How The Renovated New Brunswick Train Station Will Look

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — On Tuesday, NJ Transit and the Middlesex County Improvement Authority unveiled these renderings of how they imagine the renovated New Brunswick train station will look.

For several years now, NJ Transit has been planning a complete renovation of the New Brunswick train station, which services both NJ Transit and Amtrak customers on the busy Northeast Corridor line.

This is the first major renovation done to the New Brunswick station in its 120-year history. The project is only in design phase: At their Nov. 8 meeting, NJ Transit and the state Department of Transportation awarded a $7-million contract to AECOM, an infrastructure consulting firm, to do an initial design of how the new station will look.

No date has been released yet for when renovation work will actually start.

"The design phase has just started," said a spokesperson for Middlesex County. "A construction timeline will be determined during this phase. The New Brunswick train station is a vital transportation hub; it will remain fully operational throughout the design and construction phases."

What's planned:

• Renovations to both westbound and eastbound train platforms. The biggest change is that NJ Transit plans to build clear Plexiglass walls along the platforms, so people waiting for a train can be seen from the street. Right now the platform walls are concrete.
• Improvements to the pedestrian walkway that runs under the station
• An entirely new waiting room inside the station will be built.
• Replacing the elevators and escalators
• Upgraded heating and air conditioning

It's a big job: The entire renovation project will cost $45 million, which Middlesex County says has already been funded by the state of New Jersey as part of the FY2023 budget.

NJ Transit called the upgrades a "crucial investment to this key Northeast Corridor train station."

"The customer experience will benefit from extending and replacing well-worn passenger platforms, modern amenities, reliable elevators and escalators," said H. James Polos, director of the Middlesex County Improvement Authority. "Brighter and more energy-efficient lighting and upgraded heating and air conditioning systems will all be a part of the extensive renovations."

“The modernization of the New Brunswick train station will provide much-needed updates to the 120-year-old-station,” said Middlesex County Commissioner Charles Kenny. “This will encourage the use of mass transit to travel to and from New Brunswick whether for the arts, work, medical care or recreation."

The thinking is the New Brunswick train station will see even more traffic when the HELIX — the under-construction science/tech/innovation hub across Albany Street — opens up, which will not be until 2025 at the earliest.

“The renovation of the New Brunswick train station will play a pivotal role in supporting the ongoing economic development of Middlesex County," said Middlesex County Commissioner Director Ronald Rios on Tuesday. "Aligning with the concurrent construction of the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center and the Health + Life Sciences Exchange (HELIX), this project is instrumental in positioning Middlesex County as a vibrant destination."