Elizabeth station (Central Railroad of New Jersey)

ELIZABETH
The former Central Railroad of New Jersey station, with the current Elizabeth station in the background.
General information
Location	14 Julian Place, Elizabeth, New Jersey 07028
Coordinates	40.667149°N 74.216448°W / 40.667149; -74.216448
Platforms	2
Tracks	4
History
Opened	January 1, 1839
Closed	August 6, 1978
Former services
Preceding station Conrail Following station Roselle–Roselle Park toward Cranford Cranford–Bayonne Shuttle Elizabethport toward East 33rd Street Preceding station Central Railroad of New Jersey Following station Roselle–Roselle Park toward Scranton Main Line Jersey City Terminus Elizabethport toward Jersey City Roselle–Roselle Park toward Somerville Somerville – Jersey City Local West 8th Street toward Jersey City Elmora toward Somerville Elizabethport toward Jersey City Preceding station Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Following station Plainfield toward Chicago Main Line Jersey City Terminus Plainfield toward Philadelphia Philadelphia – Jersey City Local
Elizabeth Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Morris Ave., and Broad St., Elizabeth, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°40′4″N 74°12′54″W
Area	1.3 acres (0.53 ha)
Built	1893
Architect	Bruce Price
Architectural style	Roanesque, Victorian Romanesque
MPS	Operating Passenger Railroad Stations TR
NRHP reference No.	84002825
Added to NRHP	September 29, 1984

Elizabeth is a disused train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It was built by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) in 1893. It is adjacent to NJ Transit's Elizabeth station on the Northeast Corridor. That station was built and owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad; in the era of private operation passengers could transfer between the two. The CNJ right-of-way in Elizabeth is unused, and passenger trains which served the former CNJ mainline (NJT's Raritan Valley Line service) bypass Elizabeth via the Aldene Connection on their way to Newark Penn Station. The station has been renovated and used as commercial space.

Major named trains

The station was on CNJ's main line and was also utilized by B&O and Reading Railway trains which terminated at CNJ's Jersey City terminal, where ferry service to New York was available.

• Baltimore and Ohio (routes west beyond Washington, DC):
  • Capitol Limited, Cincinnatian, Columbian, Metropolitan Special, National Limited and others
• Central Railroad of New Jersey & Reading Railway (route to Bethlehem, Allentown, Reading and Harrisburg):
  • Harrisburg Special and Queen of the Valley
• Reading Railway (route to West Trenton and Philadelphia):
  • Crusader and Wall Street

Status

The CNJ station suffered from a freight train wreck on November 4, 1972, when a boxcar derailed and pulled several other cars into the canopy. Although the buildings and freight cars were damaged, there were no injuries. The station has been listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places since 1984 and is part of the Operating Passenger Railroad Stations Thematic Resource.

There are plans to redesign the public space and create a transit plaza between the CNJ and NJT stations. Funding was approved in 2018.

The proposed Union County Light Rail, which would have connected midtown Elizabeth with Newark Airport, would have had its western terminus at this station. The station for this line would have been referred to as Midtown to distinguish from the other stations in Elizabeth on this line. The plan has been replaced by the Union go bus expressway, a proposed bus rapid transit system between Garwood and the airport.