page_title: Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project
section_title: Phase 1 (Port Morris Jct. – Andover)
hierarchical_section_title: Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project / Passenger service restoration (2008–present) / Phase 1 (Port Morris Jct. – Andover)
caption_attribution_description: English: Temporary end of track on Lackawanna Cut-Off near Lake Lackawanna, NJ on Feb 17, 2012.
context_page_description: 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 7.3 miles 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.
context_section_description: In May 2008, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) 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 7.3 miles (11.7 km) of the Cut-Off between Port Morris Junction and Andover. The approval made the project eligible for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 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" (FONSI) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
  The Andover Extension of the Lackawanna Cut-Off is a $61.6-million project funded by FTA and the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund (NJTTF).  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 70 mph (110 km/h) 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 (deadhead moves) 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 (67 m) high-level platform.  Located about 1.1 miles (1.8 km) from U.S. Route 206 and about 0.9 miles (1.4 km) 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.
caption: The westernmost end of restored trackage, near Lake Lackawanna, New Jersey, in February 2012.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS REBEL T1i", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2012:02:17 18:27:55", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "360", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "8426", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "10316", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "16704", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/160", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "3200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:02:17 18:27:55", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:02:17 18:27:55", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "59/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "5", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "60", "EXIF SubSecTime": "53", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "53", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "53", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4752", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3168", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "8380", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "792000/149", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "3168000/593", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}