Harrison station (PATH)

Station layout

This station is technically located on the Northeast Corridor. It has two side platforms and five tracks. Only the side tracks serving the PATH platforms have third rail power; the three center tracks, with overhead catenary wires, are used by Amtrak and New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line and North Jersey Coast Line, which do not stop at Harrison.

The platforms have low tubular fencing along their extreme ends and a wooden canopy held up by metal posts toward their midsection. Each platform has its own entrance/exit to the west side of Frank E. Rogers Boulevard and there are no crossovers or crossunders.

On the Newark-bound platform, an opening leads to a roll-up store-style door to a small, modern fare control area with smart card turnstiles, installed here and at all other PATH stations in January 2005. Before then, passengers could take the short ride to Newark for free (trains discharge and pick up passengers at different levels of that station, so fare beating to New York was not possible). These six turnstiles lead past a Ticket Vending Machine and another machine for two trip PATH MetroCards to a covered staircase. This staircase goes down to an intermediate landing where another staircase turns right and goes down to the street. A new staircase facing the opposite direction from the original goes down to a small plaza with bike racks outside the parking garage.

The entrance to the New York-bound platform is inside a 1930s brick building. It has a circular awning that covers two blue doors. Above this awning is a window to allow natural light in followed by a concrete etching of the Pennsylvania Railroad logo, and is a reflection of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad former joint operated with the Pennsylvania Railroad between Journal Square (then called Summit Avenue) and Newark. Above this is a station's name and ornate clock Inside the building are two more doors at a split. These two areas lead to separate banks of turnstiles that lead to an enclosed staircase up to platform level, where there is a small enclosed waiting area with benches before doors lead out to the back of the platform. East of the station is the longest distance between any two stations on PATH.

History

This embankment station, which opened on November 26, 1911 as part of an extension of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad from Manhattan Transfer to the Newark – Park Place terminal. The station was originally located at the intersection of Fourth Street (now Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard South) and New Jersey Railroad Avenue. It was moved slightly south to its current location in 1937 when the H&M was realigned to Newark Penn Station. While all traces of the original station are gone, remnants of the two-track line can still be found along Railroad Avenue. Both the former and current Harrison Stations were part of a joint operation of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the H&M operated under the legal name "Joint Service Electric Railroad", which required a separate or surcharge fare. Beside H&M service, Harrison also served the PRR-owned New York and Long Branch Railroad line, which was partially owned by the Central Railroad of New Jersey south of Perth Amboy, and ran as far east as Exchange Place Terminal in Jersey City. Hudson and Manhattan Railroad was bought by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1962 and renamed Port Authority Trans-Hudson, but the 1937-built H&M/PRR depot remained intact.

Reconstruction

The area around the station has been undergoing redevelopment since the early 2000s. The first phase of a mixed-use development called Harrison Station opened in December 2011. Meanwhile, the Port Authority began reconstructing the station in 2009; the $256 million project essentially builds a new station because the original one's architecture was not suitable for mere updating. The new station will feature longer platforms to allow 10-car trains, wider platforms for increased standing room, and street-level-to-platform elevators in compliance with ADA regulations, as well as architectural modifications to its appearance. Funding for this project is provided by a portion of the March 2008 toll and fare hike, which increased the overall spending budget of the corporation. The Port Authority has begun acquiring real property in preparation for construction.

In 2012, a parking garage opened adjacent to the Newark-bound platform and the entrance/exit was rebuilt with a modern, glass walled enclosure. A new staircase facing the opposite direction from the original goes down to a small plaza with bike racks outside the garage. The major reconstruction was approved on March 28, 2012, and was scheduled to run from January 2013 to April 2017. The start of construction was celebrated by Gov. Chris Christie, Mayor Raymond McDonough and Port Authority Executive Director Bill Baroni on August 16, 2013. The completion target was tentatively moved to 2018, and settling a required right-of-way renewal agreement with Amtrak may delay the completion further. Work on the station can continue even in the absence of a agreement.