Secaucus Junction: Difference between revisions

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}

{{Infobox Station

* [[Amtrak]] [[Northeast Corridor]]

* New Jersey Transit [[Main Line (NJ Transit)|Main Line]]

}}

|line1=Northeast Corridor|left1=Newark Penn|right1=New York

|line2=North Jersey Coast|left2=Newark Penn|right2=New York|to-right2=New York

|line11=Port Jervis|left11=Ramsey Route 17|right11=Hoboken

}}

}}

 

The $450 million, {{convert|321000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} station opened on December 15, 2003, and was dedicated as the '''Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station at Secaucus Junction'''. U.S. Senator [[Frank Lautenberg]], who died in 2013, was a transit advocate who had worked to allocate federal funds for the project.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/06/us_sen_frank_lautenberg_gets_on_last_ride_in_the_secaucus_station.html|title=U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg gets one last ride at the Secaucus station that bears his name|publisher=The Star-Ledger |date=June 5, 2013|access-date=June 5, 2013|author=Frassinelli, Mike}}</ref>

The station is on the [[Northeast Corridor]] (NEC) five miles west of [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|New York Penn Station]] and five miles east of [[Pennsylvania Station (Newark)|Newark Penn Station]]. At Secaucus, the NEC crosses above the [[Main Line (NJ Transit)|Main Line]], allowing passengers to transfer between trains to and from [[Hoboken Terminal]]. It serves trains from all lines operated by [[NJ Transit]] except the [[Princeton Branch]] and [[Atlantic City Line]]. [[Amtrak]] trains run through the station but do not stop. In March 2016, a new bus station with 14 bus berths opened; it is used for intermodal connections and was intended to add redundancy to the transportation network.

 

NJ Transit's rail operations are split between two divisions, a legacy of their roots in separate railroads. The Hoboken Division consists of lines formerly part of the [[Erie Lackawanna Railway]] and its predecessors, while the Newark Division lines had once been part of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] and [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]]. The two divisions had never been previously integrated, even when [[Conrail]] ran both networks under contract to the [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]] from 1976 until handing them to NJ Transit in 1983. While the opening of the [[Kearny Connection]] and [[Waterfront Connection]] in 1996 allowed for the implementation of some interdivisional trains, including the "Midtown Direct" Service to [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|New York Penn Station]] on the Hoboken Division's [[Morris & Essex Lines]], direct transfers between the divisions were still not possible.{{citationneeded|date=July 2020}}

 

The two-track [[Northeast Corridor]] 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 to join 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/29/nyregion/potter-s-field-to-be-moved-for-turnpike-railroad-interchange.html|title = Potter's Field to be Moved for Turnpike-Railroad Interchange|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 29 August 2001|access-date=July 8, 2022}}</ref>

 

 

On July 26, 2009, NJ Transit began shuttle service to the [[Meadowlands station]] at the [[Meadowlands Sports Complex]], with Secaucus Junction being a transfer point for passengers from New York Penn and other stations.<ref>{{cite news |last=Clunn |first=Nick |title=Thousands hop on board new Meadowlands rail service |newspaper=The Record |date=July 26, 2009 |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/transportation/Thousands_hop_on_board_new_Meadowlands_rail_service.html |access-date=August 15, 2009}}</ref> From 2009 to 2014, Secaucus Junction served trains coming from Metro-North's [[New Haven Line]] for [[New York Giants]] and [[New York Jets]] football games at the Meadowlands with 1:00 p.m. kickoffs on Sundays.<ref>{{cite news |last=Saeed |first=Khurram |title=Metro-North to run trains to 10 Jets, Giants games in the 2009 season |page=A.1 |newspaper=Journal News |date=June 29, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Take The Train To The Game|url=http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/MeadowlandsBrochure.pdf|publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]]|access-date=December 24, 2012}}</ref>

On June 5, 2013, a special Amtrak train stopped at the station to carry the coffin of Lautenberg to Washington, D.C. for his burial.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/news/2013/06/us_sen_frank_lautenberg_gets_on_last_ride_in_the_secaucus_station.html|title=U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg gets one last ride at the Secaucus station that bears his name|date=June 6, 2013}}</ref> On February 2, 2014, a limited number of Amtrak trains made stops at Secaucus for passengers going to [[Super Bowl XLVIII]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/NY-NJ_transit_agencies_outline_Super_Bowl_plans.html |title=NY-NJ transit agencies outline Super Bowl plans |newspaper=NorthJersey.com |author=Rouse, Karen |date=December 9, 2013 |access-date=December 27, 2013}}</ref> In March 2016, a new bus station with 14 bus berths opened; it is used for intermodal connections and was intended to add redundancy to the transportation network.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/2016/03/how_new_secaucus_bus_plaza_could_change_your_commute.html |title=How new Secaucus bus plaza could change your commute |newspaper=NJ.com |date=March 29, 2016 |first=Larry |last=Higgs |access-date=March 29, 2016}}</ref> Local officials have indicated a desire to have regular Amtrak service stop at Secaucus Junction after [[American Dream Meadowlands]] opened in October 2019,<ref name=amtrak>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nj.com/traffic/2018/12/next-stop-for-amtrak-secaucus-thats-could-be-an-american-dream-for-the-meadowlands.html |title=Next stop for Amtrak: Secaucus? That could be an American Dream for the Meadowlands |newspaper=NJ Advance Media|language=en-US |first=Larry |last=Higgs |date=December 8, 2018|access-date=December 10, 2018}}</ref> however, as of 2022, this has not been implemented.

 

{| class="collapsible collapsed" style="border:#aaa 1px solid; min-width:33em"

! style="text-align:center" | Station layout

|-

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|Track '''3'''

|-

|Track '''B'''

|-

| style="border: 2px solid black; border-image: none; text-align: center;" colspan="2" |{{small|[[Island platform]]}}

|-

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;"|Track '''A'''

|-

|Track '''2'''

|-

|style="border-top:solid 2px black;border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 1px gray;text-align:center;" colspan=2|{{small|[[Side platform]]}}

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" rowspan=6 valign=top|'''1F'''

|Track '''H'''

|-

| style="border: 2px solid black; border-image: none; text-align: center;" colspan="2" |{{small|[[Island platform]]}}

|-

|style="border-bottom:solid 1px gray;" |Track '''G'''

|-

|Track '''F'''

|}

[[File:Secaucus Transfer Concourse sculpture.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Main concourse, with [[cattail]] sculpture symbolizing the [[New Jersey Meadowlands|Meadowlands]] and lit in [[NJ Transit]] colors]]

 

* 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]].<ref name="njt layout">{{cite web|url=http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=MeadowlandsTo|title=New Jersey Transit|work=njtransit.com|access-date=February 24, 2014|archive-date=December 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213225911/http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=MeadowlandsTo|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{clear left}}

 

{{Further information|7 Subway Extension#Extensions to New Jersey}}

On November 16, 2010, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that [[New York City]] Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]]'s administration was working on a plan to bring the {{NYCS trains|Flushing}} of the [[New York City Subway]] under the [[Hudson River]] to Secaucus Junction.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/11/17/nyc-subway-line-may-continue-into-n-j/|title=NJ Commuters Like 7 Train Extension Plan|publisher=[[WCBS-TV|WCBS]]|date=November 17, 2010|access-date=November 17, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Tunnel-to-Nowhere-Might-Become-7-to-Secaucus-108680929.html|title=Tunnel to Nowhere Might Become 7 to Secaucus|publisher=[[WNBC]]|date=November 17, 2010|access-date=November 17, 2010}}</ref> An [[7 Subway Extension|extension of that service]] from [[Times Square (IRT Flushing Line)|Times Square – 42nd Street]] to a new terminus at [[34th Street – Hudson Yards (IRT Flushing Line)|Eleventh Avenue and 34th Street]], has already been built.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fitzsimmons |first=Emma G. |title=Subway Station for 7 Line Opens on Far West Side |website=The New York Times |date=September 10, 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/14/nyregion/no-7-subway-station-far-west-side-manhattan.html |access-date=September 13, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Tangel |first=Andrew |title=New Subway Station Opens on NYC's Far West Side |website=WSJ |date=September 13, 2015 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-subway-station-opens-on-nycs-far-west-side-1442171470 |access-date=September 13, 2015}}</ref>

The extension would take the subway outside the city's and [[New York State|New York]]'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, after the cancellation of the [[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 commenced nor were financing arrangements made.<ref>{{Cite news|title=New York Studies Extending Subway Line to New Jersey |first=Charles |last=Bagli|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/nyregion/17tunnel.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 16, 2010|access-date=November 16, 2010}}</ref> On October 26, 2011, Bloomberg reiterated his support for the project, while Christie also expressed general concurrence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_jersey&id=8406903|title=Mayor Bloomberg wants to extend 7 line to New Jersey|work=ABC7 New York}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-26/christie-endorses-extension-of-new-york-subway-to-new-jersey.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729072441/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-26/christie-endorses-extension-of-new-york-subway-to-new-jersey.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 29, 2012|title=Bloomberg|work=Bloomberg.com}}</ref> In April 2013, the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] rejected the proposed extension, citing lack of funding.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/city-studying-7-extension-jersey-article-1.1312606|title=Mayor Bloomberg push to extend 7 train to Jersey is promptly derailed by the MTA |location=New York|work=Daily News|date=April 10, 2013}}</ref> However, it was reconsidered again in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2018/2/28/17062764/nyc-port-authority-mta-7-train-extension-new-jersey-study|title=Port Authority study will consider 7 train extension to New Jersey|work=Curbed NY|access-date=April 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/7-train-nj-1.16981061|title=Cross-Hudson study options include 7 line extension into NJ|work=am New York|access-date=April 16, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

 

 

{{wide image|SecaucusJunction.png|1100px|View of Secaucus Junction from the western [[The Palisades (Hudson River)|Hudson Palisades]]}}

 

* [[Jamaica station]] – station on the nearby [[Long Island Rail Road]] that serves a similar purpose to Secaucus Junction

 

{{reflist}}

 

== External links ==

{{external media

| title = {{small|Google Maps Street View}}

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