Ghost Train Track in NJ Gets Official Goodbye After 15 Years
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 but won’t disrupt any current rail traffic. If no one steps up with a financial offer to keep the line open by April 20, 2026, the track will officially be abandoned on May 9, 2026.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Worker Protections for Affected Employees
Any employee adversely affected by the abandonment will be protected under the Oregon Short Line Railroad precedent (360 I.C.C. 91 (1979)); parties may file a petition for partial revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) to challenge whether those protections are adequate. This applies to employees of the carrier who would lose service due to the abandonment.
Local Track Abandonment in Hunterdon County
Belvidere & Delaware River Railway plans to abandon about 3,288 linear feet of track in Hunterdon County, New Jersey (ZIP Code 08848) between milepost 34.27 and a point 566.75 feet south of milepost 35. No local or overhead trains have run on the line for at least 15 years, and the exemption to abandon will become effective May 9, 2026 if no offer to keep it open is filed by April 20, 2026. Local freight users and nearby communities may lose access to this track segment.
Deadlines to Offer to Keep Line Open
If anyone wants to keep the line open, a formal expression of intent to file an Offer of Financial Assistance (OFA) or a trail use/railbanking request must be filed by April 20, 2026. Petitions to stay (not involving environmental issues) must be filed by April 17, 2026, and petitions to reopen or requests for public-use conditions must be filed by April 29, 2026; absent an OFA, the abandonment exemption becomes effective May 9, 2026.
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Key Dates
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