Newark and New York Branch
The Newark and New York Branch was a Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) railway connecting Downtown Newark with the Communipaw Terminal in Jersey City, near the Hudson River. It crossed the Hackensack River and Passaic River close to Newark Bay and opened on July 23, 1869. Passengers could ride directly from Newark to Jersey City and then take ferries to New York. The line was famous for its cost: about $300,000 per mile, earning it the nickname “the country’s costliest railroad.”
In 1872 a southern connection at Newark Transfer to Elizabeth joined the CNJ’s main line, which crossed Newark Bay at Bayonne. The branch was built to relieve overcrowding and shorten travel time from Newark to Exchange Place on the Hudson waterfront.
The route ran west from the Hudson, through Bergen Hill, across the Hackensack River to Kearny Point, then to the Passaic River. Bridges over the rivers were raised in 1913 to allow more shipping. After crossing the Passaic, the line entered Newark’s Ironbound district at Ferry and St. Francis Streets, ran parallel to Market Street, and then crossed Ferry Street again to join the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks and end at Broad Street. At its peak, more than 100 passenger trains used the line daily.
In 1946, a boat collision damaged the Hackensack Drawbridge, and through service ended; the bridge was dismantled. Passenger trains from Newark and Elizabethport continued on the PD Draw over the Passaic to Kearny to serve Western Electric on Kearny Point until 1967.
Remnants of the line still exist. Hackensack bridge piers remain visible from the shore, and pieces of the Passaic River swing bridge survive. The Newark terminal building still stands as part of the Four Corners Historic District, while the rail yard became Mulberry Commons. The Prudential Center and surrounding development sit on parts of the old yard. The right-of-way through Ironbound was turned into commercial space and housing. A Jackson Avenue station house lasted until at least 2007. The Bergen Hill and West Side ROW in Jersey City became part of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, with plans for a 0.7-mile extension from West Side Avenue to a new Bayfront station.
Today, the area around the old line includes the Prudential Center and Mulberry Commons Park.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:52 (CET).