Atlantic City Line

It shares trackage with SEPTA and Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) until it crosses the Delaware River on Conrail's Delair Bridge into New Jersey.In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Atlantic City was the major seaside vacation destination for the Philadelphia area for both wealthy and working class alike.By the late 1960s, the surviving former Camden and Atlantic Main Line was reduced to a commuter service funded by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) running trains of Budd RDC railcars operating from a small terminal at the Lindenwold PATCO station.Casino gambling had brought the aging resort back from the brink of financial collapse and local politicians were irritated that most railway transportation projects benefited the more populous northern portion of the state.[9] On September 4, 2018, the line was shut down so NJ Transit could replace a portion of the track, as well as install positive train control to comply with a December 31 deadline from the Federal Railroad Administration.[12] On May 12, 2009, New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine, in conjunction with the Delaware River Port Authority (the agency which manages the PATCO Speedline), announced plans to review ways to expand and enhance the Atlantic City Line, in which the DRPA would "examine opportunities to improve this system including the development of a Transfer Station at the PATCO Woodcrest Station allowing for more convenient transfers between PATCO, New Jersey Transit and convenient access from I-295" and "also identify track improvements to facilitate more frequent, reliable service and a better connection to the Atlantic City Airport Terminal."In 2021, NJT and the SJTA commissioned a study to build a station near the airport along the White Horse Pike, adjacent to a proposed mixed-used development.[15] In May 2022, the New Jersey Senate passed a bill that allowed the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to provide funding toward the proposed airport link.As rebuilt by Amtrak, most of the line was equipped with cab signaling and built to Class 4 track standards allowing speeds up to 80 miles per hour (130 km/h).Several years after Amtrak ceased operation on the line, NJT downgraded this segment to Class 4 due to maintenance cost considerations.Regularly scheduled service on the Atlantic City Line consists mainly of GP40PH-2B diesel locomotives pushing or pulling primarily three to four Comet passenger cars.