Chatham (NJT station)

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Chatham
Station statistics
Address	Railroad Plaza & Fairmount Avenue Chatham, NJ 07928
Coordinates	40°44′24.6″N, 74°23′6.2″WCoordinates: 40°44′24.6″N, 74°23′6.2″W
Lines	Morristown Line
Connections	NJT Bus: MCM3
Tracks	2
Parking	420 spaces
Bicycle facilities	yes
Other information
Opened	1 January 1838
Electrified	1931
Fare zone	10
Traffic
Passengers (2007)	387,140 ▲ 6%
Services
Preceding station   New Jersey Transit   Following station Madison toward Hackettstown Morristown Line Summit toward Hoboken or New York Penn

Chatham is a railway station in Chatham, New Jersey. A commuter rail station, Chatham receives rail service from statewide provider New Jersey Transit on its Morristown Line, a branch of the Morris & Essex Lines. Trains on the Morristown Line go to both Hoboken Terminal and New York Penn Station.

[edit] History

Chatham station opened on 1 January 1838 along with other stations on the Morris and Essex Railroad between Orange (at one time the western terminus of the line) and Morristown. During the beginnings of the rail in the area, Chatham was the home of a relatively well-utilised and large rail yard because of the steep grades in the surrounding area.^[1] In the early 1900s, the station was mainly used by vacationers from New York City who came to Chatham to experience what was then considered a beautiful town away from the bustling city.^[2] The train station would later prove a vital role in Chatham's continual population increases.^[3] In 1929, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, the owners of the railway at the time, spent $100m to electrify the Morris & Essex lines. This meant that Chatham station would be electrified and would be served by electric trains, some of the first in the United States.^[4] During summer 2007, operator New Jersey Transit replaced the tracks at Chatham along with those on the rest of the Morristown Line, upgrading them to have more advanced and reliable concrete ties rather than older wooden types.^[5]

[edit] Current train service

Chatham is located on New Jersey Transit's Morristown Line of the Morris & Essex Lines. The station receives traffic bound for and coming from both of New Jersey Transit's main terminals: Hoboken Terminal and New York Penn Station. Trains bound eastward towards these two nodes arrive in an alternating fashion at Chatham, so as though a Hoboken bound train will be followed by a New York bound train.^[6] Service is relatively frequent, with morning rush hour trains arriving at intervals of as little as six minutes.^[6] During off-peak hours, trains heading towards each node come at hourly gaps, meaning a train arrives at Chatham almost every thirty minutes during non-rush hour times.^[6] This amount of service is only comparable to that of the Northeast Corridor Line.^[7]

[edit] References