Cranford station

Cranford is an active commuter railroad station in the township of Cranford, Union County, New Jersey. Trains operate between High Bridge and Newark Penn Station (with limited trains continuing to New York Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal) on New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line. The next station east is Roselle Park while west is Garwood. Cranford station contains two side platforms to service three tracks and is accessible for handicapped persons under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Cranford
Cranford station in August 2014.
General information
LocationSouth Avenue (CR 610) & High Street, Cranford, New Jersey
Coordinates40.6555°N 74.3028°W / 40.6555; -74.3028
Line(s)Raritan Valley Line
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone7
History
OpenedJanuary 1, 1839[1][2]
Rebuilt1844, 1869,[3] 1906,[1] October 1928–May 16, 1930[4][5]
Previous namesFrench House (1839–1869)[3]
Passengers
20121,264 (average weekday)[6]
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Garwood
toward High Bridge
 Raritan Valley Line Roselle Park
toward New York Penn Station or Hoboken
Former services
Preceding station Conrail Following station
Terminus Cranford–Bayonne Shuttle Roselle–Roselle Park
toward East 33rd Street
Preceding station Central Railroad of New Jersey Following station
Westfield
toward Scranton
 Main Line Roselle–Roselle Park
toward Jersey City
Garwood
toward Somerville
 Somerville – Jersey City
Local
 Aldene
toward Jersey City

Cranford station opened as French House with the opening of the Elizabethtown and Somerville Railroad on January 1, 1839. The first station was built in 1844, replaced itself in 1869, when it attained its current name of Cranford.[3] The 1869 depot came down in 1905, replaced with a new depot in 1906. The Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) replaced the station in 1929 and 1930 when they began a track elevation process in October 1928. In 1967, the construction and opening of the Aldene Plan, resulting in the line using the former Lehigh Valley Railroad alignment into Newark rather than continuing to Communipaw Terminal in Jersey City. This resulted in a shuttle service between East 33rd Street station in Bayonne and Cranford station. This service operated until August 6, 1978.[7]

NJ Transit considered Cranford station as a stop of the Union go bus expressway, a bus rapid transit service utilizing the former CNJ alignment between Cranford and Elizabeth.[8][9][10]

Station layout

The station has two high-level side platforms serving two tracks. The inbound platform is 645 feet (197 m) long while the outbound platform is 666 feet (203 m) long; both can accommodate six cars.[11]

Bibliography
  • Clayton, W. Woodford (1882). History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Everts and Peck. Retrieved November 20, 2022.

References
  1. Bernhart, Benjamin L. (2004). Historic Journeys By Rail: Central Railroad of New Jersey Stations, Structures & Marine Equipment. Outer Station Project. p. 59. ISBN 1891402072.
  2. "Original Route of New Jersey Central Railroad Followed Old Post Road Between Plainfield, Elizabethport, Historian Says". The Plainfield Courier-News. December 31, 1938. p. 7. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. Clayton 1882, p. 404.
  4. "Cranford to Open New Station at Cranford Sunday". The Courier-News. Plainfield, New Jersey. August 10, 1929. p. 4. Retrieved November 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. "Central Opens New Cranford Station Today". The Courier-News. Plainfield, New Jersey. May 16, 1930. p. 16. Retrieved November 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. "QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS" (PDF). New Jersey Transit. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  7. Thorpe. "CONRAIL/NJ D.O.T. Draws the Curtain on the Bayonne Shuttle". www.thorpefamily.us. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  8. "Union County Go bus expressway" (PDF). NJ Transit Bus Service: The Next Generation. New Jersey Transit. April 26, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  9. "Bollwage supports construction of new midtown train station by NJ Transit", Suburban News, March 16, 2012, retrieved February 1, 2012
  10. "Elizabeth Downtown Multi-Modal Integration Study". North Jersey Transportation Planning Organization. 2011. Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  11. "RARITAN VALLEY LINE ONE-SEAT RIDE SERVICE TO MANHATTAN" (PDF). July 2020. pp. 76, 81. Retrieved June 9, 2023.

Media related to Cranford (NJT station) at Wikimedia Commons


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