North Jersey Coast Line

The North Jersey Coast Line has five movable bridges of the twelve used by the NJT rail network, the most on any one line.

• River Draw (swing) at Raritan Bay
• Morgan Draw (bascule) spans cross the Cheesequake or Morgan Creek
• Oceanport Draw (swing, with non-movable catenary) over the Shrewsbury River
• the Shark River Draw (bascule) on Shark River
• Brielle Draw over the Manasquan River

All these bridges were originally double-track spans, but the Manasquan bridge has been single-tracked since the mid-1970s. The line also crosses over several other waterways on fixed bridges, the longest of which is over the Navesink River at Red Bank.

The North Jersey Coast Line is electrified north (railroad east) of Long Branch.

Electrified operation between Rahway and South Amboy began about 1936; the catenary poles from the junction in Rahway to South Amboy are the Pennsylvania Railroad design used on their 1930s projects.

Electrification was extended to Matawan in 1982, with catenary installed in the early 1980s. This was originally 11 kV, increased to 12 kV in 1978 along with Amtrak's New York-Washington electrification, with insulators capable of supporting 25 kV.

Electrification at 12.5 kV 60 Hz was extended to Long Branch in 1988, with catenary installed in 1986–88. As on the 1982 extension the insulators can handle 25 kV. The catenary is self-adjusting (constant tensioning) with ambient temperature.

In 2002 the voltage from Matawan to Long Branch was changed from 12.5 kV to 25 kV. As a result, the Arrow III passenger cars can no longer run between those two points, since those trains can not run on two different voltages on one trip (the transformer voltage taps must be manually changed from alongside the MU).

The line remains electrified at 12 kV 25 Hz AC north of Matawan. Three phase breaks segregate the different power sources, at the Morgan Creek Drawbridge, Laurel (Hazlet/Holmdel), and east of Bergen Place in Red Bank.

Direction of travel for a given train is noted in railroad direction, not compass direction.

• East = Northbound
• West = Southbound

On the North Jersey Coast Line, a train heading North to Long Branch or NY Penn Station would be considered an Eastbound train. A train heading South to Bay Head would be considered a Westbound train.

The North Jersey Coast Line is broken down into 4 operating segments or sections, based on interlocking locations.

• Section A: New York – Hudson
• Section B: Hoboken – Hudson
• Section C: Hudson – Long Branch
• Section D: Long Branch – Bay Head

• West Limits of A Interlocking (15 mph)
• East Limits of JO & C Interlockings (15 mph)
• North River Tunnels (60 mph)
• Portal Bridge (60 mph)

• Hoboken Terminal Depot Tracks (10 mph)
• West End of The Depot (15 mph)
• Bergen Tunnels (30 mph)

• Newark Penn (35 mph)
• Curve at Elmora (55 mph)
• Union & Graw Interlockings (30 mph)

The line was home to the last remaining private commuter passenger Club in the United States. The Jersey Shore Commuters Club was established in 1933 under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Railroad.[3] It used half of a Comet IIM car - car 5459 (built as Comet IIB 5759 in 1988). In 2004, the Comet II Club Car went through a custom overhaul by Alstom and was furnished, with the Club's funding, to include reclining lounge chairs, spacious seating, at-seat fold down tables, and private conference tables. The Club also hosted various onboard activities to preserve its heritage. Club members enjoyed guaranteed and spacious seating as part of their annual membership fee that the Club remitted to New Jersey Transit as part of its lease agreement. Membership was "open" and on a "first come first served basis" to those willing to pay the membership fee and abide by the Club's bylaws. The Club end of the car was furnished similar to Amtrak's Amfleet and Horizon fleet of cars. The Club Car seats were actually former Amfleet Metroliner seats that the Club had re-conditioned. The Club Car only ran during peak rush hour periods with one weekday round trip per day and was always run with the club end coupled to the locomotive when used. Due to damage sustained to the Club Car in Hurricane Sandy, the commuter club was disbanded in August 2013. Per posts on the Club's Facebook page, the Club Car took its last trip on the line in October 2012, just prior to the hurricane.

A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train at Bay Head station in 1971

• In June 2014, NJ Transit added ALP-45DP locomotives to incorporate limited stop summer shore express "One Seat Ride" trains to and from Bay Head and New York on weekend and holidays only. This limited time service only ran through the summer and ended on September 1, 2014.
• Following its initial success, Summer Shore Express "One Seat Ride" service was renewed for the 2015, 2016, and 2017 summer seasons.
• June 21, 2015 – September 12, 2015
• June 26, 2016 – September 10, 2016
• June 23, 2017 – September 9, 2017
• 4 inbound and 4 outbound limited stop express trains operate "One Seat Ride" direct between Bay Head and Penn Station in New York on weekend and holidays only.
• 2 trips operate during the morning and 2 trips in the evening in both directions
• Trains depart Bay Head at 5:52 AM, 6:56 AM, 4:54 PM, and 6:54 PM.
• Trains depart Penn Station in New York at 9:01 AM, 10:01 AM, 8:09 PM, and 10:01 PM.
• Trip times average around 90 minutes from Bay Head to New York

As a line paralleling the New Jersey coastline, the North Jersey Coast Line received exceptionally severe damage from Hurricane Sandy on October 29–30, 2012. Track was washed out in several places from Perth Amboy southward, most notably between South Amboy and Aberdeen-Matawan stations, where the line runs closest to the Atlantic Ocean. The Raritan Bay and Morgan Creek drawbridges were struck by boats, storage containers and other floating debris, knocking the bridges' tracks out of alignment. Trees also fell over parts of the line.[4] Service remained suspended for three weeks; a resumption of service only as far as Woodbridge (and skipping Avenel) on November 4 was halted after only one day due to severe overcrowding.[5] The Christie administration announced that most North Jersey Coast Line trains would return to service on Monday, November 19, with slightly longer trip times and omission of trains to Hoboken Terminal.[6]