Dunellen station

Dunellen
Dunellen station in July 2014.
Coordinates	40°35′27″N 74°27′47″W / 40.59083°N 74.46306°W / 40.59083; -74.46306Coordinates: 40°35′27″N 74°27′47″W / 40.59083°N 74.46306°W / 40.59083; -74.46306
Owned by	New Jersey Transit
Line(s)	Raritan Valley Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	NJT Bus: 59, 65, 66, 113, and 114 Suburban Trails: Dunellen Local
Other information
Fare zone	12
History
Opened	1840
Rebuilt	1868, December 10, 1955
Previous names	New Market (1840–1868)
Traffic
Passengers (2012)	945 (average weekday)
Services
Preceding station   NJ Transit Rail   Following station Bound Brook toward High Bridge Raritan Valley Line Plainfield toward Hoboken or New York Penn Station   Former services   Preceding station   Central Railroad of New Jersey   Following station Middlesex toward Scranton Main Line Clinton Avenue toward Communipaw Terminal Middlesex toward Scranton Main Line after April 30, 1967 Grant Avenue toward Communipaw Terminal

Dunellen is a New Jersey Transit railroad station on the Raritan Valley Line, in Dunellen, New Jersey. It is the only Raritan Valley Line station in Middlesex County. There is a ticket office and small waiting area at this stop. A simple station, there are two tracks with two small side platforms. The station is located on a high embankment.

Trains stop serving the station at midnight and resume by 5 in the morning. Automatic ticket vending machines have been installed along with an automated voice telling commuters when their train will arrive.

Since the opening of the railroad, the tracks of the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) crossed through the borough of Dunellen at grade level with roads. The borough began pressing the railroad to upgrade the tracks as early as April 1922, with complaints of the Washington Avenue (future CR 529) and Prospect Avenue crossings. Their complaint was that with the increasing traffic, the crossings were becoming unsafe for travel, and that the crossings were holding up traffic in Dunellen and nearby New Market. The citizens pressed the railroad to build a tunnel or a bridge for the two crossings in 1922 so trains, pedestrians and vehicles could all be accommodated properly. Residents pointed out in August 1922 that the project would cost probably $40,000 (1922 USD), compared to a project in nearby Westfield that cost $75,000. However, the borough noted that they could not afford such a financial project at that time. The railroad responded with the idea that a grade crossing removal could occur "someday," it was considered a project for the near future. The borough took the concept to the State Public Utilities Commission, but the commission would not act unless there was a petition by residents. The project halted to a standstill as a result.

The project started gaining life again in 1929, when the CNJ considered the work ready to start in 1931. The railroad, in the midst of completing projects in Cranford and Elizabeth of similar types, the railroad determined that Dunellen would be soon after. Involved in the construction would be two new depots for the borough (one westbound, one eastbound) and a chance to beautify North Avenue (NJ 28). By March 1935, the project proposal expanded to four grade crossings, including the ones at Grove Street and Pulaski Street. However, nothing came about of this until 1937, when the borough appeared at the State Highway Commission. Mayor Joseph Morecraft, Jr. and Councilman Edward J. Hannon would testify that the state should pay the money to remove the crossings, giving the borough financial assistance for the cause. Hannon noted the continued increase of accidents at the crossings and that the railroad is not responsible by law for doing such a thing.