Millburn station
Coordinates: 40°43′32.4″N 74°18′13.3″W / 40.725667°N 74.303694°W
Millburn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Owned by | New Jersey Transit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 NJT Bus: 70 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Fare zone | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Passengers (2012) | 1,748 (average weekday)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Millburn is a New Jersey Transit station in Millburn, New Jersey along the Morristown and Gladstone lines.
History
The Millburn Station predates the town's formal incorporation and in fact dates back to 1837. It was one of the original stations served by the original Morris and Essex Railroad.
In 1837, the first steam locomotive to run along the M&E line made its trial run to Millburn (called "Millville" in that year). Unhappily, that particular excursion ended in tragedy as the train, in push mode for the return trip, derailed near Newark Broad Street Station, with two fatalities.
However, rail service eastward to Newark, and westward to Dover, proved a boon to the town—so much so that local historians credit the railroad as the chief impetus for Millburn's incorporation as a separate municipality in 1857.[2]
Present facility
The Millburn Station, built in 1906-07, is located at the intersection of Essex Street and Lackawanna Place near the southern entrance of South Mountain Reservation.
The station consists of two ground-level platforms and a single building on the eastbound (toward Hoboken and New York Penn Station) side. This building houses a waiting area and a ticket office, which is normally open on weekday mornings only. There are also ticket vending machines installed. Tickets may be purchased on board the train but are then subject to a $5 surcharge.
These platforms are not high-level platforms. Passengers boarding or debarking at this station must use the stairs on each car. Millburn Station is not considered handicap-accessible.
The eastbound and westbound (toward Gladstone and Hackettstown) platforms are accessible from two concrete stairwells that rise from Lackawanna Place, next to the metal trestle that carries the tracks over Lackawanna Place. Passengers can also cross from one platform to another through a tunnel near the ticket office.
Service
This station receives local and occasional express trains from the Morristown Line and the Gladstone Branch, with service to Hoboken Terminal and Midtown Direct service to New York City.
Service begins at 5:03 a.m. and ends at 2:22 a.m. 58 inbound trains (including 15 peak-hour trains) and 63 outbound trains (including 14 peak-hour trains) stop at this station every weekday. Weekend and holiday service is limited to 39 inbound and 39 outbound trains, running between 5:34 a.m. and 2:17 a.m. Afternoon and evening service to and from Hoboken typically consists of trains containing three or four self-propelled electric cars. Hoboken service at other hours, and all Midtown Direct service (to and from New York), is provided on much longer trains propelled by electric locomotives either in push or pull mode.
For fare-calculation and seat-check purposes, the Millburn station is in Zone 7 of the Morris and Essex Lines, a zone it shares with the Short Hills station. As is the policy everywhere on the New Jersey Transit system, passengers who board the train while the ticket office is open, or where a vending machine exists, and then buy their tickets on board, are subject to a five-dollar surcharge.
Parking
Permitted parking is available in a vast parking lot on the westbound side, and also in a lot adjacent to the parking lot of the Millburn Free Public Library on the far side of Lackawanna Place. This parking lot uses a valet parking system to maximize use of its space. Permits cost $360 per year ($450 for a second car per household) and entitle a resident to park in other nearby lots (and also on the street next to his own house). The nearby shopping district meters its parking, charging ten cents an hour or twenty-five cents for two hours—fees that are purely nominal and are intended solely to prevent railroad users from occupying parking spaces intended for patrons of local shops and banks.
Nearby businesses, facilities, and attractions
The Millburn Professional Building stands on the westbound platform, directly opposite the station building. This was probably one of the original station buildings but does not today house any New Jersey Transit offices. Another major office building stands directly west of the station building, nearer the Lackawanna Place trestle.
The Millburn Free Public Library is located across Lackawanna Place, and the Millburn Volunteer First Aid Squad is located on Glen Avenue on the north side of the station parking lot.
The station is also located near a thriving shopping and financial district. The Paper Mill Playhouse is within walking distance (0.4 miles). Several restaurants, offering a wide variety of cuisines, are located across Essex Street from the station.
References
- ↑ "QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS". New Jersey Transit. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
- ↑ Meisner, Marian. A History of Millburn Township. Millburn, NJ: Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society and Millburn Free Public Library, 2002 (e-book).