Hoboken (NJT Station)

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 Metro-North Railroad line, various NJT buses and private bus lines, the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail, the Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) rapid transit system, and NY Waterway-operated ferries.

More than 50,000 people use the terminal daily, making it the ninth-busiest railroad station in North America and the sixth-busiest in the New York area. It is also the second-busiest railroad station in New Jersey, behind only Newark Penn Station, and its third-busiest transportation facility, after Newark Liberty International Airport and Newark Penn Station. Hoboken Terminal is wheelchair-accessible, with high-level platforms for light rail and PATH services and portable lifts for commuter rail services.

History

The site of the terminal had been used since colonial times to link Manhattan Island and points west. It was long a ferry landing accessible via turnpike roads, and later plank roads (namely the Hackensack, the Paterson and a spur of the Newark Plank Road). In 1811, the first steam-powered ferries began service under John Stevens, an inventor who founded Hoboken.

The coming of the railroads brought more and more travelers to the west bank of the Hudson River. Passengers traveling to Manhattan from most of the continental USA had to transfer to a ferry at the riverbank. Cuts and tunnels were constructed through Bergen Hill to rail–ferry terminals on the west bank of the river and the Upper New York Bay. The first of the Bergen Tunnels under Jersey City Heights was opened in 1876 by the Morris and Essex Railroad, which was leased by the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad (DL&W).

Designed by architect Kenneth M. Murchison in the Beaux-Arts style, the rail and ferry terminal buildings were constructed in 1907 by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. The following year, the railroad opened the second parallel tunnel. Both tunnels are still used by NJ Transit. The tubes of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, forerunner of PATH, were extended to Hoboken Terminal upon its opening. The first revenue train on the new line ran from the terminal on February 26, 1908.

In 1930, Thomas Edison was at the controls for the first departure of a regular-service electric multiple unit train from Hoboken Terminal to Montclair. One of the first installations of central air-conditioning in a public space was at the station, as was the first non-experimental use of mobile phones.

Numerous streetcar lines (eventually owned and operated by the Public Service Railway), including the Hoboken Inclined Cable Railway, originated and terminated at the station until bustitution was completed on August 7, 1949.

At the peak of intercity rail service, five passenger terminals were operated by competing railroad companies along the Hudson Waterfront. Of the five, Hoboken Terminal is the only one still in active use. Those at Weehawken (New York Central), Pavonia ( Erie Railroad), and Exchange Place (Pennsylvania Railroad) were demolished in the 1960s, while the one in Jersey City ( Central Railroad of New Jersey) was restored and is now part of Liberty State Park.

In October 1956, four years before its merger with the DL&W to form the Erie Lackawanna Railway, the Erie Railroad began to shift its trains from Pavonia Terminal to Hoboken. The Erie moved its Northern Branch trains to Hoboken in 1959. In October 1965, on former Erie routes, there were five weekday trains run to Midvale, three to Nyack on the Northern Branch, three to Waldwick via the Newark Branch, two to Essex Fells on its Caldwell Branch, two to Carlton Hill, and one to Newton. All those trains were dropped in 1966. The last intercity trains that called at the station, with service to Chicago and Buffalo, were discontinued on January 5, 1970.

Conrail acquired the terminal in 1976 when it bought the Erie Lackawanna's rail assets. Ownership of the terminal passed to NJ Transit in 1983, when it bought Conrail's rail properties in northern New Jersey.

Ferry service from the terminal to lower Manhattan ended on November 22, 1967. It resumed in 1989 on the south side of the terminal and moved back to the restored ferry slips inside the historic terminal on December 7, 2011.Fox New Yor
Hoboken Ferry Terminal Reopens
, December 7, 2011

In 1973 the terminal building was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places.

A renovation that lasted from 2005 to 2009 demolished and rebuilt walls to resemble their original appearance; the terminal's clock tower was rebuilt as well.

The station was badly damaged during Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012. A storm surge inundated the facility; the water rose as high as in the PATH tunnels. Daytime PATH service to midtown Manhattan was restored on December 19. The waiting room reopened in January 2013, while extensive repairs were still in progress. Pre-Sandy service patterns were gradually restored by March 1, 2013.

As of 2017, the station was the ninth-busiest railway station in North America.

On October 5, 2022, officials broke ground on Hoboken Connect, a projected five-year project to renovate the Terminal and its immediate vicinity. The plans call for erecting a 20-story commercial building at 5 and 23 Hudson Place and a 28-story, 389-unit residential building on Observer Highway. Planned improvements to Warrington Plaza include movable seats and modular structures for public use. The Ferry Terminal will be renovated to add retail space and bicycle storage on the ground floor, while commercial space on its second floor would be constructed to house either transport functions, or tenants such as markets, eateries, or areas for arts and culture. A new bus depot is planned for Hudson Place, pending NJ Transit approval.

Accidents

In December 1985, an NJ Transit train crashed into the concrete bumper at Hoboken Terminal, injuring 54. The 1985 crash was said to have been caused by a lubricant that had been applied to the tracks to test train wheels.

In May 2011, a PATH train crashed into a bumper block at Hoboken Terminal, injuring 34 people; the Port Authority said the train came in too fast.

On the morning of September 29, 2016, an NJ Transit train crashed through a stopblock and into the concourse of the station, killing one person and injuring more than 110 people. Tracks 10 through 17 were reopened on October 10, 2016, with most remaining tracks reopened a week later. The pedestrian concourse reopened on May 14, 2017. Track 6 reopened for service in June 2017 and Track 5 reopened for service sometime around September 2018. The planning for permanent repairs to the concourse roof and supports were ongoing during this time. Permanent repairs and renovations began in March 2019 and were completed by the end of 2019.

Design

Hoboken Terminal is considered a milestone in American transportation development, initially combining rail, ferry, subway, streetcar and pedestrian services, in one of the most innovatively designed and engineered structures in the nation, with bus and light-rail service added in the ensuing decades. The terminal was also one of the first stations in the world to employ the Bush-type train shed, designed by and named for Lincoln Bush of the DL&W, which quickly became ubiquitous in station design. The station is unusual for a New York City area commuter railroad terminal in that it still has low-level platforms, requiring passengers to use stairs on the train to board and alight. The ''Long Slip Fill and Rail Enhancement'' project is anticipated to add three high level ADA-accessible platforms to the south side of the terminal.

The terminal's clock tower was designed by architect Kenneth Murchison, and originally built with the terminal. Its copper cladding was intended to provide a dramatic decorative effect. By the post-World War II period, this patina had been lost to wind erosion, and was removed in about 1950 following a storm. The tower was replaced by a radio tower that stood for more than half a century, until being removed in June 2006, when it was replaced with a new clock tower modeled after the original, down to the same copper cladding, albeit with a more modern steel and aluminum infrastructure that would better withstand wind erosion. The second tower includes a clock with 12-foot diameter faces and copper letters, which spell out "LACKAWANNA", whose fiber optic technology allow the them to be lit from dusk to midnight.

The large main waiting room features floral and Greek Revival motifs in tiled stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany set atop bands of pale cement. The terminal exterior extends to over four stories and has a copper-clad façade with ornate detailing. Its single-story base is constructed of rusticated Indiana limestone. A grand double stair with decorative cast-iron railings within the main waiting room provides an entrance to the upper-level ferry concourse.

Services

Commuter rail

Hoboken Terminal is the terminus and namesake for NJ Transit's Hoboken Division, which consists mostly of the former (Erie) Lackawanna commuter routes in northern New Jersey.

*Main Line
* Bergen County Line
* Meadowlands Rail Line (event service)
* Pascack Valley Line
* Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch of the Morris and Essex Lines
* Montclair-Boonton Line
* North Jersey Coast Line (limited service)
* Port Jervis Line
* Raritan Valley Line (one inbound morning weekday train only)

Access to other NJ Transit rail lines is available at Newark Penn Station (which also serves Amtrak), Secaucus Junction, or Newark Broad Street.

Rapid transit

PATH trains provide 24-hour service from a three-track underground terminal located north of the surface platforms. Two routes are offered on weekdays during the day, and one route is offered on late nights, weekends and holidays. Entrances are from the main concourse or street, below the Hudson Place bus station with both an elevator and stairs. Travel to Newark Penn Station always requires a transfer, as does weekday service to Journal Square Transportation Center.

Light rail

Hoboken Terminal is the terminus for two of the three Hudson-Bergen Light Rail routes. Light rail platforms are located south of Track 18 and the terminal building, and provide a pathway connection to 14th Street along the Hudson River.

Ferry

Ferry service is operated by NY Waterway to Brookfield Place Terminal daily, as well as Pier 11/Wall Street and West Midtown Ferry Terminal on weekdays. The ferry concourse has five slips, numbered 1–5. Slips 1 and 5 are generally used for ferries heading to West Midtown, Slip 2 is generally used for Wall Street ferries, and Slip 3 is generally used for Brookfield Place ferries.

Bus service

Ten routes operated by New Jersey Transit Bus Operations serve Hoboken. Lanes 1-5 are underneath the covered "Hoboken Bus Terminal" adjacent to Track 1, while Lane 6 lies at the curb adjacent to the main commuter rail concourse.

Route departs from Lane 1 for Jersey City