Newark Penn Station is an intermodal passenger station in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. One of the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, making it the seventh busiest rail station in the United States, and the fourth busiest in the New York City metropolitan area. Located at Raymond Plaza between Market Street and

Raymond Boulevard Raymond Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in Newark, New Jersey. The eastern portion of the road acts as the westbound member of a one-way pair; eastbound traffic uses Market Street and Ferry Street (Newark), Ferry Street. Raymond Boulevard car ...

, the station is served by three NJ Transit commuter rail lines, the

Newark Light Rail The Newark Light Rail (NLR) is a light rail system serving Newark, New Jersey, and surrounding areas, owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by its bus operations division. The service consists of two segments, the original Newark City Subwa ...

, the

PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desir ...

rapid transit system, and all 10 of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

services, including the ''

Acela The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship passenger train service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and Boston via 13 intermedia ...

''. The station is also Newark's main

intercity bus An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public t ...

terminal; it is served by carriers

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

, Bolt, and

Fullington Trailways The Trailways Transportation System is a public transport bus service in the United States. It operates a network of approximately 70 independent bus companies. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. History The predecessor to Tra ...

. Additionally, it is served by 33 local and regional bus lines operated by

NJ Transit Bus Operations NJ Transit Bus Operations is the bus division of NJ Transit, providing local and commuter bus service throughout New Jersey and adjacent areas of New York State (Manhattan in New York City, Rockland County, and Orange County) and Pennsylvania ...

History

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...

, the same team behind the Pennsylvania Railroad's original

New York Penn Station Pennsylvania Station (also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station) is the main intercity railroad station in New York City and the busiest transportation facility in the Western Hemisphere, serving more than 600,000 passengers ...

ten miles to the east, the station has

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

and Neo-Classical features. The main waiting room has medallions showing the history of transportation, from wagons to steamships to cars and airplanes, the eventual doom of the railroad age. Chandeliers are decorated with

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

signs. The building was dedicated on March 23, 1935; the first regular train to use it was a New York–

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

express at 10:17 on March 24. The new station was built alongside (northwest of) the old station, which was then demolished and replaced by the southeast half of the present station, completed in 1937. Except for the separate, underground Newark Light Rail station, all tracks are above street level. It was to be one of the centerpieces of

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

's (PRR's) train network, and to become a transfer point to the

Hudson and Manhattan Railroad The Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) is a rapid transit system in the northeastern New Jersey cities of Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken, as well as Lower and Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is operated as a wholly owne ...

(now PATH), which was partially funded by the PRR, for travel to

lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

. PRR then scheduled 232 weekday trains through Newark, about two-thirds of them to or from New York Penn Station and the rest to/from Exchange Place in

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

. The station itself, the adjacent 230-foot

Dock Bridge Dock Bridge is a pair of vertical lift bridges carrying Amtrak, NJ Transit, and PATH trains across the Passaic River at Newark, Essex County and Harrison, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It is the seventh crossing from the river's ...

over the

Passaic River The Passaic River ( or ) is a river, approximately long, in North Jersey, northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburb ...

(the longest three-track railway lift span in existence at the time) and the realignments of the Newark City Subway (now

) and H&M cost $42 million, borne almost evenly by the PRR and the City of Newark. The City Subway extension and H&M realignment opened on June 20, 1937, and the nearby Manhattan Transfer station was closed, along with the H&M's original Park Place station. The Port of New York Authority (now 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 (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

) bought the bankrupt H&M Railroad and reorganized it as

Port Authority Trans-Hudson The Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) is a rapid transit system in the northeastern New Jersey cities of Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken, as well as Lower and Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is operated as a wholly owne ...

in 1962. New Jersey Department of Transportation's

Aldene Plan The Aldene Connection is a connection between two railroad lines in the Aldene neighborhood of Roselle Park, New Jersey, United States, one formerly belonging to the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), the other formerly of the Lehigh Valley R ...

redirected

Central Railroad of New Jersey Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railr ...

trains from

Communipaw Terminal The Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, also known as Communipaw Terminal and Jersey City Terminal, was the Central Railroad of New Jersey's waterfront passenger terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey. The terminal was built in 1889, replaci ...

in Jersey City to Newark Penn Station in 1967. The Pennsylvania Railroad merged with longtime rival

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

in 1968 to form

Penn Central Railroad The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania Railroad, ...

, but Newark kept the name "Penn Station." In 1970, Penn Station became the sole intercity station in Newark when the

Erie Lackawanna The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route ...

ran its last intercity trains through Broad Street Station. After Amtrak took over inter-city service in 1971, Penn Central continued to operate commuter service, despite being bankrupt. In 1976 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 transport ...

acquired Penn Central, Reading and Jersey Central passenger service, which included lines from as far away as Philadelphia's

SEPTA diesel service The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by SEPTA and serving the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, its suburbs and satellite towns ...

along the West Trenton Line, with

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

operating service under contract.

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

acquired the rail line north of West Trenton in 1982, and established its rail operations division in 1983, acquiring almost all commuter rail service from Conrail within the state. When Gateway Center and the

Newark Legal Center The Newark Legal Center, also known as One Riverfront Center, is an office building in Newark, New Jersey located along the banks of the Passaic River and connected by a skywalk over Raymond Boulevard to Gateway Center and Penn Station. Original ...

were built,

skybridges A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclo ...

were also installed to connect these office buildings to Penn Station. Newark Penn Station was extensively renovated in 2007, with restoration of the facade and historic interior materials (e.g., plaster ceilings, marble and limestone, windows, lighting fixtures), as well as train platform and equipment improvements. In 2017, the

conducted a study on extending PATH's

Newark–World Trade Center Newark–World Trade Center is a rapid transit service operated by the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH). It is colored red on the PATH service map and trains on this service display red marker lights. This service operates from Pennsylvania S ...

line from Penn Station to

Newark Liberty International Airport Station Newark Liberty International Airport Station (also known as Newark Airport Rail Station and Newark RaiLink station, and often announced simply as Newark Airport) is a railroad hub on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in Newark, New Jersey. The stati ...

so that passengers could transfer to

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and E ...

AirTrain Newark AirTrain Newark is a monorail people mover system connecting the terminals and various parking facilities at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and trains at Newark Liberty International Airport Station on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), ...

. In August 2019 the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

awarded $18.4 million to NJ Transit to rehabilitate and repair Platform "D" that serves Tracks 3 & 4 and is a major transfer point for Amtrak and NJ Transit. On the morning of December 14, 2023, NJ Transit service was delayed for 45 minutes at Newark Penn Station because a long-horned

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

was running loose along one of the station's tracks. The bull, who had escaped from a nearby

slaughterhouse In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...

, was tranquilized, safely removed from the tracks, and transported to Skylands Animal Sanctuary in

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Berkshire, it has been a ...

, where he was named Ricardo. In 2023 ground was broken on the Mulberry Commons Pedestrian Bridge, a

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

over

McCarter Highway Route 21 is a state highway in Northern New Jersey, running from the Newark Airport Interchange with US 1-9 and US 22 in Newark, Essex County to an interchange with US 46 in Clifton, Passaic County. The route is a four- to ...

and the

and a new train hall entrance with direct access to the platforms at Newark Penn. It will connect

Mulberry Commons Mulberry Commons is an urban square and public park in Newark, New Jersey that opened in 2019. The Mulberry Commons Pedestrian Bridge broke ground in 2023. Background It was first proposed in 2005 to be the centerpiece of of the city's Down ...

Peter Francisco Park Peter Francisco Park is a city square in Newark, New Jersey located adjacent to Newark Penn Station at the Five Corners in the city's Ironbound neighborhood. The park was established in 1966 by the Municipal Council of Newark. The park is named ...

in the

Ironbound The Ironbound is a neighborhood in the city of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a large working-class multi-ethnic community, covering about . Historically, the area was called "Dutch Neck," "Down Neck," or simp ...

, and eventually link to

Newark Riverfront Park Newark Riverfront Park is a park and promenade being developed in phases along the Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Essex County Park System. The park, expected to be long and encompass , is being created fr ...

Current operations

Amtrak

Despite its proximity to New York Penn Station, Newark Penn is a major station in its own right. In 2014, Newark Penn was the 14th busiest station in the Amtrak system, the eighth busiest in the Mid-Atlantic region (behind New York Penn, Washington Union,

, Baltimore Penn, Albany-Rensselaer,

BWI Airport Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport – also known as Thurgood Marshall Airport, Baltimore/Washington International Airport, and simply as BWI Airport – is an international airport in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, ...

and Wilmington) and by far the busiest of the six Amtrak stations in New Jersey. Since the 1970s, it has been the only intercity rail station in heavily populated northeastern New Jersey. Newark Penn is served by all 10 services running along the

, providing another option for Amtrak passengers traveling through the New York area. Due to the wide availability of alternatives, including the ''

Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busie ...

'' and ''

,'' as well as NJ Transit's commuter routes, passengers are not usually allowed to use Amtrak's long distance trains to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, or

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

for local travel between Newark and New York. Newark Penn Station carries the

IATA airport code An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a unique three-letter geocode designating many airports, cities (with one or more airports) and metropolitan areas (citie ...

of ZRP.

NJ Transit

Three

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

lines converge here: the

Northeast Corridor Line The Northeast Corridor Line is a commuter rail service operated by NJ Transit between the Trenton Transit Center and New York Penn Station on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor in the United States. The service is the successor to Pennsylvania Railroad ...

North Jersey Coast Line The North Jersey Coast Line is a Commuter rail in North America, commuter rail line running from Rahway, New Jersey, Rahway to Bay Head, New Jersey, traversing through the Jersey Shore region. Operated by New Jersey Transit, the line is electr ...

and the

Raritan Valley Line The Raritan Valley Line is a commuter rail service operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) which serves passengers in municipalities in Union, Somerset, Middlesex, Essex, and Hunterdon counties in the Raritan Valley region, primarily in centra ...

. The former two continue to New York at all times via

Secaucus Junction Secaucus Junction (signed as Secaucus) is an intermodal transit hub served by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) and Metro-North Railroad in Secaucus, New Jersey, Secaucus, New Jersey. It is one of the List of b ...

. The Raritan Valley Line generally terminates here, with the exception of certain off-peak weekday trains that continue to New York and one inbound weekday train that continues to Hoboken. Formerly, the North Jersey Coast Line also offered limited service to Hoboken, though present-day schedules have eliminated this service.

PATH

Newark Penn Station is the western terminus of the

line of the

train, operated by the

. Trains discharge on Platform H (upper level) and return to service on the lower level (platform B/C). Until the opening of

in 2003, NJ Transit commuter rail passengers and Amtrak intercity passengers had to transfer to PATH here in order to reach

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

Newark Light Rail

On the lower level is the southern terminus of the

(formerly the Newark City Subway), with three outbound tracks and two inbound tracks. Passengers on this light rail system from Newark and its nearby suburbs can transfer to Amtrak, NJ Transit or PATH trains, or travel to Newark Broad Street or

downtown Newark Downtown Newark is the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark located at a bend in th ...

. The Broad Street extension, opened in 2006, was intended to ease transfers between the former

commuter routes that call at Broad Street and the Amtrak and former PRR commuter routes that call at Newark Penn Station. Previously, passengers had to make their own way (usually by taxi or bus) between the two stations.

Tracks and platforms

Newark Penn Station has eight tracks and six platforms for both NJT and PATH (Newark Light Rail not included), but PATH trains from NYC arrive on the upper level and ones from South Street arrive on the lower level. * Track A is less-used and has a side platform, usually for Raritan Valley Line arrivals. Trains relay and lay-up at Hudson Yard in Harrison before returning on Track 5 for the reverse trip. Occasionally also used by Amtrak trains to New York Penn Station. * Track 1 is normally used by New Jersey Transit trains to New York Penn Station and is served by an island platform shared with Track M. * Track 2 is typically used by northbound Amtrak and New Jersey Transit express trains. This track has an island platform that is shared with track M. * Track 3 is usually used by southbound Amtrak trains, though westbound New Jersey Transit

express trains will often use this track in the evening rush hours. This platform has an island platform shared with track 4. * Track 4 is normally used by westbound New Jersey Transit trains traveling via

Newark Airport Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union County, in the U.S. stat ...

or Rahway. * Track 5 is usually used by westbound Raritan Valley Line trains and weekend eastbound Raritan Valley Line trains terminating. This track has a side platform. This track has closed periodically since 2013 for extensive construction and renovations. * Track M is the track for departing PATH trains to

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

. * Track H is for discharging PATH trains. This upper-level track, which did not have turnstiles until SmartLink ones were installed in 2005, has stairs to Track 2, along with ramps to Tracks 3 and 4, and a separate stairway to Track 5. Trains relay and lay-up south of the station before returning on Track M for the trip to World Trade Center. There are two pairs of crossover switches south of the station for that purpose, as well as a center track from which trains can be reversed quickly.

Gallery

Newark Penn Station June 2015 002.jpg, Main entrance at night Newark Pennsylvania Station interior.jpg, Interior of main waiting room, featuring an information booth File:NJ Transit train at Newark Penn Station.jpg, A multi-level NJ Transit train at Newark Penn Station File:Ramp track 3&4 Newark Penn jeh.jpg, Pedestrian ramp File:Newark Penn Station Main Corridor.jpg, Main corridor to tracks

Sources and notes

External links

Newark Pennsylvania Station (USA RailGuide – TrainWeb)

NJ Transit – Newark Penn Station
{{Pennsylvania Railroad New York Division stations, state=collapsed 1935 establishments in New Jersey Newark Art Deco architecture in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Newark, New Jersey Bus transportation in New Jersey Former Lehigh Valley Railroad stations Newark Former Reading Company stations Former SEPTA Regional Rail stations McKim, Mead & White buildings Newark Light Rail stations Newark PATH stations in New Jersey Railway stations in the United States opened in 1935 Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Newark Transit centers in the United States Transit hubs serving New Jersey Transportation in Newark, New Jersey