The EL went bankrupt in the early 1970s. Conrail took over its operations, but the Main Line did not fit Conrail's plans, since the realignments were much less efficient than the original Main Line and Boonton Branch for straight freight traffic. The severing of various freight lines and the new connections required to create a contiguous east-west line through New Jersey to Pennsylvania was circuitous and involved fairly steep ruling grades. As a result, Conrail wished to abandon all freight operations on the former E-L lines. The State of New Jersey agreed to take over the "E-L" commuter lines from Conrail. The Main Line saw little to no freight traffic after this transfer. Some maps still list the trackage as Conrail or Erie-Lackawanna.