IMPROVEMENTS IN THE WORKS FOR METROPARK STATION

Longer platforms, expanded station building will enhance capacity and comfort

December 13, 2006
NJT-06-152
Contact: Dan Stessel 973 491-7078

NEWARK, NJ ¿ Customers of NJ TRANSIT¿s busiest outlying rail station¿Metropark Station on the Northeast Corridor¿will benefit from a project advanced today by the NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors to renovate the station and build longer, wider platforms.

¿These improvements will ensure that Metropark Station remains an efficient and modern gateway for commuters in the growing Central New Jersey region,¿ said Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman Kris Kolluri. ¿While providing an enhanced customer experience, the project will also enable the station to serve more riders in the future to support capacity expansion projects such as the Access to the Region¿s Core tunnel project.¿

The Board awarded a $29.8 million contract to Anselmi & DeCicco, Inc. of Maplewood, NJ for station improvements and the construction of high-level platforms. Constructed in 1971, Metropark Station now serves 106 trains and approximately 7,200 NJ TRANSIT customers on a typical weekday.

"NJ TRANSIT's commitment to invest millions of dollars to upgrade the busy Metropark station and infrastructure is good news to Woodbridge Township residents and area visitors,¿ said Woodbridge Township Mayor John E. McCormac. ¿The renovations will certainly benefit Township residents and will improve the safety, security, and comfort of commuters moving through Woodbridge via the Metropark station.¿

¿The work at Metropark Station represents the second of two major projects we have undertaken in Woodbridge¿the first being the newly renovated Woodbridge Station¿that will benefit nearly 9,000 customers,¿ said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George D. Warrington.

The new, longer and wider high-level platforms will be capable of accommodating longer trains¿up to 12 cars in length. The project will also result in increased canopy and windscreen coverage as well as climate-controlled waiting shelters, an expanded and refurbished station building, new staircases, a renovated pedestrian tunnel, and other customer amenities such as new customer communication systems, lighting and signage. In addition, the project will feature new pedestrian connections from Route 27 to the station platforms, making the station more convenient for area residents.

Construction on the project will begin early next year, with completion expected in 2010.

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing nearly 857,000 weekday trips on 240 bus routes, three light rail lines and 11 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 162 rail stations, 60 light rail stations and more than 18,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.