Hoboken Terminal

Hoboken Terminal
Looking west in Hoboken Terminal waiting room
General information
Location	1 Hudson Place Hoboken, NJ
Owned by	Street level: NJ Transit Underground: PANYNJ
Line(s)	Hoboken Division
Platforms	9 island platforms and 1 side platform
Tracks	18
Connections	NY Waterway to Battery Park City Ferry Terminal NJT Bus: 22, 23, 63, 64, 68, 85, 87, 89, and 126
Construction
Platform levels	2
Parking	available within area
Bicycle facilities	88 spaces
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	HOB
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	February 25, 1907
Electrified	1930: 25 kV 60 Hz (NJT) 600 V (DC) third rail (PATH) 750 V DC Overhead lines (Light rail)
Passengers
2017	15,628 (average weekday) (NJT)
2017	8,807,739  8.9% (PATH)
Services
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Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Terminal at Hoboken
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	On the Hudson River at the foot of Hudson Place, Hoboken, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°44′5.64″N 74°1′40.08″W
Area	4 acres (2 ha)
Built	1907
Architect	Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison
Architectural style	American Industrial
NRHP reference No.	73001102
Added to NRHP	July 24, 1973

Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by nine NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, one Metro-North Railroad line, various NJT buses and private bus lines, the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail, the Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) rapid transit system, and NY Waterway-operated ferries. More than 50,000 people use the terminal daily, making it New Jersey's second-busiest railroad station and its third-busiest transportation facility, after Newark Liberty International Airport and Newark Penn Station. Hoboken Terminal is wheelchair accessible, with high-level platforms for light rail and PATH services and portable lifts for commuter rail services.

History

The site of the terminal has been used since colonial times to link Manhattan Island and points west. It was long a ferry landing accessible via turnpike roads, and later plank roads (namely the Hackensack, the Paterson and a spur of the Newark Plank Road). In 1811, the first steam-powered ferries began service under John Stevens, an inventor who founded Hoboken.

Hoboken Terminal under construction, 1907

Hoboken Terminal shortly after its construction

An Erie Lackawanna commuter train arriving at Hoboken in November 1978

The coming of the railroads brought more and more travelers to the west bank of the Hudson River (at the time, often called the North River). Passengers traveling to Manhattan from most of the continental USA had to transfer to a ferry at the riverbank. Cuts and tunnels were constructed through Bergen Hill to rail–ferry terminals on the west bank of the river and the Upper New York Bay. The first of the Bergen Hill Tunnels under Jersey City Heights was opened in 1876 by the Morris and Essex Railroad, which was leased by the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad (DL&W). The DL&W built the modern terminal in 1907, and opened the second parallel tunnel in 1908. Both tunnels are still used by NJ Transit. The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad tubes were extended to Hoboken Terminal.

At the peak, five passenger terminals were operated by competing railroad companies along the Hudson Waterfront. Of these, Hoboken Terminal is the only one still in active use. Those at Weehawken (New York Central), Pavonia (Erie Railroad), and Exchange Place (Pennsylvania Railroad) were demolished in the 1960s, while the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal was restored and is now part of Liberty State Park.

Ferry service ended on November 22, 1967. It resumed in 1989 on the south side of the terminal and moved back to the restored ferry slips inside the historic terminal on December 7, 2011.

The Phoebe Snow was a premiere passenger train that departed daily from the station. In 1956, four years before its merger with the DL&W to form the Erie Lackawanna Railway, the Erie Railroad began shifting its trains from its Jersey City terminal to Hoboken. In October 1965, on former Erie routes, there were five weekday trains run to Midvale, three to Nyack, three to Waldwick via Newark, two to Essex Fells, two to Carlton Hill, and one to Newton. All those trains were dropped in 1966. Trains to Chicago and Buffalo were discontinued on January 5, 1970.

Numerous streetcar lines (eventually owned and operated by the Public Service Railway), including the Hoboken Inclined Cable Railway, originated/terminated at the station until bustitution was completed on August 7, 1949.

Hoboken Terminal c. 1954

The station was badly damaged during Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012, with a 5 feet (1.5 m) storm surge inundating the facility. The waiting room reopened in January 2013, while extensive repairs were still in progress.

Accidents

In December 1985, an NJ Transit train crashed into the concrete bumper at Hoboken Terminal, injuring 54. The 1985 crash was said to have been caused by a lubricant that had been applied to the tracks to test train wheels.

In May 2011, a PATH train crashed in the basement of Hoboken Terminal, causing minor injuries. The NTSB determined the accident was caused by "the failure of the engineer to control the speed of the train entering the station."

On the morning of September 29, 2016, an NJ Transit train crashed through a bumper block and into the concourse of the station, killing one person and injuring more than 110 people. Tracks 10 through 17 were reopened on October 10, 2016, with most remaining tracks reopened a week later. The pedestrian concourse reopened on May 14, 2017. Track 6 is set to be reopened for service in June 2017. However, Track 5 remains closed for repairs, and the permanent repairs to the concourse roof and supports are ongoing, expected to last until mid 2019.

Notable other uses

In 1930, Thomas Edison was at the controls for the first departure of a regular-service electric multiple unit train from Hoboken Terminal to Montclair. One of the first installations of central air-conditioning in a public space was at the station, as was the first non-experimental use of mobile phones.

The station has been used for film shoots, including Funny Girl, Three Days of the Condor, Once Upon a Time in America, The Station Agent, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Julie & Julia, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Rod Stewart's Downtown Train video (1990) and Eric Clapton's video for his 1996 single "Change the World".

Services

Commuter rail

• Main Line
• Bergen County Line
• Pascack Valley Line
• Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch of the Morris and Essex Lines
• Montclair-Boonton Line
• North Jersey Coast Line (limited service)
• Meadowlands Rail Line (event service)
• Port Jervis Line
• Raritan Valley Line (one inbound morning weekday train only)

Access to other NJ Transit rail lines is available at Newark Penn Station (which also serves Amtrak), Secaucus Junction, or Newark Broad Street.

Rapid transit rail

style="color:;background:#Template:PATH color;text-align:center;padding:5px"| Track layout
Former cab elevator to surface shops to Christopher St to Newport

PATH trains provide 24-hour service from a three-track underground station located north of the surface platforms. Entrances are from the main concourse or street, below the Hudson Place bus station with both an elevator and stairs. Travel to Newark Penn Station always requires a transfer, as does weekday service to Journal Square Transportation Center.

  Hoboken–33rd Street (weekdays)

  Hoboken–World Trade Center (weekdays)

  Journal Square–33rd Street (via Hoboken) (late nights & weekends)

G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance
B1	Mezzanine	Fare control, one-way faregates, transfer to NJ Transit services
B2 Platform level	Eastbound	←   Template:PATH lines toward 33rd Street or Journal Square Transportation Center (Christopher Street or Newport) ←   Template:PATH lines toward World Trade Center (Newport)	Fare control, one-way faregates, transfer to NJ Transit trains and light rail
	Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
	Eastbound	←   Template:PATH lines toward 33rd Street (Christopher Street) ←   Template:PATH lines toward 33rd Street or Journal Square Transportation Center (Christopher Street or Newport) ←   Template:PATH lines toward World Trade Center (Newport)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
	Eastbound	←   Template:PATH lines toward 33rd Street (Christopher Street) ←   Template:PATH lines toward 33rd Street or Journal Square Transportation Center (Christopher Street or Newport)
	Side platform, doors will open on the right

Light rail

Hoboken Terminal is the terminus for two of the three Hudson-Bergen Light Rail routes and the Bayonne Flyer. Light rail platforms for which are located south of Track 18 and the terminal building, and provide a pathway connection to 14th Street along the Hudson River.

Ground/platform level Exit/entrance to 14th Street and Hoboken Terminal
	Track H1	← Hoboken–Tonnelle toward Tonnelle Avenue (2nd Street) ← 8th Street–Hoboken toward 8th Street (Newport) ← Bayonne Flyer toward 8th Street (rush hours) (Newport)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
	Track H2	← Hoboken–Tonnelle toward Tonnelle Avenue (2nd Street) ← 8th Street–Hoboken toward 8th Street (Newport) ← Bayonne Flyer toward 8th Street (rush hours) (Newport)
	Track H4	← Hoboken–Tonnelle toward Tonnelle Avenue (2nd Street) ← 8th Street–Hoboken toward 8th Street (Newport) ← Bayonne Flyer toward 8th Street (rush hours) (Newport)
	Side platform, doors will open on the left

Ferry

Main article: NY Waterway

Weekday ferry service is operated by NY Waterway to the Battery Park City Ferry Terminal at the World Financial Center, the West Midtown Ferry Terminal, and Pier 11 at Wall Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan.

Bus service

Current New Jersey Transit Bus Operations are as follows:

Route	Destination	Major streets
22 NJT	Nungessers North Bergen	Washington Street 14th Street Viaduct New York/Bergenline
22X (peak service only) NJT	Bergenline HBLR station 48th St	Observer Highway Paterson Plank Road 9th-Congress HBLR station New York or Bergenline
23 (peak service only) NJT	Nungessers North Bergen	Port Imperial (HBLR station) Boulevard East
64 (peak service only)	Lakewood	Route 18
68 (peak service only) NJT	Old Bridge	Route 18
85 NJT	Harmon Meadow Secaucus	Paterson Plank Road 9th-Congress HBLR station Transfer Station
87 NJT	Greenville Gates Avenue Jersey City	Paterson Plank Road 9th-Congress HBLR station Central Avenue Journal Square MLK Drive Old Bergen Road
89 NJT	Nungessers North Bergen	Washington Street 14th Street Willow Ave/Park Ave 48th St Bergenline HBLR station Bergenline Avenue
126 NJT	Port Authority Bus Terminal 42nd Street Manhattan	Washington Street Willow Avenue Lincoln Tunnel

Named passenger trains

The Phoebe Snow at Hoboken Terminal in September 1965

Until the 1960s several streamliner trains originated at Hoboken. Passenger trains extended beyond the daily commuter market to Buffalo, New York; to Chicago; and to northeastern Pennsylvania.

Name	Operators	Destination	Year begun	Year discontinued
Erie Limited	Erie Railroad, then Erie-Lackawanna	Chicago, Illinois		1963
Lake Cities	Erie Railroad, then Erie-Lackawanna	Chicago, Illinois	1939	1970
New Yorker/Westerner	Lackawanna Railroad, then Erie-Lackawanna via Nickel Plate Road	Buffalo, continuing to Chicago		1963
Phoebe Snow	Lackawanna Railroad, then Erie-Lackawanna	DL&W Terminal, Buffalo	1949	1966
Merchants Express	Lackawanna Railroad	Scranton		1963
Scrantonian	Lackawanna Railroad	Scranton
Lackawanna Limited	Lackawanna Railroad, then Erie-Lackawanna via Nickel Plate Road	Buffalo, continuing to Chicago
Twilight	Lackawanna Railroad	Buffalo		1965
Pocono Express	Lackawanna Railroad	Buffalo		1965
Owl	Lackawanna Railroad, then Erie-Lackawanna via Nickel Plate Road	Buffalo, continuing to St. Louis		1969
New York Mail	Lackawanna Railroad, then Erie-Lackawanna via Nickel Plate Road	Buffalo, continuing to Chicago

Design, designation, and restoration

New clock tower

Designed by architect Kenneth M. Murchison in the Beaux-Arts style, the rail and ferry terminal buildings were constructed in 1907 by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. The terminal building is listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places (added in 1973 as #73001102 as the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad and Ferry Terminal). It has been undergoing extensive renovations which were projected for completion in 2011.

The large main waiting room, with its floral and Greek Revival motifs in tiled stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany set atop bands of pale cement, is generally considered one of the finest in the U.S. aesthetically. The terminal exterior extends to over four stories and has a distinguished copper-clad façade with ornate detailing. Its single-story base is constructed of rusticated Indiana limestone. A grand double stair with decorative cast-iron railings within the main waiting room provides an entrance to the upper-level ferry concourse.

A 225-foot (69 m) clock tower was originally built with the terminal over a century ago, but was dismantled in the early 1950s due to structural damage and deterioration from weather damage. A new clock tower, replicating the original, was constructed during the terminal's centennial year of 2007 and was fully erect that November. The replica tower has 4-foot-high (1.2 m) copper letters spelling out "LACKAWANNA", which are lit at night.

The original ferry slips inside the historic terminal were restored in 2011.

The terminal is considered a milestone in American transportation development, combining rail, ferry, subway, streetcar (buses were added later, and light-rail was added even later), and pedestrian facilities in one of the most innovatively designed and engineered structures in the nation. Hoboken Terminal was also one of the first stations in the world to employ the Bush-type train shed, designed by and named for Lincoln Bush of the DL&W, which quickly became ubiquitous in station design. The station is unusual for a New York City area commuter railroad terminal in that it still has low-level platforms, requiring passengers to use stairs on the train to board and alight.

Environs and access

Hoboken (DL&W)

Exchange Place (PRR)

Weehawken (NYC)

Pavonia (Erie)

Communipaw (CNJ)

class=notpageimage|

Map of the five train-to-ferry transfer points along the west shore of the Hudson River circa 1900

---

At Warrington Plaza

Though the passenger facilities are located within Hoboken, a large part of the infrastructure that supports them are located over the Jersey City city line, which cuts across the rail yard at a northwest diagonal from the river to the intersection of Grove Street and Newark Street. It is at this corner that Observer Highway begins running parallel to the tracks and creating a de facto border for Hoboken. The Long Slip (created with the landfilling of Harsimus Cove) creates the southern perimeter of the station, separating it from Newport, Jersey City.

Motor vehicle access to the station is extremely limited. At the eastern end of Observer Highway buses are permitted to enter their terminal. Other vehicles are required to do a dog-leg turn onto Hudson Place. This 0.05-mile-long (0.080 km) street (designated CR 736) is the only one with motor vehicle traffic adjacent to the station and acts as a pick-up/drop off point, and hosts a dedicated taxi stand. Egress from the terminal requires travelling north (for at least one block) on River Street.

Hudson Place ends at Warringtron Plaza. On this square one finds the main entrance to the waiting room and the vehicle entrances to the currently unused original ferry slips. A statue of Sam Sloan, president of the DL&W, moved during renovations faces the loading docks of the nearby post office. The plaza was named in honor of George Warrington, influential in the creation of NJ Transit, and as its executive director enabled the purchase and preservation of the station.

In 2009, pedestrian access to the terminal from the south was made possible with the opening of a new segment of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. The closing of this gap along the promenade nearly completes the stretch from the Morris Canal to Weehawken Cove, with signage along the concourse at the rail head inside the terminal indicating that it is officially part of the walkway.

Hoboken Terminal viewed from the northeast, with Jersey City skyline in the background

Gallery

• 
  Ferry slips before restoration as seen from the Hudson River
• 
  Hoboken Terminal from the water on an autumn afternoon in 1996
• 
  Clock tower being replaced as part of extensive renovations
• 
  Hoboken Terminal from the water, 2013
• 
  HBLR platform at tracks H1 and H2
• 
  Ferry terminal in use between 1989 and 2011 for WFC-bound boats
• 
  Hudson Place street stair to PATH
• 
  NJ Transit commuter rail platforms
• 
  Commuter rail platform area
• 
  PATH station platforms
• 
  One of two fare control areas of the PATH station
• 
  Hoboken Terminus after a heavy snow storm in 2010
• 
  Ice Water faucet inside the main terminal

External links

Google Maps Street View
Hudson Place and River Street entrance to PATH
Stairs and elevator to PATH on Hudson Place
PATH platforms
Waiting room
Commuter rail platforms
Light rail platforms
Ferry pier

• NJT rail station information page for Hoboken Terminal
• DepartureVision real time train information for Hoboken Terminal
• NJT Hudson–Bergen Light Rail station information page for Hoboken Terminal
• PATH station details
• Hoboken Terminal Website
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NJ-59, "Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and Ferry Terminal, Ferry Slips and Bridges"
• HAER No. NJ-135-A, "Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Freight and Rail Yard, Long Slip Canal"
• HAER No. NJ-135-B, "Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Freight and Rail Yard, Multiple Unit Light Inspection Shed"