Harmon Cove is an abandoned train station in the

Harmon Cove Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,Bergen County Line The Bergen County Line is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line loops off the Main Line between the Meadowlands and Glen Rock, with trains continuing in either direc ...

which runs from

Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by nine NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, one Metr ...

Suffern Suffern is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo, New York, Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 census, Suf ...

. Train service was discontinued in 2003 when

Secaucus Junction Secaucus Junction (known as Secaucus Transfer during planning stages and signed simply as Secaucus) is a NJ Transit Rail Operations commuter rail hub in Secaucus, New Jersey. The $450 million, station opened on December 15, 2003, and was dedi ...

was opened.

History

Construction and opening

Harmon Cove station was built to serve the

gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...

known as

Harmon Cove Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,highrise A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdictio ...

residential buildings. This development played a key part in the transition of

Secaucus Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,New Jersey Meadowlands New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeastern New Jersey in the United States, a few miles to the west of N ...

to being highly developed. In December 1977, Hartz Mountain Industries sent an application to the

Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC; formerly the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission) was a regional zoning, planning and regulatory agency in northern New Jersey. Its founding mandates were to protect the delicate balance of n ...

for permission to construct a station and a 100-car parking lot to serve its development. Following the issuance of the permit, it was expected that construction on the station could begin within 60 days. The station was built adjacent to the development at Meadowlands Parkway on the site of a reed-filled meadow for $150,000. The station was dedicated on June 19, 1978, and opened on June 26, 1978. Service consisted of ten trains, with westbound trains at 7:22 a.m., 3:42 p.m., 5:15 p.m., 5:38 p.m., and 6:32 p.m., and eastbound trains at 6:44 a.m., 7:53 a.m., 8:32 a.m., 9:34 a.m., and 5:00 p.m. Construction on the station began a month earlier. Service to the station initially consisted of two trains in the morning to Hoboken and two trains in the evening from Hoboken. The station initially opened on a temporary basis, but was later made permanent. This station was, and still remains, the only privately financed and constructed rail station in New Jersey. After a month, ridership at the station was only 30 people a day, lower than Conrail's estimate of 50 people a day. Conrail decreased the number of trains stopping from ten to seven since adding Harmon Cove stops to trains added four minutes to the runtime of each trip. Hartz Mountain spent $80,000 to provide bus service to the station.

Closure

In the 1980s,

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

started making plans to create a transfer station in Secaucus between trains on its Hoboken and Newark Divisions. As part of the plan, Harmon Cove station would close due to its close proximity to the new station. However, in 1993, the President of Allied Junction, the name of original plan for the transfer station, said that Harmon Cove station would stay open. In September 2001, New Jersey Transit officials told Town Administrator Anthony Iacono that the station would close in anticipation of the opening of

station. New Jersey Transit made the decision earlier in the year when it was decided to construct a new curving track between the

HX Draw The HX Draw is a bascule bridge carrying the New Jersey Transit Bergen County Line and Pascack Valley Line across the Hackensack River between Secaucus, New Jersey and East Rutherford. The bridge is also known as The Jack-Knife because of its un ...

bridge at the

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the subur ...

to the north of the station, and the

Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

north of Secaucus Junction, which would bypass the site of Harmon Cove station and allow Bergen County Line and

Pascack Valley Line The Pascack Valley Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Hoboken Division of New Jersey Transit, in the United States. The line runs north from Hoboken Terminal, through Hudson County and Bergen County in New Jersey, and into Rockland Co ...

trains to stop at Secaucus Junction. The station closed on August 4, 2003, in anticipation of the opening of

station. To replace train service, a bus shuttle was implemented, which ran between Harmon Cove and Secaucus Junction, thus connecting with Bergen County Line trains. This shuttle was operated by

Academy Express Academy Bus Lines is a bus company in New Jersey providing local bus services in northern New Jersey, line-run services to/from New York City from points in southern and central New Jersey, and contract and charter service in the eastern United ...

and was labeled bus route 972. This route was replaced by

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

bus route 129 on April 3, 2004.

Station layout

Harmon Cove had one short low-level side platform and was located on the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...

's Main Line, and had a 100-car parking lot, and had a shelter that could accommodate 50 passengers. A staircase led from the platform to the Meadowlands Parkway overpass. The staircase still exists, but has been abandoned. The station shelter was removed following the station's closure. The parking lot still exists. The platform still remains, but is in derelict condition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon Cove (Njt Station) Railway stations in the United States opened in 1978 Railway stations closed in 2003 Former railway stations in New Jersey Former NJ Transit stations 1978 establishments in New Jersey Demolished railway stations in the United States Secaucus, New Jersey Railway stations in Hudson County, New Jersey