Pennsylvania Station (Newark)

Newark Pennsylvania Station
Amtrak station New Jersey Transit commuter rail station Newark Light Rail station PATH station Greyhound terminal
Newark Penn Station at dusk
Location	Raymond Plaza West and Market Street Newark, NJ 07102
Owned by	New Jersey Transit
Line(s)	Amtrak:   Acela Express   Cardinal   Carolinian   Crescent   Keystone Service   Palmetto   Pennsylvanian   Northeast Regional   Silver Star   Silver Meteor   Vermonter NJ Transit:   Northeast Corridor Line   North Jersey Coast Line   Raritan Valley Line Newark Light Rail:   Grove Street – Newark Penn   Broad Street – Newark Penn PATH:   NWK–WTC
Platforms	1 side platform (upper level) 3 island platforms and 2 side platforms (main level)
Tracks	8
Connections	NJT Bus: 1, 5, 11, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, 34, 39, 40, 41, 62, 67, 70, 71, 72, 73, 76, 78, 79, 95, 108, 308, 319, 361, 375, 378 ONE Bus: 31, 44 Greyhound Lines Peter Pan Bus Lines Susquehanna Trailways
Construction
Parking	Available in immediate area
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	NWK (Amtrak) ZRP (IATA)
Fare zone	1 (NJT only)
History
Opened	March 24, 1935
Electrified	25 Hz (Amtrak & NJT) 600 V (DC) Third Rail(PATH) 750 V (DC) Overhead lines(Light rail)
Traffic
Passengers (2012)	27,189 (average weekday)[1] (NJT)
Passengers (FY 2015)	641,346[2]  5.3% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Metropark toward Washington, DC Acela Express New York City toward Boston South Station Trenton toward Chicago Cardinal New York City Terminus Trenton toward Charlotte Carolinian Trenton toward New Orleans Crescent Newark Liberty Int'l Airport toward Harrisburg Keystone Service Trenton toward Savannah Palmetto Trenton toward Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian Newark Liberty Int'l Airport toward Norfolk, Newport News, or Lynchburg Northeast Regional New York City toward Boston South Station or Springfield Trenton toward Miami Silver Meteor New York City Terminus Silver Star Metropark weekends toward Washington, DC Vermonter New York City toward St. Albans Trenton weekdays toward Washington, DC NJ Transit Rail Newark Liberty Int'l Airport toward Trenton Northeast Corridor Line Secaucus Junction toward New York Penn Station Union toward High Bridge Raritan Valley Line Secaucus Junction (Limited service) toward New York Penn Station Hoboken (Limited service) Terminus Newark Liberty Int'l Airport toward Bay Head North Jersey Coast Line Secaucus Junction toward New York Penn Station Hoboken (Limited service) Terminus Newark Light Rail Military Park toward Grove Street Grove Street – Newark Penn Terminus Terminus Broad Street – Newark Penn NJPAC/Center Street toward Broad Street Station PATH Terminus NWK–WTC Harrison toward World Trade Center Journal Square toward World Trade Center   Former services   ACES Atlantic City closed 2012 Terminus ACES New York Penn Station closed 2012 Terminus Pennsylvania Railroad South Street Newark toward Chicago Main Line Exchange Place Terminus New York City Terminus South Street Newark toward Bay Head Junction New York and Long Branch Railroad Harrison toward Exchange Place
Pennsylvania Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Newark Penn Station
Location	Raymond Plaza West, Newark, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°44′5″N 74°9′51″W / 40.73472°N 74.16417°WCoordinates: 40°44′5″N 74°9′51″W / 40.73472°N 74.16417°W
Area	5 acres (2 ha)
Built	1935
Architect	McKim, Mead & White
Architectural style	Classical Revival, Art Deco
NRHP Reference #	78001760[3]
Added to NRHP	December 20, 1978

Pennsylvania Station (also known as Newark Penn Station) is a major transportation hub in Newark, New Jersey.^[4] Located at Raymond Plaza, between Market Street and Raymond Boulevard, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers. The rail carriers include Newark Light Rail,^[5] New Jersey Transit (3 commuter rail lines), the PATH rapid transit system to Manhattan, and Amtrak (11 lines including the Acela Express). National bus carries include Greyhound, Peter Pan and Trailways. Local and regional bus carriers include NJ Transit and ONE (Orange-Newark-Elizabeth), with 31 and 2 routes respectively.

History

1935 photo of Market Street bridge

Designed by the renowned architectural firm McKim, Mead and White, the station contains a mixture of Art Deco and Neo-Classical features. The interior of the main waiting room has medallions illustrating the history of transportation, from wagons to steamships to cars and airplanes, the eventual doom of the railroad age. The current building was dedicated on March 23, 1935; the first regular train to use it was a New York–Philadelphia express at 10:17 on March 24.^[6][7] The new station was built alongside (northwest of) the old station, which was then demolished and replaced by the southeast half of the present station, completed in 1937. Except for the separate, underground Newark Light Rail station (formerly the Newark City Subway), tracks are elevated above street level.

It was built to be one of the centerpieces of the former Pennsylvania Railroad's (PRR's) train network, and to become a transfer point to the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (now PATH), which was partially funded by the PRR, for travel to lower Manhattan. At the time, PRR operated 232 weekday trains (total of both directions) between Newark and New York Penn Station; after 1937, the 10-mile trip took an average of 16 minutes.

The station, the adjacent 230-foot Dock Bridge over the Passaic River (the longest three-track railway lift span in existence at the time), the Newark City Subway extension and the realignment of the H&M cost $42 million, borne almost evenly by the PRR and the City of Newark. Both systems were extended or realigned to the station on June 20, 1937, and the nearby Manhattan Transfer station was closed.^[8]

During the 1960s, Pennsylvania Railroad sold the bankrupt Hudson and Manhattan to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey which reestablished the line as Port Authority Trans-Hudson in 1962. New Jersey Department of Transportation's Aldene Plan redirected Central Railroad of New Jersey and Reading Railroad trains from Communipaw Terminal in Jersey City to Newark Penn Station in 1967. As with most of the stations along the Northeast Corridor south of New York City, Pennsylvania Railroad merged with longtime rival New York Central Railroad in 1968 to form Penn Central Railroad, but Newark kept the name "Penn Station." Amtrak took over inter-city service in 1971, but Penn Central continued to operate commuter service, despite suffering from major bankruptcy. In 1976, the New Jersey Department of Transportation acquired Penn Central, Reading and Jersey Central passenger service, which included lines from as far away as Philadelphia's SEPTA diesel service along the West Trenton Line, with Conrail operating service under contract. New Jersey Transit acquired the rail line north of West Trenton in 1982, and established their rail operations division in 1983, acquiring almost all commuter rail service from Conrail within the state.

Newark Penn Station was extensively renovated in 2007, with restoration of the facade and historic interior materials (e.g., plaster ceilings, marble and limestone, windows, lighting fixtures), as well as train platform and equipment improvements.^[9]

Current operations

In 2014 Newark Penn was the 14th busiest Amtrak station, providing intercity service on the Northeast Corridor. Three New Jersey Transit commuter rail lines converge here — the Northeast Corridor Line which continues into New York, the North Jersey Coast Line which continues to New York or Hoboken, and the Raritan Valley Line, which generally terminates here, with the exception of select trains that continue on and terminate at New York Penn Station, and one morning train continuing to Hoboken.

It is the western terminus of the Newark – World Trade Center line of the PATH train which operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

On the lower level is the south end of the Newark Light Rail. Passengers on this light rail system from Newark and its nearby suburbs can transfer to Amtrak or PATH trains, or travel to Newark Broad Street Station or downtown Newark.

Newark Penn Station carries the IATA airport code of ZRP.^[10]

Tracks and platforms

Tracks at Newark Penn Station

Newark Penn has eight tracks (not including Newark Light Rail). Seven are on one level, but PATH trains arrive on an upper-level track with a platform on the west side, from which passengers can quickly reach platforms for their onward trains.

• Track A is less used and has a side platform, usually for Raritan Valley Line arrivals. Trains relay and lay-up at Hudson Yard in Harrison before returning on Track 5 for the reverse trip.
• Track 1 is normally used by New Jersey Transit trains to New York Penn Station and is served by an island platform shared with Track M.
• Track M is the track for departing PATH trains to World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan.
• Track 2 is typically used by northbound Amtrak trains, but is also used during the PM rush for westbound North Jersey Coast Line express trains. This track has an island platform that is shared with track M.
• Track 3 is usually used by southbound Amtrak trains, though westbound New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor Line express trains will often use this track in the evening rush hours. This platform has an island platform shared with:
• Track 4, used by westbound New Jersey Transit trains traveling via Rahway.
• Track 5 is usually used by westbound Raritan Valley Line trains and weekend eastbound Raritan Valley Line trains terminating. This track has a side platform.
• Track H is the track for arriving PATH trains. This upper-level track, which did not have turnstiles until SmartLink ones were installed in 2005, has stairs to Track 2, along with ramps to Tracks 3 and 4, and a separate stairway to Track 5. Trains relay and lay-up south of the station before returning on Track M for the trip to World Trade Center.

Platform layout

Note: Shows platform layouts only, not the actual station layout.

2F	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Track H	←      NWK–WTC termination track
1F	Side platform
	Track 5	← Raritan Valley Line toward High Bridge (Union)
	Track 4	← Northeast Corridor Line toward Trenton, North Jersey Coast Line toward Bay Head (Newark Liberty International Airport)
	Island platform
	Track 3	← Amtrak toward Philadelphia, Northeast Corridor Line express toward Trenton (Newark Liberty International Airport)
	Track 2	← North Jersey Coast Line toward Bay Head (Newark Liberty International Airport) → Amtrak toward Boston South Station (New York), Northeast Corridor Line Weekday Express/North Jersey Coast Line Weekday Express toward New York (Secaucus Junction) →
	Island platform
	Track M	→      NWK–WTC toward World Trade Center (Harrison) →
	Island platform
	Track 1	→ Raritan Valley Line/Northeast Corridor Line/North Jersey Coast Line toward New York (Secaucus Junction) →
	Track A	→ North Jersey Coast Line toward Hoboken Terminal (Terminus) →
	Side platform

Gallery

• 

  Interior with an information booth

• 

  Light rail platform

• 

  PATH PA-5 train arriving on upper level

• 

  Pedestrian ramp

Nearby attractions

• Ironbound
• New Jersey Institute of Technology
• New Jersey Performing Arts Center
• Newark Museum
• Prudential Center
• Rutgers University-Newark
• Seton Hall University School of Law
• University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

In popular culture

• The station was featured in several scenes of the 1980 film Gloria.
• The station is represented in the 2010 Fringe episode "Entrada" by a visually similar transportation hub in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the alternate universe depicted in the series it is named Springsteen Station after locally born musician Bruce Springsteen. The station is represented a second time in 2012 in the Season 5 episode "The Bullet That Saved the World" where the 2036 version of the station serves as a military checkpoint into an occupied Manhattan for high-speed rail traffic.

Sources and notes

1. "QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS". New Jersey Transit. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2015, State of New Jersey" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
3. Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
4. "Getting Around". Greater Newark Convention & Visitors Bureau. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
5. Pirmann, David; Darlington, Peggy. "Newark City Subway". nycsubway.org. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
6. "Newark Dedicates New Station Today". The New York Times. March 23, 1935. p. 13. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
7. "Newark Dedicates Its New Terminal". The New York Times. March 24, 1935. p. N1. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
8. "New Station Open for Hudson Tubes". The New York Times. June 20, 1937. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
9. Hall Construction Co., Howell, NJ. "NJ Transit - Newark Penn Station Improvement Program." Accessed 2011-11-15.
10. "Three Letter Airport Codes". Lastupdate Travel. Retrieved 2010-03-13.

External links

• NJT rail station information page for Pennsylvania Station (Newark)
• DepartureVision real time train information for Pennsylvania Station (Newark)
  • NJT Northeast Corridor Line schedule
  • North Jersey Coast Line schedule
  • Raritan Valley Line schedule
• NJT Newark Light Rail station information page for Pennsylvania Station (Newark)
• Newark Light Rail schedule

• Amtrak – Stations – Newark, NJ
• Newark Pennsylvania Station (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)
• PATH - Newark Station
• Market Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Raymond Plaza East entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Station Building from Google Maps Street View
• Newark, NJ (NWK) (Amtrak's Great American Stations)