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The Chemical Coast is a section of Union and Middlesex counties in New Jersey located along the shores of the Arthur Kill, a heavily used waterway of the Port of New York and New Jersey, across from Staten Island, New York. The name is taken from the Conrail (CRCX) Chemical Coast Line, an important component in the ExpressRail system serving marine terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
The name was first used by Conrail to designate a freight railway line that served several chemical plants in the area. The rail line was started by the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad in 1871. However, the company ran out of capital during the panic of 1873 and was purchased by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ).
The CNJ operated both freight and passenger service along the line into the twentieth century, referring to it as the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Branch. Passenger trains to Bay Head Junction, Atlantic Highlands, Freehold and Atlantic City (including the Blue Comet) utilized the line. There were passenger stations at Elizabethport, Carteret, and Sewaren. At Elizabethport the CNJ also operated a car repair shop. Passenger service along the line ended in 1967 with the advent of the Aldene Plan when the Bay Head trains (the line's only remaining commuter service) were moved to Newark Penn Station. In 1976 Conrail took over ownership of the line and operation of the substantial freight business the line generated.