Aberdeen–Matawan station

Aberdeen–Matawan is a station on NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line, located in Aberdeen and Matawan, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. This station, convenient to Route 35 and the PNC Bank Arts Center, is popular with both commuters and concertgoers, and is the busiest station on the line between Bay Head and Rahway.

For other railway stations named Aberdeen, see Aberdeen station (disambiguation). For other uses of Aberdeen, see Aberdeen (disambiguation).

Aberdeen– Matawan
Aberdeen–Matawan station in January 2018.
General information
Location	Main Street and Atlantic Avenue Matawan, New Jersey 07747
Owned by	NJ Transit
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	PNC Bank Arts Center shuttle[1]
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	15
History
Opened	June 25, 1875 (ceremonial)[2] July 1, 1875 (regular service)[2]
Rebuilt	May 10–November 3, 1983[3][4]
Electrified	Yes
Passengers
2012	2,554 (average weekday)[5]
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station Hazlet toward Bay Head North Jersey Coast Line South Amboy toward New York Penn Station or Hoboken
Former services Preceding station Central Railroad of New Jersey Following station Terminus Freehold Branch Stillwell Street toward Freehold Seashore Branch Keyport toward East Long Branch Preceding station New York and Long Branch Railroad Following station Hazlet toward Bay Head Junction Main Line Cliffwood toward Perth Amboy
Matawan Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
The front of the former Central Railroad of New Jersey depot at Aberdeen-Matawan in September 2023 The back of the former Central Railroad of New Jersey depot at Aberdeen-Matawan in September 2023
Location	Matawan, New Jersey, USA
Coordinates	40°25′12.70″N 74°13′24.98″W
Area	0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built	1875 (1875)
Architectural style	Stick-Eastlake, Carpenter Gothic
MPS	Operating Passenger Railroad Stations TR
NRHP reference No.	84002756[6]
NJRHP No.	2017[7]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 22, 1984
Designated NJRHP	March 17, 1984

The station is located at grade on Atlantic Avenue, on the border of Aberdeen and Matawan, and has two high side platforms, as well as two abandoned low side platforms, and two tracks. A ticket office is located on the New York-bound platform. All trains on the North Jersey Coast Line serve this station. The former Freehold Branch can still be traced in a southeastern parking lot.

History

For many years, the New York and Long Branch Railroad-built station was known as just Matawan, as its stationhouse and main platform were in Matawan, and only an auxiliary platform and large extra parking area were in Aberdeen.

The original building was opened on July 1, 1875 as a temporary station for regular service.^[2] It was the first station built on the line and was estimated to cost between $4,000 and $6,000 at the time.^[8] In 1982, the original building was closed and replaced by a small, one-story building on the north side of the tracks, to accommodate morning rush hour travelers commuting into New York City. The station was electrified in 1983 under New Jersey Transit as just a one-stop extension from the original end of electrification under the Pennsylvania Railroad in South Amboy.^[9] In 1984, the original station building was listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places as part of the Operating Passenger Railroad Stations Thematic Resource.^{[6][7][10][11]}

When the station was reconstructed and expanded in the 1990s, the new stationhouse and main platforms were built on the Aberdeen (eastern) side of Atlantic Avenue. NJ Transit considered renaming the station to just Aberdeen, but Matawan officials protested, since much of the town's recognition factor was due to the heavy use of the station by central New Jersey residents. Thus, the joint Aberdeen-Matawan name was adopted. All three station buildings are still in existence.

In 2003, the area surrounding the station was designated a Transit Village by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.^[12] Work began on the redevelopment of the surrounding area in August 2016.^[13] In October 2018, a new mixed used development called "The Link at Aberdeen Station" was opened right next to the station on the Aberdeen side, replacing the abandoned Zobel paint factory.^[14] In late 2023, construction began on a mixed used development called "Matawan Junction" on the intersection of Main and High Streets, two blocks away from the current station, an empty lot which had been abandoned since 1984.^[15]

See also

• List of NJ Transit stations
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Monmouth County, New Jersey

References

1. "Public Transportation". PNC Bank Arts Center. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
2. "New York and Long Branch Railroad". The Monmouth Inquirer. Freehold, New Jersey. July 1, 1875. p. 3. Retrieved February 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "New Matawan Train Station Won't Have Aberdeen Name". The Asbury Park Press. May 10, 1983. p. 23. Retrieved January 31, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
4. De Santis, Susan (November 4, 1983). "Matawan Station Dedicated". The Asbury Park Press. Retrieved June 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS" (PDF). New Jersey Transit. December 27, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
7. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
8. Sears, Steve (October 26, 2011). "Three Buildings, One Stop: A Closer Look at the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station". Matawan-Aberdeen Patch. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
9. "Aberdeen-Matawan". Subwaynut.com. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
10. Matawan New Jersey Transit Railroad Station Survey
11. Monmouth County Listings at the National Register of Historic Places
12. Hlavenka, Jacqueline (January 28, 2010). "Aberdeen, Matawan revisit plans for transit village". Greater Media Newspapers. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
13. Vantuono, William C. (August 11, 2016). "New New Jersey Transit transit village under way". Railway Age.
14. "City Living's Unlikely New Address Is The Link at Aberdeen Station". Jersey Digs. April 30, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
15. Harris, Vashti (February 19, 2021). "Professional discusses details of mixed use Matawan Junction project". centraljersey.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023.

External links

Media related to Abeerden-Matawan (NJT station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Aberdeen-Matawan New Jersey Transit Station (The Subway Nut)