Union station (NJT)
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Union is a NJ Transit railroad station in Union, New Jersey. Located on the Conrail Lehigh Line, Union is served by Raritan Valley Line trains that travel between Newark Penn Station and Raritan. There is also limited service to and from High Bridge and
New York Penn Station Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station, is the main inter-city rail, intercity railroad station in New York City and the List of busiest railway stations in North America, busiest transportation facilit ...
and one morning train to Hoboken Terminal. The physical structures of the station are owned by NJ Transit; however, the land remains the property of Conrail Shared Assets Operations, which is in turn owned by
Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
and
CSX Corporation CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger. T ...
.


History

The station is located at milepost 14.6 on the Conrail Lehigh Line. This is part of the former
Lehigh Valley Railroad The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846 for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, w ...
main line, built by LV subsidiary Newark & Roselle Railway. The Township of Union had been served until the 1940s by Townley station, 0.5 miles to the east at milepost 14.1. With the station demolished by the
Lehigh Valley Railroad The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846 for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, w ...
in the 1940s, officials decided not to add a stop in 1967 during the Aldene Plan. The project was a joint program between the railroads, the
New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...
, and the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...
, which elevated trackage above ground level to eliminate grade crossings and rerouted Central Railroad of New Jersey trains to Pennsylvania Station in Newark, New Jersey. When bankruptcy struck the Central Railroad of New Jersey and Lehigh Valley Railroad, the railroads were forced to fold into the Consolidated Rail Corporation on April 1, 1976. On that date, the
New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...
took over commuter rail operations. In 1981 the state government created NJ Transit to oversee all commuter operations, rail and bus, in the state. Since then, NJ Transit has continued to operate and expand services on the Raritan Valley Line. Completed in 2003 at a cost of $24.8 million, the station filled the eight mile stretch Newark Penn Station and
Roselle Park station Roselle Park is a New Jersey Transit railroad station in Roselle Park, New Jersey. Located on the Conrail Lehigh Line which is owned by Conrail Shared Assets Operations on West Lincoln Avenue between Chestnut Street and Locust Street, it is s ...
. It is adjacent to
Kean University Kean University () is a public university in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, Union and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Kean University was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey, as th ...
. Station amenities include a waiting room, rest rooms, vendors, and a 464-space parking lot. The station features artwork reproducing the 40th parallel of the Earth's northern hemisphere, and shows cities through which the 40th parallel runs including
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
,
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, and
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. Currently, the station is served by 53 weekday and 36 weekend NJ Transit trains.


Dedication

On September 24, 2013, the station was dedicated to Congressman Bob Franks.


Station layout and service

The station has one high-level
island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
. Due to the high level of freight service on Track 2, some inbound trains utilize Track 1.


Freight operations

The station has a
gauntlet track Gauntlet track or interlaced track (also gantlet track) is an arrangement in which railway tracks run parallel on a single track bed and are interlaced (i.e., overlapped) in such a way that only one pair of rails can be used at any time. Since th ...
(a slightly shifted-over track) on the track 2 side that allows freight trains to pass the high level platform safely. The route has become a critical artery in transcontinental transportation, particularly for intermodal, retail and petrochemical traffic. Tonnage over this route reaches as far west as Chicago and Los Angeles, south to Atlanta and Jacksonville, and east to Vermont and Maine. Currently 30-40 freights operate past the station depending on the day of the week.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Union (Njt Station) NJ Transit Rail Operations stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 2003 Railway stations in Union County, New Jersey Stations on the Raritan Valley Line Former Lehigh Valley Railroad stations Union Township, Union County, New Jersey Railway stations in New Jersey at university and college campuses Kean University 2003 establishments in New Jersey