Secaucus Junction

Secaucus Junction
NJ Transit Rail Station
A train arriving at the upper platform level of Secaucus Junction station.
Location	County Road & County Avenue, Secaucus, NJ
Coordinates	40°45′42″N 74°04′30″W / 40.76161°N 74.074985°W / 40.76161; -74.074985Coordinates: 40°45′42″N 74°04′30″W / 40.76161°N 74.074985°W / 40.76161; -74.074985
Owned by	New Jersey Transit
Line(s)	Bergen County Line   Gladstone Branch   Main Line   Montclair-Boonton Line   Morristown Line   Meadowlands Rail Line   Northeast Corridor Line   North Jersey Coast Line   Pascack Valley Line   Port Jervis Line   Raritan Valley Line
Platforms	1 island platform and 2 side platforms (upper level) 2 island platforms (lower level)
Tracks	8
Connections	NJT Bus: 2, 78, 129, 329, 353
Construction
Platform levels	2
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	December 15, 2003
Electrified	12Kv 25Hz (upper level)
Traffic
Passengers (Q1 FY2013)	23,440 (average weekday)[1]  16.2%
Services
Preceding station   NJ Transit Rail   Following station Newark Penn Station toward Trenton Northeast Corridor Line New York Penn Station Terminus Newark Penn Station toward Bay Head North Jersey Coast Line Newark Penn Station toward High Bridge Raritan Valley Line limited service Newark Broad Street toward Hackettstown Montclair-Boonton Line Morristown Line Newark Broad Street toward Gladstone Gladstone Branch limited service Wood-Ridge toward Spring Valley Pascack Valley Line Hoboken Terminus Kingsland toward Suffern Main Line Rutherford toward Suffern Bergen County Line Meadowlands Terminus Meadowlands Rail Line Metro-North Railroad Ramsey Route 17 toward Port Jervis Port Jervis Line Hoboken Terminus

Secaucus Junction (formerly known as Secaucus Transfer during planning stages; also known simply as Secaucus) is a major commuter rail hub in Secaucus, New Jersey. It serves trains from all New Jersey Transit Rail lines except the Princeton Branch and Atlantic City Line, and also serves the Metro-North Railroad Port Jervis Line.

It was dedicated as the Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station at Secaucus Junction and opened on December 15, 2003. U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, who died in 2013, was a transit advocate who had worked to allocate federal funds for the project.^[2]

The $450 million, 321,000-square-foot (29,800 m²) station sits atop the former Croxton freight yards where Hoboken Terminal-bound tracks pass under New York Penn Station-bound tracks in a cross. Its main purpose is to allow passengers to transfer between trains to/from Hoboken Terminal and trains to/from New York Penn Station.

The station does not currently serve Amtrak trains, which pass through the station on the upper level outer tracks without stopping.

Purpose and history

Unlike other New Jersey Transit rail stations, Secaucus Junction was specifically built as a transfer point; it allows passengers to transfer between trains on nine of the agency's commuter rail lines. Before Secaucus Junction was built, commuters on non-electrified lines to Hoboken Terminal used PATH trains or ferries to reach Manhattan and other points in New York City. Commuters whose trains terminated at New York Penn Station could connect to subway services but had to go to a PATH station to reach Hoboken (apart from Morristown Line riders).

View of Secaucus Junction from the lower level platform

The two-track Northeast Corridor mainline embankment was expanded to three tracks for a mile on each side of the station and to four tracks through the station itself, allowing Amtrak and nonstop NJT trains to pass stopped trains. The two-track Bergen County Line was re-aligned southwestward next to the two-track Main Line to pass through the station on the four-track lower level. The construction required the bodies from the Hudson County Burial Grounds to be disinterred and moved to another cemetery.

The station was built with little public parking, as NJT believed few passenger trips would originate at the transfer point. In 2005, exit 15X on the adjacent New Jersey Turnpike opened to provide easier access to the station from the surrounding area. Two years later, 15X was the least-used interchange on the turnpike, due in part to the lack of parking at the station.^[3] On June 1, 2009, Edison Parkfast, a private company, opened the first parking lot near the station,^[4] with space for 1,094 cars. Bicycle parking is also available.^[5]

On July 26, 2009 New Jersey Transit began frequent shuttle service to the Meadowlands Station at the Meadowlands Sports Complex, with the station being a transfer point for passengers from New York City and other areas in New Jersey.^[6] Also since 2009, Secaucus Junction serves trains coming from Metro-North's New Haven Line for connecting trains to football games at the Meadowlands. The service runs one train in each direction for Giants and Jets games with 1:00 p.m. kickoffs on Sundays.^[7][8]

On February 2, 2014, certain Amtrak trains made stops at Secaucus for passengers going to Super Bowl XLVIII.^[9]

Station layout

Main concourse, with sculpture symbolizing the Meadowlands and lit in NJ Transit colors.

Despite its name, Secaucus Junction is not a true junction, in which trains can be switched between lines; there is no rail connection between the upper and lower levels. The station has two platform levels connected by a third level on top.^[10] Such a loop, however, is proposed as part of the Gateway Project to improve commuter access to Manhattan.

• The bottom level lacks electrification and has four tracks and two island platforms serving the Bergen County Line, Main Line, Pascack Valley Line, Port Jervis Line, and Meadowlands Line trains, which originate and terminate at Hoboken Terminal.^[10]
• The upper level of tracks is electrified and serves trains to and from New York Penn Station (usually the Northeast Corridor (NEC) on, North Jersey Coast, Montclair-Boonton, and Morristown Lines) with four tracks and three platforms: two side platforms serving Tracks 2 and 3 (where nonstop trains usually bypass) and one island platform serving Tracks A and B.^[10]
• The upper concourse of the station contains amenities and serves passengers switching trains. To transfer between trains on different levels, passengers climb up to the concourse, pass through faregates (which only accept a ticket once), and descend back down to their destination platforms. At the center of this level is a 30-foot-high (9.1 m) steel, glass, and titanium sculpture of a cattail (abundant in the surrounding New Jersey Meadowlands) by San Francisco artist Louis "Cork" Marcheschi. The tops of the cattails are lit from within in the purple, blue and orange colors of NJ Transit.^[10]

Proposed New York City Subway extension

On November 16, 2010, The New York Times reported that Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration was working on a plan to bring the 7 <7> trains of the New York City Subway under the Hudson River to Secaucus Junction.^{[11][12][13][14]} An extension of that service, from its then-terminus at Times Square – 42nd Street to a new terminus at Eleventh Avenue and 34th Street, has already been constructed.^[15][16]

If built, the extension would take the New York City Subway outside the city's borders and under the Hudson River for the first time. The plan would alleviate pressure on the NJ Transit/Amtrak route under the Hudson River, after the cancellation of the controversial Access to the Region's Core tunnel project by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in October 2010. It would offer a direct route to Grand Central Terminal on the east side of Manhattan, while connecting with most other subway routes. New York City spent $250,000 for a consultant to conduct feasibility studies for the project. However, no design work has commenced nor have financing arrangements been made.^[17] On October 26, 2011, New York City Mayor Bloomberg reiterated his support for the project, while New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also expressed general concurrence.^[18][19] In April 2013, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority rejected the proposed extension, citing lack of funding.^[20]

Gateway Project

The Gateway Project under discussion since 2011, includes a proposal to connect the two rail lines currently only connected by transfer from the upper and lower platforms, forming a true junction station.

View of Secaucus Junction from the western Hudson Palisades.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Secaucus Junction.

• NJT rail station information page for Secaucus Junction
• DepartureVision real time train information for Secaucus Junction upper level
• DepartureVision real time train information for Secaucus Junction lower level
  • NJT Northeast Corridor Line schedule
  • North Jersey Coast Line schedule
  • Morris and Essex Line schedule (Morristown Line & Gladstone Branch)
  • Montclair-Boonton Line schedule
  • Main Line/Bergen County Line/Port Jervis Line schedule
  • Pascack Valley Line schedule
• Station from New Jersey Turnpike from Google Maps Street View

New Jersey Transit Rail Operations Hoboken Division Bergen County Line Main Line Meadowlands Rail Line Montclair-Boonton Line Morris & Essex Lines (Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch) Pascack Valley Line Newark Division Atlantic City Line North Jersey Coast Line Northeast Corridor Line Princeton Branch Raritan Valley Line Connections Aldene Connection Lehigh Line Connection Kearny Connection Montclair Connection Secaucus Junction Waterfront Connection Rolling stock Current: EMD GP40PH-2 ALP-46 ALP-45DP PL42AC Comet coaches Comet V MultiLevel coaches Arrow multiple units Proposed lines Lackawanna Cut-Off MOM Northern Branch Passaic–Bergen Rail Line West Trenton Line Other topics Access to the Region's Core Atlantic City Express Service Gateway Project List of stations