UNION TOWNSHIP (Union) — Riders on NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line will be impacted all weekend by Friday's freight train derailment as the clean up and investigation continues.

Conrail spokeswoman Jocelyn Hill said 21 cars derailed in two separate locations Friday afternoon on the 141 CSX car train headed to Selkirk, New York.

Buses at NJ Transit's Cranford station
Buses at NJ Transit's Cranford station (NJ Transit)
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Fire Chief Mike Scanio said Friday that all the cars were empty and only an engineer and conductor were on board.

Buses will run on NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line in both directions between Cranford, Roselle Park, Union and Newark Penn Station on Saturday and Sunday.

  • Inbound RVL service will operate on a normal weekend schedule into Cranford with buses taking riders the rest of the trip into Newark.
  • Outbound RVL will depart Cranford approximately 30 minutes later than normal due to substitute busing.

NJ Transit did not say what commuters should expect on Monday.

Township Emergency Management Coordinator Fred Fretz said the derailment happened along Green Lane near Kean University. Hill said Conrail's investigation continues. There was no indication as to what caused the derailments.

The track near the NJ Transit station in Union is used by both the passenger line and Conrail and was severely damaged, according to Scanio. Conrail owns the track and will make repairs.

Hill said repairs are underway. Crews and equipment, including cranes, continuing to arrive for the cleanup. She said there is no timetable when all the cars will be removed or the track reopened.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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