The Lackawanna Cut-Off was constructed between August 1908 and December 1911. The grade-separated line crossed the hills and valleys of picturesque Northwest New Jersey with stations at Blairstown, Greendell and Johnsonburg. The Lackawanna Railroad operated the line as part of its 400-mile Hoboken-Buffalo NY mainline until its merger with the Erie railroad in 1960. The Erie Lackawanna Railroad then operated the line until 1976 (passenger service ended in 1970). Conrail operated freight over the line until late-1978 and then filed for abandonment in 1982. The tracks were removed in 1984. In 2001, the State of New Jersey acquired the right-of-way and in 2011 New Jersey Transit began construction of a 7.3-mile extension to Andover. Although environmental issues have delayed the project, construction on Roseville Tunnel is slated to begin later in 2022, possibly as early as June. Separately, Amtrak is investigating the restoration of passenger service from New York City to Scranton, Pennsylvania, a service that would operate via the Cut-Off and would feature a station stop at Blairstown, as well as stops at Newark-Broad Street, Summit, Morristown and Dover in New Jersey, as well as East Stroudsburg, Mt. Pocono, Tobyhanna (Army Depot) and Scranton in Pennsylvania. Although no timetable for Amtrak service has been announced, NJ Transit has announced that its commuter service to Andover would start in 2027.
