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Murphy highlights $49M New Brunswick train station upgrades
Matthew Fazelpoor//September 26, 2022//
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Last week, on a brisk fall afternoon in New Brunswick overlooking the future site of the New Jersey Innovation and Technology Hub, Gov. Phil Murphy, flanked by local, county and state officials and stakeholders, continued his mini tour highlighting investments made in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget.
The Sept. 22 event focused on $49 million for improvements at the New Brunswick Train Station — a critical component of the Northeast Corridor rail line and at the center of the municipality’s efforts to embrace its Hub City moniker.
The improvements will include extending and replacing passenger platforms, rehabilitating escalators and elevators, installing energy-efficient lighting, and upgrading heating and air-conditioning systems. The investment will be made through the Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund, set aside during the budget process, which will allow the state to avoid bonding and paying long-term debt on the project.
“Our fiscally responsible and forward-looking investments will further solidify the city’s reputation as a pivotal crossroads, not just as a geographic center point in the heart of New Jersey, but as a place where residents, students, medical professionals, and internationally renowned companies continue to congregate for generations to come,” said Murphy. “Officials at all levels of New Jersey government are working in lockstep to help the Hub City achieve its full potential as an economic powerhouse and destination.”
“The $49 million budget investment marks more than just a continuation of the state’s commitment to a robust, reliable, and accessible transportation network in the Garden State,” said Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-19. “It is an investment that is the product of decades of good local leadership under Mayor Cahill, leadership that with wide spanning partnerships is ushering in a resurgence of the city and empowering New Brunswick to see its full potential realized as a home for innovation.”
New Brunswick Mayor James Cahill said the train station is a daily reminder of the city’s long and rich history as a transit hub.
“These upgrades being announced today will ensure that New Brunswick will continue to be recognized as a critical component in statewide and regional transportation and will serve as the perfect complement to our world-class facilities like the Jack and Cheryl Morris Cancer Pavilion and the New Jersey Innovation and Technology Hub,” said Cahill.
The project will be managed by the Middlesex County Improvement Authority (MCIA) on behalf of the Middlesex County and NJ Transit, which will provide technical assistance, procure and manage an engineering and design firm, retain construction services, and have review and approval rights throughout the project.
“This is a familiar role for the county, as it is the same process currently taking place with the North Brunswick Train Station a few miles down the track,” said Middlesex County Board of County Commissioner Director Ronald Rios. “Today, the announcement that the MCIA will play a similar role for the station in New Brunswick is a testament to the constructive collaboration between NJ Transit and the MCIA.”
“This revitalized station will enhance accessibility, mobility, and the customer experience for thousands of Middlesex County residents who use this station every day,” said NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett.
“Modernization of the New Brunswick Train Station will energize the transformative development taking place directly adjacent to the Northeast Corridor, making the N.J. Innovation HUB and Rutgers Cancer Institute accessible to researchers, patients, employees and visitors from Boston to Washington, D.C.,” said Christopher Paladino, New Brunswick Development Corp. (DEVCO) president, who’s company is involved with both projects.
