NJ Transit celebrates Newark Penn Station 80th birthday

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

Newark Penn Station, the gateway for New Jersey rail travel throughout the region, turned 80 years old March 23.

 

“Newark Penn Station has played a vital role in New Jersey’s public transportation and mass transit system since its doors first opened,” said Transportation Commissioner and New Jersey Transit Board Chairman Jamie Fox. “It is as important to our state’s commuters today as it was 80 years ago. We will continue to invest in public transportation and ensure that Newark Penn Station remains a prominent part of the tri-states’ transportation network for another eighty years.”

“This is a welcomed opportunity to celebrate all that rail service has meant to this busy travel corridor which serves as the gateway into the city of Newark and its vibrant business district,” said New Jersey Transit Executive Director Veronique Hakim. “Newark Penn Station represents a rich history of transportation innovation over the past 80 years building upon its roots as an intermodal hub and evolving to embrace the advent of modern technology in order to best serve the needs of our customers.”

Opened in 1935, Newark Penn Station is listed on both the state and national Registers of Historic Places. The station was originally designed and still operates as an intermodal facility serving pedestrian, taxi bus and private vehicle traffic generated by the more than 50,000 transit customers who use the station each day. 

The first section of the station opened on March 23, 1935. The first regularly scheduled train to use the station — a New York to Philadelphia express train — did not pick up passengers until the following morning; the bus lanes and taxi area also opened March 24, 1935. The final phase of the station opened in 1937 when projects to extend the Newark City Subway (now Newark Light Rail) and Hudson & Manhattan Railroad (now Port Authority Trans Hudson) to Newark Penn Station were completed, greatly increasing transportation options for regional commuters.

 

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