South Orange station

NJ Transit rail station

South Orange is a New Jersey Transit station in South Orange, New Jersey along the Morris and Essex (formerly Erie Lackawanna) rail line. It is located in the business district of South Orange, near its town hall. It is one of two train stations in the township of South Orange, Mountain Station being the other near the township border. South Orange station was built by the Lackawanna Railroad in 1916.

The railroad was raised to eliminate grade crossings in South Orange in the 1910s. A new station was constructed of dark brick with a green roof. Station owner New Jersey Transit decided to perform work at South Orange station to improve accessibility and to repair ninety year old viaducts at the station. At a cost of $22.9 million, repair work at South Orange, along with other nearby stations commenced in 2004. South Orange received a mini high level platform as a result of the repairs, and the tracks surrounding the station were upgraded to have concrete ties and the stairways leading towards the platforms were replaced.

As with nearly all stations on the Morris & Essex Lines east of Summit, there are three tracks at South Orange station numbered according to the scheme that was established by the Lackawanna Railroad. Track 1, the express track, is the middle of the three tracks and is served by trains in the peak rush hour direction. Track 2, the southernmost track, serves eastbound trains heading towards Hoboken and New York. Track 3 is the northernmost track and handles westbound trains to Dover, Gladstone, and Hackettstown. The western end of the platform for tracks 1 and 3 and the eastern end of the platform for track 2 contain high level sections of platform. Installed in 2004, these allow those with handicaps to board and bring the station in compliance with ADA regulations.