New Brunswick (NJT station)

New Brunswick

The 1903 station depot as seen from Albany Street in New Brunswick in May 2013.
Location French and Albany Streets at Easton Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Owned by NJT
Line(s)

Amtrak:

New Jersey Transit:

Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 4
Connections NJT Bus: 810, 811, 813, 815, 818
Rutgers Campus Buses[1]
Brunsquick Shuttles[2]
DASH 1 & 2[3]
Suburban Trails: Line 100, Dunellen local
Construction
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code NBK
Fare zone 14[4]
History
Opened 1903
Traffic
Passengers (2012) 4,976 (average weekday)[5] (NJT)
Passengers (FY 2014) 8,898[6] Decrease 1.7% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
toward Harrisburg
Keystone Service
toward Norfolk, Newport News or Lynchburg
Northeast Regional
toward Boston South Station or Springfield
NJ Transit Rail
toward Trenton
Northeast Corridor Line
  Former services  
Pennsylvania Railroad
Adams
toward Chicago
Main Line
New Brunswick Station
Coordinates 40°29′47″N 74°26′47″W / 40.49639°N 74.44639°WCoordinates: 40°29′47″N 74°26′47″W / 40.49639°N 74.44639°W
Area 0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built 1903
Architectural style Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival
Governing body State
MPS Operating Passenger Railroad Stations TR
NRHP Reference # 84002732[7]
NJRHP # 1875 [8]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP June 22, 1984
Designated NJRHP March 17, 1984

New Brunswick Station is a railroad station on the New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor Line and the Amtrak Northeast Corridor (NEC) in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The station at the intersection of Easton Avenue and French and Albany Streets near the Old Queens campus of Rutgers University.

History

Train service to New Brunswick was begun by the New Jersey Railroad, northbound in 1838 and southbound in 1839. Its successor, Pennsylvania Railroad, built the current station in 1903 when the tracks were raised above street level.[9] Service was eventually taken over by Penn Central and then Amtrak and New Jersey Transit. In 2005, the Amtrak Clocker trains, a popular commuter service serving the station, were transferred to NJT.

The depot was designed in the Colonial Revival style and includes walls of light brown brick, hipped roof with gabled dormers and a deep cornice with dentil molding at its base. Brick quoins at the corners of the building convey an impression of strength and solidity. Windows display a popular Georgian Revival pattern of 9-over-1. Sills are incorporated into a stone belt course that wraps around the building, while lintels are embellished with prominent keystones.[10]

Urban transit hub

In 2005 the station was designated the core of the New Brunswick transit village, a smart growth initiative to promote transit-oriented development which can include government incentives to encourage compact, higher density, mixed-use development within walking distance of the station.[11][12]

In addition to New Jersey Transit bus operations and Rutgers Campus buses, the station is served by local shuttles known as Brunsquick and DASH. Studies are underway to develop the New Brunswick Bus Rapid Transit system, of which the station would be the hub. NJ 18 and NJ 27, which intersect at the station, would function as the two major corridors for a bus network that would connect downtown, residential neighborhoods, the five campuses of Rutgers in the city and Piscataway, and proximate communities.[13][14]

New Brunswick is one of nine cities in New Jersey designated as eligible for Urban Transit Hub Tax Credits by the state's Economic Development Authority. Developers who invest a minimum of $50 million within 0.5 miles of a train station are eligible for pro-rated tax credit.[15][16] The Gateway is one such project located just to the north of station[17] and connected by a new pedestrian bridge, creating a direct link to the Rutgers campus.[18][19][20] It is the tallest building in the city[21] and one of several new projects in the vicinity of the station that has led to a revitalization of the city's downtown surrounding it.[19][20] Another planned building, a 16 story residential tower at Somerset Street[22][23] located one block north of the station, is the second UTHTC-approved project in the city.[24]

High-speed rail corridor

Northeast Corridor at New Brunswick looking Northeast

In August 2011 the United States Department of Transportation obligated $450 million to a six-year project to improve 24 miles (39 km) of the Northeast Corridor between New Brunswick and Trenton. The Next Generation High-Speed project is to upgrade electrical power, signals, and overhead catenary wires to improve reliability and increase speed to 160 mph (260 km/h), and with new trains to 186 mph (299 km/h).[25]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Campus Buses". Rutgers University. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  2. ↑ "Middlesex County Area Transit (MCAT) Shuttle Routes". Middlesex County. 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
  3. ↑ "Dash 1 and Dash 2". Ridewise. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
  4. ↑ "Northeast Corridor Timetables" (PDF). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. November 7, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  5. ↑ "QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS". New Jersey Transit. December 27, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2014, State of New Jersey" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
  8. ↑ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Middlesex County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. November 22, 2013. p. 6.
  9. ↑ "New Brunswick, NJ (NBK)". Great American Train Stations. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  10. ↑ "New Brunswick Station". Amtrak's Great American Stations. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "West Windsor gains Transit Village designation Township becomes 24th Transit Village in New Jersey". NJDOT. January 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
  12. ↑ http://www.njfuture.org/smart-growth-101/stories/2012-smart-growth-award-winners/2012-sga-gateway-transit-village/
  13. ↑ "Greater New Brunswick Are Bus Rapid Transit" (PDF). NJTPA. May 2008. Retrieved 2012-040-04. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. ↑ "A New Face of TOD: Bus Rapid Transit". Voorhees Transportation Institute. January 2008. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  15. ↑ "Urban Transit Hub Tax Credits". Financing Programs. New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  16. ↑ "Middlesex County: New Brunswick" (PDF). Urban Transit Hub Tax Credits. New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  17. ↑ "Mixed Use The Gateway". Devco. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  18. ↑ Whitley, Brian (October 22, 2009). "Project to bridge New Brunswick train station to Rutgers University clears legal hurdle". The Star-Leger. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Miller, Paige (May 7, 2012). "In New Brunswick, one development tackles multiple community needs". Smart Growth America. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Cahill, JIm (March 2012). "New Development Brings Wellness, Fitness, & Happiness" (PDF). New Jersey Municipalities. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  21. ↑ , Emporis http://www.emporis.com/city/newbrunswick-nj-usa, retrieved 2012-05-15 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. ↑ "135 Somerset". New Brunswick buildings. Emporis. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  23. ↑ "Somerset". Boraie LLC. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  24. ↑ Haydon, Tom (March 25, 2012). "16 story building to rise in New Brunswick". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  25. ↑ Schned, Dan (August 24, 2011). "U.S. DOT Obligates $745 Million to Northeast Corridor Rail Projects". America 2050. Retrieved 2011-11-24.

External links