Okay, so many rail terminals oftentimes aren’t located on prime waterfront real estate. Boston’s two termini are on the edges of downtown, New Haven is in an industrial wasteland, and New York’s Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal are both in the heart of Midtown. And, for that matter, LI City and Atlantic Terminal are both in the hearts of lesser city centers (though not really a “city center” in practice), being LI City in the case of, well, LI City, and a neighborhood usually aptly referred to as “Downtown Brooklyn” in the case of Atlantic Terminal. However, there IS one major rail terminal in the metropolitan area that IS on prime waterfront property, and it’s actually quite beautiful. Meet: Hoboken Terminal.
Starting off in the PATH section, the station is pretty nice-looking, with green poles and what looks like vaulted ceilings to an untrained eye. While the platforms don’t have much in the way of amenities, you DO have countdown clocks at least. Outside fare control, you also have ticketing machines for PATH. Neat! Generally, a little barren but for a terminal, you probably don’t need much when you can just wait on the train.
Moving on up to the NJT Rail and bus section, and my GOD. This. Is. BEAUTIFUL!!! Easily among the most beautiful rail terminals, if not THE single most beautiful rail terminal I’ve ever seen, so far, in my personal opinions. Now, I’m not saying Grand Central is bad. It really isn’t, and I can see why many people say that’s the most beautiful rail terminal (in the country). However, I personally think the waterfront scenery gives Hoboken the edge over Grand Central here.
The platforms are unfortunately low-level, however you DO have a fully functional departure board listing every departure to Waldwick, Mt. Olive, Port Jervis, Gladstone, among other places. There’s wastebaskets, ticketing machines, a ticket OFFICE and waiting room (which is rather beautiful!), a ferry dock with connections across the Hudson, and even a Dunks! There were also restrooms in the waiting area, however I didn’t take a look. Overall, this really isn’t bad!
Exiting out of the station one way, there’s access to the bus terminal. It’s okay, I guess. Nothing special. But, adjacent to the station is Pier A Park. You can get a view of the station building and the signage reading “LACKAWANNA” overlooking the river. And, holy SHIT, the views of NYC are unmatched. Just take a look.
The HBLR station is pretty standard as well. You have ticket readers on the platform, benches, two tracks, inaccurate countdown clocks, the usual affair. There was also a ticketing machine here as well as a nice view of lower Manhattan. Not bad! In terms of land use nearby, it’s actually REALLY GOOD as well. I mean, Hoboken in general (& also neighboring Jersey City) are very good with making roads safer and following through on Vision Zero initiatives and making the bike lanes they implement actually be safe to use. (including various tactics to QUITE LITERAQLLY HAVE ZERO TRAFFIC DEATHS IN 8 YEARS including higher visibility crosswalks, curb extensions, daylighting methods, lowering speed limits, among others)
The good: It’s BEAUTIFUL. Holy SHIT, this is easily among the most beautiful stations I’ve ever seen. There’s also a waiting room, a rather scenic view of Manhattan, a Dunks(!), ferry connections, a bus terminal, among others. There’s also a staffed ticket office and machines, which is nice. Furthermore, the sheer amount of traffic that comes through here makes it a railfan’s paradise as well.
The bad: Low level boarding. That’s it. That’s literally it. Give it a high level platform makeover and it’ll be a 10/10 station.
Nearby points of interest: Newport is a relatively short walk from here, though the mall itself isn’t that close by. A couple of nearby piers got converted to parks, and if you’re into transit history, you can even see old trolley tracks outside on Hudson Place. If you’re into that stuff, I suggest reading up about the North Hudson Co. Railway. I was also told by Avery (the Cuban-American – you probably see him in the comments of some transit videos sharing some relevant and cool info). There’s also a waterfront walkway, built as part of a state-mandated master plan, to link local communities with a park and provide waterfront access. Neat!
Transit connections:
NJT Rail (Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, Gladstone, Main & Bergen Co., Raritan Valley)
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
Metro-North (Pascack Valley, Port Jervis)
PATH (Hoboken-WTC, Hoboken-33rd St.)
NJT bus (22, 23, 85, 87, 89, 126)
Overall, it’s one of the best stations I’ve ever been to, and is a 10/10 in scenery. However, the fact it doesn’t have level boarding is LITERALLY THE ONE THING KEEPING ME FROM GIVING THIS A 10/10 BLOODY HELL. However, I do recommend, even if to just appreciate how beautiful a station it is.
Rating: 9.75/10
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