Metropark face-lift includes serious upgrades $47M project includes major changes for service, convenience BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer New Jersey Transit broke ground last week on a $47 million project to rebuild Metropark Station on the Northeast Corridor line, which promises to deliver comfort and convenience for thousands who use the station. The Metropark project, which was announced in December 2006, is the second major NJ Transit capital investment in Woodbridge Township. A $23 million rehabilitation project at Woodbridge Station on the North Jersey Coast Line was launched in fall 2005 and completed this spring. Together, the projects represent a $70 million investment, benefiting nearly 9,000 NJ Transit customers. "These station improvements will really make a difference for our residents, and our continued investment in public transit is crucial to keeping New Jersey moving," said Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski [D-19], chairman of the Transportation and Public Works Committee. Metropark, which became New Jersey's first "park and ride" station when it opened on Nov. 11, 1971, was originally designed as a suburban stop for Amtrak Metroliner trains but is now the busiest outlying station in the NJ Transit commuter rail network. The station quickly became a model of a regional interceptor - a station located near a major highway - and providing adequate parking and convenient train options for rail travelers. The station accommodates 4 million passenger trips each year - 14,200 NJ Transit customers and 1,000 Amtrak customers each weekday. Work on the platforms, station building and other components will be conducted in phases to allow the station to remain open to minimize inconvenience to customers. Crews will be deployed along tracks to keep workers safe at the state, where 106 NJ Transit trains and another 47 Amtrak trains stop or pass through each weekday. Over the next three years, NJ Transit will make station improvements, which will include longer, wider platforms able to accommodate 12-car trains; heated and air-conditioned platform shelters; an expanded station building with a second vendor space and larger waiting room, new pedestrian link from Route 27 to the westbound station platform to provide safer, more convenient access for area residents, new canopies extended farther along each platform, new enclosed stairways, new elevators and refurbished pedestrian tunnel; new customer public address system, LCD train information system and lighting; and new sidewalks and landscaping. "This project will deliver a more comfortable and convenient travel experience for our customers, which is critical to making NJ Transit the preferred choice for travel in New Jersey," said NJ Transit Executive Director Richard Sarles. "And it is part of our ongoing commitment to continue making critical investments in the Northeast Corridor." The project, which is expected to be completed in early 2010, is funded with state and federal sources. "The investment in this station demonstrates Gov. Jon Corzine's strong commitment to transit as an important way to relieve congestion, protect the environment and grow our economy," said Transportation Commissioner and NJ Transit Board Chairman Kris Kolluri. Anne Witt, Amtrak Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development said the station's improvements are a win-win situation for commuters and intercity rail travelers alike. "Investments by state partners that improve the travel experience for our customers are good for Amtrak and good for the regional economy," she said. "This reconstruction project is a perfect example of our customers reaping the benefits of a coordinated planning process."