NJ's Forgotten Rail Tracks Slated for Official Goodbye
Published Date: 4/9/2026
Notice
Summary
The Belvidere & Delaware River Railway Company is planning to stop using about 3,288 feet of railroad track in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, because no trains have run there for over 15 years. This change affects local freight users and nearby communities, with the official abandonment set for May 9, 2026, unless someone steps in to save the line. Employees impacted by this will get protections, and there are deadlines soon if anyone wants to challenge or help with the process.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Rail Employees Get Legal Protections
Any employee adversely affected by the abandonment will be protected under the Oregon Short Line Railroad precedent (360 I.C.C. 91 (1979)). A party concerned that this condition does not adequately protect employees must file a petition for partial revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d).
3,288-Foot Rail Line Abandoned May 9, 2026
Belvidere & Delaware River Railway plans to abandon about 3,288 linear feet of track in Hunterdon County, New Jersey (from Alexandria Creek milepost 34.27 to a point 566.75 feet south of milepost 35, Zip Code 08848). The abandonment is scheduled to take effect on May 9, 2026, and BDR says no local or overhead freight traffic has moved over the line for at least 15 years.
Deadlines To Challenge or Save the Line
There are near-term deadlines if you want to challenge the abandonment or try to keep the line: petitions to stay (not involving environmental issues) must be filed by April 17, 2026; formal expressions of intent to file an Offer of Financial Assistance (OFA) and interim trail use/railbanking requests must be filed by April 20, 2026; petitions to reopen and requests for public use conditions must be filed by April 29, 2026. The Board's Office of Environmental Analysis will issue a Draft Environmental Assessment by April 14, 2026, and comments on environmental or historic matters must be filed within 15 days after the Draft EA is available.
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