Garfield Avenue station – Wikipedia

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Garfield Avenue Station Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) New Jersey Transit Rail

Garfield Avenue is a station on the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) in the Claremont section of Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey. Located between the grade crossing at Randolph Avenue and the bridge at Garfield Avenue, the station in a double side platform and two track structure. The station is on the West Side Avenue branch of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail, which goes from West Side Avenue station to Tonnelle Avenue station in North Bergen. The station is accessible for handicapped people as per the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. An elevator is present to get people from Garfield Avenue to track level and the platforms are even with the train cars. The station opened to the public on April 15, 2000 as part of the original operating segment of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail.[1]

Garfield Avenue station is a block east of the former Arlington Avenue stop of the Newark and New York Railroad, a branch of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. This branch went from the Lafayette Street Terminal in Newark to the junction at Communipaw station in Jersey City, where it met up with the main line to Communipaw Terminal. Garfield Avenue is also two blocks west of the former Pacific Avenue station. Pacific Avenue station, formerly known as Lafayette, contained a 36-by-17-foot (11.0 m × 5.2 m) station depot.[3] Service on the line began on July 23, 1869. The station depot westbound at Arlington Avenue was built in 1889 and the eastbound station in 1910.[5] Service to Newark ended abruptly on February 3, 1946 when a steamship knocked two spans of the bridge over the Hackensack River into the water below. Passenger service at Arlington Avenue ended on May 6, 1948.[6]

History[edit]

The station opened on April 15, 2000.[1]

In early 2019, it was announced that the West Side Avenue, Martin Luther King Drive, and Garfield Avenue stations on the West Side Branch would close for nine months starting in June 2019 for repairs to a sewer line running along he right-of-way. During that time, replacement service would be provided by NJ Transit shuttle buses.[7][8]

Station layout[edit]

The station is at the eastern end of a railroad cut originally excavated in Bergen Hill in 1869 for the Central Railroad of New Jersey Newark and New York Railroad Branch. Garfield Avenue, presumably named for assassinated president James A. Garfield, was once part of Bergen Point Plank Road, which itself had once been a major colonial post road. A decorative theme for the station is two dimensional “cut-outs” of adults and children, some of whom are playing.[9]

Gallery[edit]

  • Street-level entrance on the northwest corner of the bridge

    Street-level entrance on the northwest corner of the bridge

  • The light rail ROW east of the station and the Randolph Avenue crossing

    The light rail ROW east of the station and the Randolph Avenue crossing

  • The light rail ROW west of the station

    The light rail ROW west of the station

Bibliography[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Canal, Alberto (April 16, 2000). “Leaders Cheer Light Rail Opening as Hudson Steps Into 21st Century”. The Jersey Journal. Jersey City, New Jersey. pp. A1, A8. Retrieved March 14, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. ^ New Jersey State Board of Taxes and Assessment 1916, p. 221.
  3. ^ “Railroad Ripples”. The Passaic Daily News. Passaic, New Jersey. October 4, 1889. p. 3. Retrieved November 1, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. ^ “CNJ to Drop Part of Branch”. The Plainfield Evening News. Plainfield, New Jersey. May 6, 1948. p. 2. Retrieved November 1, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. ^ McDonald, Terrence T. (March 7, 2019). “Light rail riders sound off on planned route suspension in Jersey City”. nj.com. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  6. ^ “West Side Avenue Light Rail Service to be Suspended Until 2020”. Jersey Digs. February 8, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  7. ^ “Garfield Avenue”. SubwayNut. November 24, 2008.

External links[edit]