator for the line was less pressing than preserving the track and right-of-way itself. Several attempts were made to purchase the line from Conrail, which was concerned that a competitor that might try to restore freight service on the route. The Sussex County Freeholder Board in New Jersey pursued such a purchase.
The Monroe County Railroad Authority in Pennsylvania also got involved, and nearly reached a deal to buy the section of track between Port Morris and Scranton for $6.5 million. The railroad authority would have borrowed $4.1 million from the federal government at 3.25 percent per annum and issued bonds to cover the rest of the purchase price plus additional unspecified costs to restore the line. The deal would have allowed Conrail to remove about of track with an option for Pennsylvania, through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, to purchase the second track to Moscow, Pennsylvania, for operations out of Scranton's Steamtown National Historic Site. The agreement stipulated that the railroad operator would repay the loan from operational revenue.
In spite of initial optimism, the deal began to fall apart, and on August 10, 1983 the U.S. Department of Transportation informed Monroe County officials that the federal loan guarantee had been revoked and would instead go to the financially ailing Detroit & Mackinac Railroad in Michigan. Monroe County officials continued to press their case, hoping that Congress would provide financial support; the railroad authority invited 16 potential operators to submit proposals, and seven did so on August 26, 1983. Meanwhile, the federal regulations surrounding the abandonment of railroad lines changed; instead of a lengthy regulatory process that had discouraged railroads from abandoning unwanted routes, the Interstate Commerce Commission would be allowed to approve the abandonment of any track if it were not in service and had no originating or terminating shipments for two years, and was not required to serve any other track. This allowed Conrail to abandon the Cut-Off almost immediately. Atlantic City gambling interests also opposed restoring rail service over the Cut-Off, fearing renewed passenger service would provide a "Gambler's Express" to not-as-yet-built casinos in the Poconos that might compete with the nascent casinos of the Jersey Shore. A New Jersey Department of Transportation priority list of rail projects at the time listed the Cut-Off as Number 26 in a list of unfunded capital projects.
The Monroe County Railroad Authority continued to fight Conrail, with support from PennDOT and the somewhat bizarre threat to use a privately owned World War II tank to block any Conrail rail-removal train. Conrail eventually relented and agreed not to sever the line between Slateford and Scranton.
With all regulatory and political hurdles removed in New Jersey, however, Conrail began lifting track on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River Viaduct on June 8, 1984. Even as this was taking place, Morris County Transportation Department director Frank Reilly made last-ditch attempts to delay track removal in New Jersey. In addition, the dismantling was hampered by saboteurs who replaced railroad spikes removed by the crew. These efforts proved to be in vain as the last mainline trackage was removed from the Cut-Off at Port Morris on October 5, 1984. Wooden ties and rock ballast were left in place, which was unusual since Conrail's standard abandonment practice involved removing all components when dismantling a railroad.
With track removal complete, the of right-of-way west of County Road 602 in Hopatcong, New Jersey, was sold to Jerry Turco, a developer based in Kearny, New Jersey. Turco said that he originally had no intention of purchasing the Cut-Off, but rather had learned of its availability from Conrail after he inquired about a 1,000-foot section of the Lehigh & Hudson River Railway in Andover, an abandoned line that Conrail also owned. Turco said he wanted to acquire the short section so that he could expand a nursing home operation that abutted the roadbed. Conrail refused to sell the isolated Andover parcel, but offered to sell it if Turco would acquire all of the L&HR right-of-way from Sparta Township to Belvidere, a total of. Turco said that it was during this time that Conrail offered the Cut-Off, which crosses the L&HR on the Pequest Fill near Tranquility, New Jersey, to create a package deal.
Turco eventually accepted the deal to purchase both rail lines, acquiring nearly of right-of-way for roughly $2 million. Shortly thereafter, Conrail sold the remaining parcel east of Sussex County Road 602 to developer Burton Goldmeier of Hopatcong, who reportedly wanted to use that section of the Cut-Off as an access road to a proposed housing development.

Later preservation and restoration efforts (1986–2008)

Public efforts to save the Cut-Off gained momentum in 1985, after Turco announced plans to move fill material from the Pequest Fill and other large Cut-Off fills for the Westway Project in New York City, and then dump garbage and construction materials into the large cuts. As such, it was never entirely clear how serious Turco was about his proposed Rebar Landfill or if this was simply a ploy to stir up public opposition and force the New Jersey state government to step in and acquire the Cut-Off by condemnation. Either way, the controversial proposal helped galvanize support for preserving the Cut-Off via a $25 million state bond issue for acquiring abandoned railroad rights-of-way that was placed on the ballot in New Jersey in November 1989.
for the acquisition of rail rights-of-way on WFMV, 106.3 FM, a radio station located in the Blairstown train station, are : Larry Wills, chairman, Monroe County RR Authority; Maurice Lewis, PA chairman, Penn-Jersey Rail Coalition; Fred Wertz, NJ chairman, Penn-Jersey Rail Coalition; and Chuck Walsh, president, North Jersey Rail Coalition. Voters overwhelmingly approved the bond issue and NJDOT instituted eminent domain proceedings against the corporations that Turco and Goldmeier had established in New Jersey for the Cut-Off.
For liability purposes, Turco had established separate corporations for the parcels of right-of-way in each municipality that his section of the Cut-Off ran through: Knowlton, Blairstown and Frelinghuysen townships in Warren County; Green, Byram, and Andover townships and Stanhope and Andover boroughs in Sussex County. In addition, separate corporations had been set up for the Paulinskill Viaduct and the Delaware River Viaduct, as well as for the of right-way in Pennsylvania. In addition to these corporations, Turco created holding companies to oversee these other corporations: Sussex & Warren Holding Company, Inc. and OLC, Inc.,.
By 2001, New Jersey and Pennsylvania had acquired their respective portions of the Cut-Off for a total of $21 million. In 2003, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter secured initial funding for the restoration of passenger rail service between Scranton and New York City.
In July 2006, the final environmental review was submitted to the Federal Transit Administration for review and approval. The following February, the Lackawanna County and Monroe County Railroad Authorities were merged to form the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority. One of the objectives of the new rail authority was to help expedite the effort to restore passenger service on the Pennsylvania side of the Cut-Off project.
In December 2008, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer sent a letter to the new Amtrak president, Joseph Boardman, expressing his support for Amtrak service between Scranton and Binghamton, New York. In April 2009, U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey, Jr. sent a joint letter to President Barack Obama, seeking support for Amtrak service between the two cities. They also cited an Amtrak feasibility study on the subject.

Passenger service restoration (2008–present)

Phase 1 (Port Morris Jct. – Andover)

In May 2008, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority approved funding for Phase 1—also known as the Lackawanna Cut-Off MOS Trackbed Restoration Project, or Minimal Operating Segment, MOS—of the New Jersey Transit proposal to rebuild the first of the Cut-Off between Port Morris Junction and Andover. The approval made the project eligible for Federal Transit Administration funding for engineering and design work. By 2009, the environmental assessment for the remainder of the project to Scranton was completed, with a "Finding of No Significant Impact" by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Andover Extension of the Lackawanna Cut-Off is a $61.6-million project funded by FTA and the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund. To date, the project has been partially funded with a federal earmark grant of $18.1 million, with the balance to be funded using a combination of FTA and NJTTF funds. The project would reopen one track on the once-abandoned line with a speed limit potentially as high as for trains made up of existing NJ Transit diesel locomotives and coaches. Eight eastbound and eight westbound trains to and from Hoboken Terminal would run on weekdays from about 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Additionally, non-revenue trains would run in each direction to move equipment to and from Port Morris Yard. No weekend service is planned. The annual cost of operations is estimated at $2.1 million. Among the components of Phase 1 would be the construction of a station on Roseville Road in Andover, which would initially be built with 55 parking spaces, and a 200-foot high-level platform. Located about from U.S. Route 206 and about from Sussex County Route 517, the station site is the area's only land parcel of sufficient size that is at grade with the Cut-Off and near a major highway. No station has existed on the Cut-Off at Andover previously. Initial ridership projections are for a total of 80 weekday riders, rising to 130 average weekday riders by 2030. Rehabilitation work would be required for the Roseville Tunnel, which historically has seen ice buildup within and drainage problems and rockslides just west of the tunnel bore.

Project status

Brush removal and general preparation to restore trackage between Port Morris and Andover began in early 2011 after being delayed by a disagreement between the NJ-DEP and NJ Transit over the proposed location for Andover Station. Separately, a small area of wetlands was found near County Route 605 in Stanhope where a stream passes along the north side of the right-of-way. Federal regulations governing projects that receive federal funding forbid tree and brush removal from April 1 to October 31 due to the mating season of the endangered Indiana bat.
The laying of track began from Port Morris in September 2011. By December 2011, about of track had been installed west of Port Morris Junction, at which time a Norfolk Southern train delivered the remaining continuously welded rail to the Cut-Off at Port Morris, which will be used to ultimately reach Andover.

As of 2020, about of rail, in three unconnected sections, has been laid between Port Morris and Lake Lackawanna. Most of the right-of-way between Port Morris Junction and the lake has been cleared of trees and debris. NJ Transit is storing retired locomotives on a short section of the Cut-Off near Port Morris Junction.
On March 2, 2020, a study sponsored by the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority found that the capital costs for reactivating the railroad from Andover to Scranton would be about $288.93 million. The figure, which included the cost of reinstalling about 21 miles of tracks, upgrading two major bridges, and other related work, is roughly half the 2006 estimate of $551 million, largely because it excludes building eight new stations, two maintenance facilities, and other upgrades included in the earlier study. The 2020 study, which cost about $1 million, was funded by local, state, and federal grants assembled by the office of U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright.
Environmental permits for work on and near Roseville Tunnel have been approved, and work for that part of the project could proceed at any time.
Environmental permits were issued for the non-Roseville parts of the project in April 2015, and NJ Transit acquired 3.53 acres of wetlands mitigation credits to compensate for the loss of wetlands in building Andover Station. No further permits are required, although NJDEP officials, citing computer models, determined that a theoretical 100-year flood required the replacement of a section of underground pipe that fed water from a wetlands area into Andover Junction Brook about upstream from Andover Station. The pipe crossed land owned by the private Hudson Farm, which had initially refused to allow the work. This stalled Phase 1. However, on August 9, 2017, it was announced that a deal had been reached to move the culvert away from the property, and that the plan had been ratified by the New Jersey Transit Board of Directors. On April 9, 2018, the Andover Township Committee announced that it had reached a tentative agreement with Hudson Farm to replace the original culvert. On June 25, 2018, the Andover Township Committee signed a resolution with Hudson Farm, compensating it $115,000.
Subsequently, NJ Transit has indicated that work on Andover Station will be completed in tandem with Roseville Tunnel. The qualifying of bidders for work on the tunnel is expected to continue through much of 2020.
SectionMilepostto MilepostTrack installed?Remaining work Photo
1. Port Morris Junction45.8--Yes*Install prefabricated #12 switch at junction to replace temporary switch; install Automatic Train Control and signal system on Cut-Off; lay more track into Port Morris Yard from Morristown Line.
1a. Port Morris Wye TrackPMY46.4NoComplete grading of cleared wye trackbed; more roadbed work within Port Morris Yard; lay track and reinstall signals to connect yard and mainline..
2. Port Morris Junction to Route 60245.847.0YesConnect wye track to mainline ; align track, superelevate curve.
3. Route 602 grade crossing47.047.0NoRaise utility wires that cross the railroad right-of-way; adjust height of roadway and/or Cut-Off roadbed; install tracks across roadway with quad gates. This will be a "quiet zone": trains will not sound their horns when approaching.
4. Curve at and west of Route 602 grade crossing47.047.1No*Minor right-of-way clearing; lay ballast and track .
5. Tangent track west of Route 602 grade crossing 47.147.6YesAdd ballast; align track.
6. 2nd curve west of Port Morris 47.648.0NoClear right-of-way; lay ballast and track; remediate adjacent stream.
7. Section east of Lake Lackawanna 48.050.0YesTrack ends at Lake Lackawanna. Add ballast; align track and superelevate curves.
8. Lake Lackawanna to Roseville Tunnel 50.051.6NoClear right-of-way and re-lay track; rehabilitate Roseville Road underpass just east of tunnel, C-18.
9. Roseville Tunnel 51.651.8NoLower tunnel floor; waterproof tunnel ceiling with membrane liner; deepen drainage ditches; install lighting in tunnel; perform clearing and rockslide abatement for 1700 feet west and 200 feet east of tunnel; install radio system in tunnel.
10. Roseville Tunnel to Andover Station 51.852.9NoClear right-of-way; improve drainage immediately west of tunnel; scale back rock wall and place rockslide protection west of tunnel; replace Roseville Road overhead bridge, C-17.
11. Andover Station52.953.1NoReplace culvert upstream from station on private land ; clear station area of trees and regrade; build parking lot and connect to nearby Roseville Road; build station building and platform; west of the station, install about of track and a switch to a siding of about the same length; install end-of-track devices; install signs at station and directional signs at nearby roads.

Future phases

Beyond Phase 1, there are no defined phases or schedules for completion. It is expected, however, that when the line is extended west of Andover that this would constitute Phase 2 and that, depending on available funding, service would be either directly, or incrementally, extended to Scranton, west of Port Morris. In 2007, the estimated cost for the full build-out to Scranton was $516 million: this would include track, stations, signals and bridgework on the Cut-Off; additional stations and signals in Pennsylvania; and additional locomotives and passenger cars that would be dedicated to this service. The annual operating cost for the full build-out is projected to be $26 million. Cost estimates for building and operating any intermediate phases, if applicable, have not yet been determined. In October 2015, a study to update the 2007 data was requested by the FTA as a prerequisite for project funding west of Andover. U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright led the effort to obtain funding for such a study, the results of which are expected to be announced by early 2020.
The full build-out to Scranton would include:
All stations would have high-level platforms and would comply with Americans with Disabilities Act standards. Service would be scheduled to Hoboken and New York City. By 2030, it is estimated that the service could transport 6,000 passengers a day to jobs in northern New Jersey and New York City.

Stations and landmarks (Port Morris–Scranton)

Milepost*TownStation/LandmarkCoordinatesNotes
45.8Roxbury TownshipPort Morris JunctionJunction between Lackawanna Cut-Off and Montclair-Boonton Line to Hoboken Terminal and Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. Nearest station: Lake Hopatcong, milepost 45.5. NJT's Port Morris railyard is also here..
51.6Byram TownshipRoseville Tunnel double-track tunnel.
53AndoverAndoverPlanned NJT station.
57.6Green TownshipGreendellProposed maintenance-of-way facility on Cut-Off. Station and tower closed in 1938.
60.7Frelinghuysen TownshipJohnsonburgDL&W station closed 1940; partially rebuilt in early 1990s; demolished in 2007.
64.8Blairstown TownshipBlairstownProposed NJT station using existing station building, which is now privately owned. The only regularly scheduled stop for DL&W/EL passenger trains on the Cut-Off.
71.6Knowlton TownshipPaulinskill ViaductAlso called Hainesburg Viaduct.
73Stateline Delaware River Viaduct passes under viaduct on New Jersey side of the river.
74.3SlatefordSlateford JunctionJunction between Lackawanna Cut-Off and Old Road. Interlocking tower.
77.2Delaware Water GapDelaware Water GapProposed station about west of station vacated in 1967.
81.6East StroudsburgEast StroudsburgProposed station, south of old station site.
86.8AnalominkAnalominkProposed station. Former station stop at nearby Henryville eliminated.
100.3Mount PoconoPocono MountainProposed station north of former station in Coolbaugh Township near.
107.6TobyhannaTobyhannaProposed station using a building closed in January 1958.
133.1ScrantonScrantonProposed station southwest of old station and DL&W regional headquarters building, now a Radisson Hotel. Former station stops at Gouldsboro and Moscow, between Tobyhanna and Scranton, are not proposed as station stops for this service at present.