New Brunswick station facts for kids

Quick facts for kids New Brunswick
The 1904 station building as seen from Albany Street
Location	French Street and Albany Streets New Brunswick, New Jersey United States
Owned by	NJ Transit
Line(s)	Northeast Corridor
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Connections	NJT Bus: 810, 811, 813, 815, 818 Rutgers Campus Buses Brunsquick Shuttles DASH 1 & 2 Suburban Trails: Line 100 OurBus Prime
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	NBK (Amtrak)
Fare zone	14 (NJT)
History
Opened	January 1, 1838
Rebuilt	October 1903–September 28, 1904
Electrified	December 8, 1932
Traffic
Passengers (2012)	4,976 (average weekday) (NJT)
Passengers (FY 2016)	7,857  6.1% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Princeton Junction toward Harrisburg Keystone Service Metropark toward New York Princeton Junction toward Norfolk, Newport News or Roanoke Northeast Regional Metropark toward Boston South or Springfield Princeton Junction toward Savannah Palmetto Metropark One-way operation Preceding station NJ Transit Following station Jersey Avenue toward Trenton Northeast Corridor Line Edison toward New York Penn Station
Former services Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station Princeton Junction toward Chicago Main Line Stelton toward New York or Exchange Place Adams toward Chicago Terminus New Brunswick Line Voorhees toward East Millstone Millstone Branch Terminus
New Brunswick Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New Brunswick station in May 1985
Area	0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built	1903 (1903)
Architect	William H. Brown, chief engineer of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Architectural style	Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival
MPS	Operating Passenger Railroad Stations TR
NRHP reference No.	84002732
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 22, 1984

The New Brunswick station is a busy train station in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It serves trains from both Amtrak and NJ Transit. These trains travel along the important Northeast Corridor line. You can find the station near the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University.

The station has two platforms, one on each side of the tracks. These platforms are raised high to make it easy to get on and off trains. There are four tracks in total. Most of Amtrak's fastest trains use the inner tracks and don't stop here. However, some Keystone Service and Northeast Regional trains do stop. Also, the Palmetto train stops here on weekdays when heading west.

Station History

New Brunswick station in 1910

The Northeast Corridor tracks near New Brunswick

Train service first came to New Brunswick in 1838. The New Jersey Railroad started the service. Later, the Pennsylvania Railroad built the station you see today. This happened in 1903. At that time, the train tracks were raised above the streets.

Over the years, different companies ran the trains. First, it was Penn Central, then Amtrak and NJ Transit. In 2005, a popular commuter train called the Clocker was taken over by NJ Transit. In 2015, the Palmetto train also began stopping at the station.

The station building has a special look called Colonial Revival style. It has light brown bricks and a sloped roof. The design makes it look strong and classic. The windows have a style from the Georgian Revival period. This station building is similar to the Chester Transportation Center in Pennsylvania.

Because of its history and design, the station building was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. This means it's an important historical site.

New Brunswick: A Transit Hub

In 2005, New Brunswick station became the center of a "transit village." This is a special plan to build more homes and businesses close to the station. The idea is to make it easy for people to walk to the station and use public transport.

Besides trains, the station is a busy spot for buses. New Jersey Transit bus operations and Rutgers Campus Buses serve the area. There are also local shuttles called Brunsquick and DASH. City planners are even looking into a new bus system for New Brunswick. The station would be the main point for this new bus network. This network would connect downtown, neighborhoods, and the different parts of Rutgers University.

New Brunswick is one of nine cities in New Jersey chosen for special tax credits. These credits help encourage new building projects near train stations. For example, a project called The Gateway was built right next to the station. It has a new bridge for people to walk directly to the Rutgers campus. This building is the tallest building in the city. It's one of many new projects that have helped improve the downtown area around the station.

Faster Trains Coming Soon

In 2011, the United States Department of Transportation gave a lot of money for a big project. This project will make a 24-mile section of the Northeast Corridor better. This section is between New Brunswick and Trenton.

The goal is to upgrade the power, signals, and overhead wires for the trains. This will make the trains more reliable. It will also allow trains to go much faster, up to 160 miles per hour. With new trains, they could even reach 186 miles per hour! This project is part of making the Northeast Corridor a "Next Generation High-Speed" rail line.