40°44′37″N 74°07′36″W / 40.7435°N 74.1267°W / 40.7435; -74.1267 (Waterfront Connection (NJT))

v t e Newark/Hoboken Division approaches
Legend
Northeast Corridor to Boston & LIRR Main Line to Greenport Sunnyside Yard East River Tunnels under East River New York North River Tunnels under Hudson River NY NJ Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Yard Bergen Tunnels under Bergen Hill Secaucus Junction│ MAIN BCL PVL Boonton Line to Hackettstown Portal Bridge│Lower Hack Lift over Hackensack River Kearny Connection │   Sawtooth Kearny Connection │ Bridges Sawtooth │ Waterfront Connection Newark Drawbridge│Dock Bridge over Passaic River Newark Broad Street Newark Penn Station GLAD MOBO M&E Hunter Connection CNJ to Communipaw Terminal Elizabeth (NJT) Elizabeth (CNJ) RVL to High Bridge│Aldene Connection Elizabeth River Rahway River Bridge UNION interlocking│NJCL to Bay Head Northeast Corridor & NEC to Trenton
Newark Division Hoboken Division (12 kV 25 Hz AC) (25 kV 60 Hz AC)

The Waterfront Connection allows NJ Transit trains to switch from the former Pennsylvania Railroad main line (now the Newark Division) to the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad main line, now NJ Transit Rail Operations. The connection opened on September 9, 1991, at a cost of $16 million.^[1]

The connection consists of a single track that splits from the Northeast Corridor main line to New York Penn Station as it rises to go over the main line of NJ Transit Rail Operations to Hoboken. The connection rises to the east with a bridge over PATH's westbound track and a Conrail freight line, merging into the Hoboken line from the south. The red through-girder bridge here was built for it; for its first 10+ years it was not electrified. The Waterfront Connection lies immediately south of the Kearny Connection, and serves the complementary purpose. The two connections allow any trains originating from the west of Kearny, regardless of line, to terminate at either Hoboken or New York Penn Station.

Most revenue trains which travel over the Connection originate on the North Jersey Coast Line, with five rush hour trains in each direction originating/terminating at Hoboken. One morning train from the Raritan Valley Line also uses the connection to reach Hoboken. The Waterfront Connection allows diesel trains to operate direct from Hoboken to Bay Head, the last stop on the North Jersey Coast Line. Since the North Jersey Coast Line's electrification ends at Long Branch, rush hour passengers south of Long Branch can take diesel trains all the way to Hoboken or change at Newark Penn Station for service to New York City. As of 2015, the ALP-45DP has allowed the introduction of one-seat rides from New York Penn Station all the way to Bay Head.

With the advent of the Waterfront Connection, NJ Transit no longer needed a separate fueling facility on the diesel portion of the North Jersey Coast Line since diesel engines can make the trip directly to Hoboken. Faced with pressure from Bay Head residents in 2002, the Bay Head fueling facility was shut down and trains now refuel exclusively at Hoboken or at Raritan Yard.^[2]

As part of NJ Transit's "Bergen Shore Express" summer promotion 1986–1988, NJ Transit Rail Operations trains from the Bergen County Line turned southwest at West End Junction onto the Morris & Essex line, switched onto the Center Street Branch, PATH tracks, and then the Northeast Corridor to head for the North Jersey Coast Line. The switches that allowed this have since all been removed.^[3]

v t e NJ Transit Rail Operations
Hoboken Division	Bergen County Line      Main Line      Meadowlands Rail Line      Montclair-Boonton Line Morris & Essex Lines (     Morristown Line and      Gladstone Branch)      Pascack Valley Line      Port Jervis Line
Newark Division	Atlantic City Line      North Jersey Coast Line      Northeast Corridor Line      Princeton Branch      Raritan Valley Line
Connections	Aldene Connection Harold Interlocking Lehigh Line Connection Kearny Connection Montclair Connection Port Morris Junction Secaucus Junction Waterfront Connection
Current rolling stock	EMD GP40PH-2 ALP-46 ALP-45DP PL42AC Comet coaches Comet V MultiLevel coaches Arrow multiple units
Bridges and tunnels	Beach Bridge Bergen Tunnels Brielle Draw Connecting Railway Bridge DB Draw Delair Bridge Dock Bridge East River Tunnels HX Draw Lower Hack Lift Lyndhurst Draw Morgan Draw Morrisville–Trenton Railroad Bridge Newark Drawbridge North River Tunnels Oceanport Draw Portal Bridge Rahway River Bridge Raritan Bay Drawbridge Raritan River Bridge Roseville Tunnel Shark River Draw Upper Hack Lift WR Draw
Stations and yards	List of stations Historic stations County Yard Morrisville Yard Sunnyside Yard
Proposed lines	Lackawanna Cut-Off Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line West Trenton Line
Other topics	Access to the Region's Core Atlantic City Express Service Glassboro–Camden Line Gateway Program Mid-Line Loop Northern Branch Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Sawtooth Bridges Train to the Game Former stations Proposed stations