Pennsylvania Station (Newark)

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Newark Pennsylvania Station
Amtrak station
New Jersey Transit commuter rail station
Newark Light Rail station
PATH station
Greyhound terminal
Newark Pennsylvania Station interior.jpg
Newark Pennsylvania Station interior
Station statistics
Address Raymond Plaza West and Market Street
Newark, NJ 07102
Lines Amtrak: NJ Transit: Newark Light Rail: PATH:
Connections NJT Bus NJT Bus: 1, 5, 11, 21, 25, 28, 29, 34, 39, 40, 62, 67, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 78, 79, 108, 308, 319, 361, 375, 378
Local Transit ONE Bus: 31, 44
Intercity Bus Greyhound Lines long distance bus service
Platforms 1 side platform (upper level)
3 island platforms and 2 side platforms (main level)
Tracks 8
Parking Available in immediate area
Baggage check Available for Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Palmetto, Silver Meteor and Silver Star services
Other information
Opened 1935
Accessible Handicapped/disabled access
Code NWK (Amtrak)
ZRP (IATA)
Fare zone 1 (NJT only)
Traffic
Passengers (2012) 27,189 (average weekday)[1] (NJT)
Passengers (2012) 680,803[2] Decrease 0.4% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
Acela Express
toward Chicago
Cardinal
Terminus
toward Charlotte
Carolinian
toward New Orleans
Crescent
toward Harrisburg
Keystone Service
toward Savannah
Palmetto
toward Pittsburgh
Pennsylvanian
Northeast Regional
toward Miami
Silver Meteor
Terminus
Silver Star
weekends
Vermonter
toward St. Albans
weekdays
NJT logo.svg NJ Transit Rail
toward Trenton
Northeast Corridor Line
toward Bay Head
North Jersey Coast Line
Terminus
toward High Bridge
Raritan Valley Line
Newark Light Rail
toward Grove Street
Grove Street – Newark Penn Terminus
Terminus Broad Street – Newark Penn
PATH logo.svg PATH
Terminus NWK–WTC
Pennsylvania Station
Newark Penn Station is located in New York City
Newark Penn Station
Location: Raymond Plaza West,
Newark, New Jersey
Coordinates: 40°44′5″N 74°9′51″W / 40.73472°N 74.16417°W / 40.73472; -74.16417Coordinates: 40°44′5″N 74°9′51″W / 40.73472°N 74.16417°W / 40.73472; -74.16417
Area: 5 acres (2 ha)
Built: 1935
Architect: McKim, Mead & White
Architectural style: Classical Revival, Art Deco
Governing body: State
NRHP Reference#: 78001760[3]
Added to NRHP: December 20, 1978

Pennsylvania Station (also known as Newark Penn Station) is a major transportation hub in Newark, New Jersey.[4] Located at Raymond Plaza, between Market Street and Raymond Boulevard, Newark Penn Station is served by the Newark Light Rail, New Jersey Transit commuter rail, Amtrak long distance trains, the PATH rapid transit system to Manhattan, and local, regional and national bus services (NJ Transit, Greyhound, and other private operators).[5]

Contents

History [edit]

1935 photo of Market Street bridge

Designed by the renowned architectural firm McKim, Mead and White, the station is a mixture of Art Deco and Neo-Classical. The interior of the main waiting room has medallions illustrating the history of transportation, from wagons to steamships to cars and airplanes, the eventual doom of the railroad age. The current building was dedicated on March 23, 1935; the first regular train to use it was a New York–Philadelphia express at 10:17 on March 24.[6][7] The new station was built alongside (northwest of) the old station, which was then demolished and replaced by the southeast half of the present station, completed in 1937. Except for the separate, underground Newark Light Rail station, tracks are elevated above street level.

It was built to be one of the centerpieces of the former Pennsylvania Railroad's (PRR's) train network, and to become a transfer point to the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (now PATH), which was partially funded by the PRR, for travel to lower Manhattan. At the time, PRR operated 232 weekday trains (total of both directions) between Newark and New York Penn Station; after 1937, the 10-mile trip took an average of 16 minutes.

The station, the adjacent 230-foot Dock Bridge over the Passaic River (the longest three-track railway lift span in existence at the time), the Newark City Subway extension and the realignment of the H&M cost $42 million, borne almost evenly by the PRR and the City of Newark. Both systems were extended or realigned to the station on June 20, 1937, and the nearby Manhattan Transfer station was closed.[8]

Newark Penn Station was extensively renovated in 2007, with restoration of the facade and historic interior materials (e.g., plaster ceilings, marble and limestone, windows, lighting fixtures), as well as train platform and equipment improvements.[9]

Current operations [edit]

Newark Penn Station is still frequented by the intercity Northeast Corridor Amtrak service, but most of its passengers are commuters. Three New Jersey Transit commuter rail lines converge here — the Northeast Corridor Line which continues into New York, the North Jersey Coast Line which continues to New York or Hoboken, and the Raritan Valley Line, which terminates here with one morning train continuing to Hoboken.

It is the west end of the Newark – World Trade Center line of the PATH train operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

On the lower level is the south end of the Newark Light Rail. Passengers on this light rail system from Newark and its nearby suburbs can transfer to Amtrak or PATH trains, or travel to Newark Broad Street Station or downtown Newark.

As of April 3, 2011 the public timetables show 188 weekday trains westward from Newark: 106 NJ Transit from New York Penn, 5 NJ Transit from Hoboken, 26 originating NJ Transit to the CNJ main line to Raritan/High Bridge, and 51 Amtrak (plus the triweekly Cardinal).

Newark Penn Station carries the IATA airport code of ZRP.[10]

Tracks and platforms [edit]

Tracks at Newark Penn Station

Newark Penn has eight tracks (not including Newark Light Rail). Seven are on one level, but PATH trains from Manhattan arrive on an upper-level track with a platform on the west side, from which passengers can quickly reach platforms for their onward trains.

  • Track A is less used and has a side platform, usually for Raritan Valley Line arrivals.
  • Track 1 is normally used by New Jersey Transit trains to New York Penn Station and is served by an island platform shared with Track M.
  • Track M is the track for departing PATH trains to World Trade Center in lower Manhattan.
  • Track 2 is typically used by northbound Amtrak trains, but is also used during the PM rush for westbound North Jersey Coast Line express trains. This track has an island platform that is shared with track M.
  • Track 3 is usually used by southbound Amtrak trains, though westbound New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor Line express trains will often use this track in the evening rush hours. This platform has an island platform shared with:
  • Track 4, used by westbound New Jersey Transit trains traveling via Rahway.
  • Track 5 is usually used by westbound Raritan Valley Line trains. This track has a side platform.
  • Track H is the track for arriving PATH trains. This upper-level track has stairs to Track 2, along with ramps to Tracks 3 and 4, and a separate stairway to Track 5.

Platform layout [edit]

Note: Shows platform layouts only, not the actual station layout.

2F Side platform, Doors will open on the right
Track H      NWK–WTC (Alighting passengers only)
1F Side platform, Doors will open on the right
Track 5 Raritan Valley Line
Track 4 Northeast Corridor Line/North Jersey Coast Line via Rahway
Island platform, Doors will open on the left/right
Track 3 ← Amtrak/Northeast Corridor Line express
Track 2 Amtrak/North Jersey Coast Line(NJCL to Bay Head (NJT station) Only) →
Island platform, Doors will open on the left/right
Track M      NWK–WTC toward World Trade Center (Harrison)
Island platform, Doors will open on the left/right
Track 1 Northeast Corridor Line/North Jersey Coast Line
Track A Raritan Valley Line North Jersey Coast Line(NJCL/RVLTo Hoboken Terminal Only)→
Side platform, Doors will open on the right

Gallery [edit]

Nearby attractions [edit]

In popular culture [edit]

  • The station was featured in several scenes of the 1980 film Gloria.
  • The station is represented in the 2010 Fringe episode Entrada by a visually similar transportation hub in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the alternate universe depicted in the series it is named Springsteen Station after locally born musician Bruce Springsteen. The station is represented a second time in 2012 in the Season 5 episode The Bullet That Saved The World where the 2036 version of the station serves as a military checkpoint into an occupied Manhattan for high-speed rail traffic.

Sources and notes [edit]

  1. ^ "QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS". New Jersey Transit. Archived from the original on December 27, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2013. 
  2. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2012, State of New Jersey" (PDF). Amtrak. December 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2012. 
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09. 
  4. ^ "Getting Around". Greater Newark Convention & Visitors Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-13. 
  5. ^ Pirmann, David; Darlington, Peggy. "Newark City Subway". nycsubway.org. Retrieved 2010-03-13. 
  6. ^ "Newark Dedicates New Station Today". The New York Times. March 23, 1935. p. 13. Retrieved 2010-05-30. 
  7. ^ "Newark Dedicates Its New Terminal". The New York Times. March 24, 1935. p. N1. Retrieved 2010-05-30. 
  8. ^ "New Station Open for Hudson Tubes". The New York Times. June 20, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-05-30. 
  9. ^ Hall Construction Co., Howell, NJ. "NJ Transit - Newark Penn Station Improvement Program." Accessed 2011-11-15.
  10. ^ "Three Letter Airport Codes". Lastupdate Travel. Retrieved 2010-03-13. 

External links [edit]