NJ Transit to upgrade, relocate Lyndhurst Station, threatening Kingsland Station

NJ Transit has been making slow steps towards building high-level, ADA-accessible platforms for its commuter trains, a feat that was fully accomplished on Metro North in the 90s and the LIRR in the 70s.

One the stations selected for high-level platforms is Lyndhurst on the Main Line.  Once finished, this would be the only accessible stop between Paterson and Secaucus.

The new platforms would be located about a block to the south, on Delafield Avenue.

This arrangement has its advantages.  For one, it would be located closer to a large parking lot owned by NJ Transit and used by commuters.  The lot, just to the right of the proposed new platforms, has 470 free parking spaces.

This is not the first time NJ Transit has relocated a station.  In 2012, new high-level platforms opened at Plauderville on the Bergen County Line, across the street from their original location.

The current design is also scaled back from previous concepts.  Instead of an elevator, the platforms will be accessible by a ramp, saving money.  $22 million was budgeted towards the project, but excluding the elevator, the cost will likely be under that.

The only reason to worry about this project is because of how close together Lyndhurst and Kingsland stations are. Currently, they are only .6 miles apart, and they would be a mere .5 miles apart once construction is done.

NJ Transit may, in the coming years, close Kingsland for good,

What NJ Transit looks like for riders with disabilities

ADA-friendly stations are few and far between

Last week we got to take a peek at a map of the ADA-accessible stations on the NYC subway.  The results were not pretty. Entire lines had be to stricken from the map because they had less than 2 accessible stops.

ADA-accessible stations have level platforms, and require no stairs to access the train.  This usually means elevators for underground stations.

In New Jersey, we have made a decent amount of progress towards an accessibile rail system, but we’re nowhere near the finish line.

Here’s what the NJ Transit system looks like with only accessible stations:

Here’s the original map of the full system, for comparison.

Some observations: