Metropark station

Metropark
Metropark Station from the parking deck in April 2015.
Location	100 Middlesex-Essex Turnpike Iselin, NJ 08830 United States
Coordinates	40°34′05″N 74°19′47″W / 40.56808°N 74.329795°WCoordinates: 40°34′05″N 74°19′47″W / 40.56808°N 74.329795°W
Owned by	New Jersey Transit
Line(s)	Northeast Corridor
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Construction
Parking	3,615 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	MET (Amtrak only)
Fare zone	10 (New Jersey Transit)
History
Opened	11 November 1971
Rebuilt	2007–2010 (refurbishment)
Traffic
Passengers (2012)	7,447 (average weekday)[1] (NJT)
Passengers (FY 2015)	364,805[2]  4.3% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Trenton toward Washington, DC Acela Express Newark, NJ toward Boston South Station Vermonter weekends only Newark, NJ toward St. Albans New Brunswick toward Harrisburg Keystone Service Newark Liberty Int'l Airport toward New York City New Brunswick toward Norfolk, Newport News, or Lynchburg Northeast Regional Newark Liberty Int'l Airport toward Boston South Station or Springfield New Brunswick toward Savannah Palmetto Newark, NJ toward New York City NJ Transit Rail Metuchen toward Trenton Northeast Corridor Line Rahway toward New York Penn Station

Metropark, or Metropark Station, is a train station in Iselin, New Jersey. It is served by Amtrak and NJ Transit trains on the Northeast Corridor. It provides commuter rail access for Iselin and several surrounding towns in Middlesex County.

The station was built in 1971 by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and the United States Department of Transportation. Its purpose was to provide a suburban park-and-ride stop for the new high-speed rail Metroliners.

Location

The station is located in the Iselin section of Woodbridge and is one of three stations NJT operates in the township along with Avenel and Woodbridge stations. Metropark's property is set between Middlesex Essex Turnpike and NJ 27 and is located near Iselin's border with the Colonia section of Woodbridge and the township's border with neighboring Edison. It is reached via Exits 131 or 132 of the Garden State Parkway.^[3]

History

An Amtrak train at Metropark station in January 1976

Metropark was one of two park-and-ride infill stations proposed in the 1960s for use by the new Metroliners, the other being Capital Beltway in Lanham, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.. The two stations were originally named Capital Beltway Metropark and Garden State Metropark, though these were shortened to Capital Beltway and Metropark, respectively. Both were conceived as public-private partnerships. Under a plan put forward in late 1968 by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) the state would contribute $648,000 toward the cost of the station, then estimated at $1,400,000.^[4][5]

Amtrak service to Metropark began on November 11, 1971.^[6] The new station's cost had increased to $2.6 million, shared by NJDOT and the United States Department of Transportation. It consisted of two 850-foot (260 m) high-level platforms and had 820 parking spaces. The location was right off of the Garden State Parkway to allow for easy access by automobile and a large business park was built next to the station to entice riders. Commuter trains continued to use a station in Iselin, New Jersey.^[7][8] Commuter trains began stopping at Metropark in 1972 and the nearby Iselin station was closed (and, a few years later, Colonia).

The station was renamed Harrison A. Williams Metropark Station in 1979, in recognition US Senator Williams' (D-NJ) support for its construction. However, the name was removed from the station after his 1980 conviction for bribery and conspiracy in the Abscam scandal.^[9]

Renovation

In January 2007 NJ Transit announced a nearly $30 million renovation plan for the station, to be completed by 2010.^[10][11] Reconstruction was completed in summer 2009, and cost $47 million. Climate-controlled shelters and LCD train information system were installed, platforms and canopies were lengthened and the station building was enlarged as part of the project. As part of the renovation new signage has been installed; all of the new signs refer to the station by "Metropark Station".^[12]

Available service

The Metropark station is served by New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line, as well as these Amtrak routes:

• Acela Express
• Keystone Service
• Northeast Regional
• Palmetto
• Vermonter on weekends only

NJT bus route 48 also operates to the station, as well as routes 801-805, which are "loop" services connecting the station to nearby neighborhoods and towns and are operated by Academy Bus under contract with NJT. Until 2005 the eastbound Pennsylvanian stopped here.

Ridership

Amtrak

Amtrak trains skip most stations between Trenton and Newark Penn Station, but most Amtrak trains stop at Metropark despite having to switch to the outside (local) tracks to do so. Pairs of crossovers (interlockings MENLO and ISELIN) before and after the station were added about 1984 to make this easier.

New Jersey Transit

Since 2001 Metropark has been the busiest New Jersey Transit station apart from the city terminals. Many commuters from the South Shore of Staten Island utilize this station to commute to Manhattan.^[13] Along with Princeton Junction in 2006, Metropark was the first non-terminal station to have over 7,000 weekday boardings.^[13]

Metropark Loops

NJ Transit provides these rush hour "loop" buses servicing office parks and other areas around Metropark, operated by Academy Express LLC out of their Perth Amboy garage under contract with NJT,^[14] and service on NJT 48.^[15]

Route	Serving	Terminal
801	Lincoln Highway Oak Tree Road	Edison JFK Hospital
802	Green Street Gill Lane	Woodbridge Woodbridge Corporate Park
803	Gill Lane Woodbridge Center Drive	Woodbridge Woodbridge Center OR Woodbridge Railroad Station
804	Wood Avenue	Edison Wood Ave/Inman Ave.
805	Thornall Street Ford Avenue	Edison Menlo Park Mall OR Ford Ave/Main St.

Parking

Metropark has a multi-story^[16] parking facility that is open at all times. The parking fee is $5 for up to 12 hours, $7 for up to 16 hours, and $9 for up to 24 hours. Annual, semi-annual, and quarterly parking permits are available for discounted rates ($70.00 per month). Drivers may park in either of the two multi-level parking decks using their proximity card for entry and exit. Daily parking users take a ticket upon entry, which must be paid for before exiting the facility. Several self-service kiosks within the garages allow users to pay their daily parking fee before returning to their vehicle.

References

1. "QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS". New Jersey Transit. December 27, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2015, State of New Jersey" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
3. Larry Higgs (13 March 2015). "What exit? New Parkway exit opens today as numbers change on others next week". NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. Retrieved December 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
4. "Open Line" (PDF). Penn Central Post. February 1969.
5. "Commuter Rail Station in Jersey to Have Parking for 776 Cars". The New York Times. December 29, 1968. p. 54. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
6. Miele, John T.; Polanski, June (2011), Then and Now of Iselin, Author House, ISBN 9781456756390
7. "New 'Metropark' in Northern N.J. Timed With Metroliner Extension". Bridgeport Telegram. November 6, 1971. p. 29. Retrieved October 2, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Witkin, Richard (November 12, 1971). "A Park-and-Ride Rail Station Is Dedicated in Jersey". The New York Times. p. 49. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
9. Bachrach, Judy. "Facing Expulsion from the Senate He Loves, Harrison Williams Finds Some Unlikely Supporters", People (magazine), February 1, 1982. Accessed March 5, 2011. "One of them, who asks for anonymity, recalls 'going over to Pete and Nancy's house in Westfield, N.J. and having coffee together. Pete looked about 80 years old—horrible.'"
10. "CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON A NEW METROPARK STATION" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. April 23, 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
11. Chang, Kathy (January 4, 2007). "Metropark to Get $30 Million Makeover". Edison-Metuchen Sentinel. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
12. Moss, Adam (11 June 2014), Metropark Station, Wikimedia Commons, retrieved 12 December 2015
13. "New Jersey Transit rail boarding numbers 2007-1999". Berkeley. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
14. Metropark Loops
15. NJT 48
16. "Metropark Parking". Metropark Parking. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-28.

Sources

• New Jersey Transit's Capital Improvement Program: Metropark Platform Rehabilitation
• PRR Chronology, late 1970 and 1971
• PRR Chronology, 1972

External links

• Amtrak – Stations – Metropark

• Parking at MetroPark
• Application for parking permits
• Metropark (USA RailGuide – TrainWeb)
• Station from Google Maps Street View
• Metropark (Iselin), NJ (MET) (Amtrak's Great American Stations)