Metuchen station

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.

Metuchen
Looking towards New York on the inbound platform.
General information
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
Construction
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	11
History
Opened	July 11, 1836^[1]^[2]
Rebuilt	1850s,^[2] 1870s,^[2]1888, 1978–1979^[3]^[4]
Electrified	December 8, 1932^[5]
Key dates
October 26, 1975	Amtrak service discontinued^[6]
Passengers
2012	3,810 (average weekday)^[7]
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station Edison toward Trenton Northeast Corridor Line Metropark toward New York
Former services Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station Edison toward Chicago Main Line Rahway toward New York or Exchange Place Edison toward New Brunswick New Brunswick Line Menlo Park toward New York or Exchange Place Terminus Bonhampton Branch Bonhampton Terminus

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

1. 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.
2. "Next Stop, Metuchen: Three Railroads Shape a Crossroads Community" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
3. "Railroad Renovation". The Millville Daily. November 1, 1978. p. 3. Retrieved April 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
4. 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.  
5. "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.  
6. 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.
7. (PDF). New Jersey Transit. December 27, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
8. Richard Grubb and Associates, Inc. on behalf of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (2012). (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
9. 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.
10. "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.  
11. "Fire Discovered Just in Time". The Plainfield Courier-News. March 3, 1915. p. 1. Retrieved April 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
12. "$25,000 Station Burned". The Bergen Evening Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. March 27, 1915. p. 4. Retrieved April 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
13. "Amtrak Timetable – Effective May 1, 1971". timetables.org. Amtrak. May 1, 1971. p. 6. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
14. Metuchen expects many to gather for 9/11 service, centraljersey.com (Princeton Packet), Sep. 7, 2011

External links

•   Media related to Metuchen station at Wikimedia Commons