From 1983 to 2006, the operation was known as the New York Cross Harbor Railroad . Earlier predecessors include the
Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal Company,
Bush Terminal Railroad,
New York Dock Railway, and
New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad and
Pennsylvania Railroad operations at
Bay Ridge and Greenville. In 1999, the city of New York rehabilitated the larger
65th Street Yard for car float operations with two
transfer bridges. It was not turned over to NYCH because of a dispute over money owed the city. NYCH continued to use the single transfer bridge at Bush Terminal instead. In 2002, New York Cross Harbor Railroad revenues from railroad operations were $1,685,899. It had 48 active customers, with shipments of cocoa from docks in Brooklyn as its largest line of business. It also operated a trucking service and offered shipside and dockside service for receipt or delivery of various types of cargo, such as oversized steel beams. In May 2010 the Port Authority announced that it would purchase Greenville Yard and build a new barge-to-rail facility there, as well as improving the existing rail car float system. The barge-to-rail facility is expected to handle an estimated 60,000 to 90,000 containers of solid waste per year from New York City, eliminating up to 360,000 trash truck trips a year. The authority's board authorized $118.1 million for the overall project. In December that same year the NYNJ purchased the 2.4 mile Port Jersey Railroad to improve its access to shippers in the Greenville port area. In November 2011, the Port Authority hired
HDR, Inc. of
Omaha, Nebraska to rehabilitate Greenville Yard. Work included rehabilitating the railyard and waterfront structures, including a rail barge and transfer bridge, demolishing two other bridges, designing a new barge and two new bridges, and adding 10,000 feet of track. In July 2012, NYNJ began operating out of the 65th Street Yard. Initial cargo included apples, home heating oil, new automobiles, and scrap metal. The railroad north along First Avenue was refurbished and new tracks laid to support operations at the
South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, including an automobile import pier and a new municipal recycling plant. On October 29, 2012,
Hurricane Sandy caused major damage to the Greenville facility, undermining the transfer bridge gantries and sinking one of the car floats. The 81-year-old gantry structures were ultimately demolished. The working float bridge at Bush Terminal was transferred by barge to Greenville, where it was re-designated the Greenville Pontoon Bridge. Service was restored in late December, after 52 days of intensive reconstruction. On September 17, 2014, the Port Authority announced that it was funding a major redevelopment of the Greenville Yard, to include a new
ExpressRail container terminal servicing the
Port Jersey Global Marine Terminal. The Port Authority would also build two new rail-to-barge transfer bridges, purchase two new
car float barges, and buy four new ultra low emission locomotives In November 2017, the first of the new barges,
NYNJR100, was delivered to NYNJ. Built by Metal Trades, Inc., the four-track barge can carry up to 18 rail cars of length, with up to 2,298 long tons (2,335 tonne) of cargo. The second barge,
NYNJR200, was delivered in December 2018. An older, 14-car barge, the
278, is still in service. The new ExpressRail container terminal opened January 7, 2019, with four tracks out of eight operational. The remaining four tracks were opened on June 17, 2019. In July 2017, the Port Authority announced a $35 million study to build a
Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel, suitable for freight. If built, the tunnel would eliminate the need for the NYNJ ferry. ==See also==