Long Branch Unveils Big Plans To Expand Train Station

LONG BRANCH, NJ — Long Branch Mayor John Pallone is pitching an idea to turn the Long Branch train station into a much bigger mass transit complex, one that will bring buses, trolleys, taxis, Uber/Lyft and electric car charging stations into the station parking lot and link them to NJ Transit.

This is all part of Pallone's plan to turn the area around the train station into a "transit village" and make it the hub of life in the city of Long Branch.

“We hope to make the Long Branch station more than a railroad depot and anchor its role as a center of the transit village concept in the city," said Pallone.

Last week, Pallone announced the city will be moving its police headquarters, the municipal court and the Dept. of Health into buildings on the Monmouth Medical Center campus, which sits right next to the train station. That move should happen within the next two years, said the city.

"Our goal is to achieve a town center feel at the Long Branch campus and a transit village that leverages the close proximity to the train station," previously said RWJBarnabas Health CEO Bill Arnold; RWJBarnabas is the hospital network Monmouth Medical is part of.

Additionally, Pallone seeks to build a bridge over the railroad platform to the west in order to tie the two sections of the train station area together (they are currently separated by train tracks).

He would also like to build a much larger indoor waiting room.

“The plan is to build a pedestrian bridge over the tracks to the west side. This will allow free flow of residents and customers for businesses on both sides once again,” Pallone said. “At the same time, we’ll bring the buses that stop on Third Avenue into the train station parking lot and build an overhead and indoor waiting room for passengers during inclement weather. The parking lot has been underutilized and has room for new structures."

The idea to expand the train station has the support of the state Dept. of Transportation, said Pallone, but Long Branch would also need to acquire federal funding to pay for it.

“The state wants to encourage the Long Branch transit village as much as possible, with innovative intermodal transportation at the Long Branch railroad station,” said NJ DOT Commissioner Gutierrez-Scaccetti.

"The transit village should be able to rely on as many mass transit options as possible. The railroad depot will become intermodal, because it can accommodate buses, trolley, taxis, and Ubers more effectively. We also hope to encourage the newer electric vehicles with state of the art charging stations,” said Long Branch Council President Mario Vieira.

Last year, some renovations were made to the Long Branch train station, including repainting the buildings and platform, resurfacing the parking lot, and adding new lighting in the tunnel from the parking lot to the platform.

This March, Long Branch started doing more work, including renovating the street, sidewalks, light poles and landscaping in front of the station and along the hospital district on Third Avenue.

That work will finish this year, said Pallone.

Long Branch is where the North Jersey Coast Line switches from electric to diesel. When the railroad was electrified from New York to Long Branch many years ago, the passenger platform was built across Morris Avenue, cutting the business district in two and preventing access from the west.

Related: Long Branch Moving Police HQ, Court Onto Monmouth Medical Campus (April 14, 2021)

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