NJ Transit rail station
Looking towards New York on the inbound platform.
Location
Main Street and
Woodbridge Avenue
Metuchen, New Jersey United States Coordinates
40°32′26.70″N 74°21′37.22″W / 40.5407500°N 74.3603389°W / 40.5407500; -74.3603389 Owned by
New Jersey Transit Line(s)
Amtrak
Northeast Corridor Platforms 2
side platforms Tracks 4 Connections
NJ Transit Bus :
810 ,
813 ,
819 Accessible Yes Fare zone 11 Opened July 11, 1836
[1]
[2] Rebuilt 1850s,
[2] 1870s,
[2] 1888, 1978–1979
[3]
[4] Electrified December 8, 1932
[5] October 26, 1975 Amtrak service discontinued
[6] 2012 3,810 (average weekday)
[7]
Metuchen station is an active
commuter railroad
train station in the
borough of
Metuchen ,
Middlesex County ,
New Jersey . Trains at Metuchen station are serviced by
New Jersey Transit 's
Northeast Corridor Line between
Trenton Transit Center or
Jersey Avenue and
New York Penn Station . The next station to the south is
Edison while the next station to the north is
Metropark .
Amtrak services cross through the station without stopping. The station consists of two
side platforms with a wooden station depot on the northbound tracks. Metuchen's station depot and the New York-bound platform are accessible from Woodbridge Avenue (
County Route 660 ) while the Trenton-bound platform comes from Main Street (
County Route 531 ). There is no station agent at Metuchen station, however
ticket vending machines are available.
History
Metuchen station,
c. 1940
Metuchen station opened on July 11, 1836 with the completion of the
New Jersey Railroad to East Brunswick (location of modern-day
Highland Park ). The railroad built a station depot at Main Street by 1850. When the
Lehigh Valley Railroad opened their line in the 1870s, the
Pennsylvania Railroad moved Metuchen station to the Lake Avenue crossing to provide connection to the new railroad. The railroad moved Metuchen station one last time, to the current location in 1888.
[8]
[9] A secondary station in Metuchen existed from 1879 to 1911 known as Robinvale .
[10]
[11] Robinvale station burned twice: once on February 28, 1915,
[11] and once on March 27, 1915.
[12]
Amtrak serviced Metuchen station from its inception on May 1, 1971 until October 26, 1975.
[6]
[13]
Following the
September 11 attacks , Metuchen built a small, permanent
memorial named Freedom Plaza at the corner of Main Street and Woodbridge Avenue, adjacent to the station's parking lot, consisting of a
Verdin clock and the engraved names of all 701 victims from New Jersey.
[14]
Station layout
The station has two high-level
side platforms . Most of
Amtrak 's
Northeast Corridor services bypass the station via the inner tracks.
References
^ Baer, Christopher T. (June 2015).
"A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Its Predecessors and Successors and Its Historical Context: 1836" (PDF) .
Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society . p. 36. Retrieved April 17, 2023 .
^
a
b
c
"Next Stop, Metuchen: Three Railroads Shape a Crossroads Community" (PDF) .
New Jersey Department of Transportation . Retrieved April 17, 2023 .
^
"Railroad Renovation" . The Millville Daily . November 1, 1978. p. 3. Retrieved April 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Dawson, George (December 14, 1979).
"Patient Metuchen Now Has New Train Station" .
The Home News .
New Brunswick, New Jersey . p. 5. Retrieved April 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^
"Electric Train Service Started by P.R.R. Today" .
The Daily Home News .
New Brunswick, New Jersey . December 8, 1932. pp. 1,
11 . Retrieved January 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^
a
b Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015).
"A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company Its Predecessors and Successors and Its Historical Context: 1975" (PDF) . Pennsylvania Railroad Technical Historical Society. p. 33. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^
"Quarterly Ridership Trends Analysis" (PDF) . New Jersey Transit. December 27, 2012. Archived from
the original (PDF) on April 19, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2012 .
^ Richard Grubb and Associates, Inc. on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (2012).
Next Stop, Metuchen: Three Railroads Shape a Crossroads Community (PDF) . Archived from
the original (PDF) on March 7, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2016 .
^ Cheslow, Jerry (April 21, 1996).
"If You're Thinking of Living In/Metuchen, N.J.; Battling to Retain Its Small-Town Identity" .
The New York Times . Retrieved October 10, 2014 .
^
"Metuchen Town Meeting Split on Grove Ave. Crossing Plan" . The Daily Home News . June 28, 1955. p. 2. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^
a
b
"Fire Discovered Just in Time" .
The Plainfield Courier-News . March 3, 1915. p. 1. Retrieved April 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^
"$25,000 Station Burned" .
The Bergen Evening Record . Hackensack, New Jersey. March 27, 1915. p. 4. Retrieved April 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^
"Amtrak Timetable – Effective May 1, 1971" . timetables.org . Amtrak. May 1, 1971. p. 6. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ Durett, Jacqueline (September 7, 2011).
"Metuchen expects many to gather for 9/11 service" .
Princeton Packet .
External links
Landmarks Education Transportation History This list is incomplete.
Active stations Former stations
Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line stations
(1918–1968)
1 Closed between 1910 and 1921
2 Closed between 1921 and 1950
5 Closed between 1950 and 1967
7 Closed by
Penn Central
A Closed by
Amtrak
B Re-opened by Amtrak