The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) - NJIT Student Chapter, in collaboration with New Jersey Transit, organized a tour of the Newark City Subway on April 17, 2002. Students from Transportation Program, Civil Engineering and Architecture at NJIT joined the tour. It was, according to attendees, very interesting tour. We had a chance to hear about the latest developments and future plans for extension and improvements in the Newark City Subway System.

Students and our hosts Mr. Wilkins and Mr. Farrah in new Newark Subway car

Our hosts from NJ Transit were Mr. John Wilkins, Planning and R&D Director, and Mr. Mort Farrah, Project Manager. First part of the tour was a brief presentation of the undergoing subway extension project in downtown Newark and plans for future improvements. These projects include:

·        Extension from Newark Penn Station to Broad Street Station (under design)

·        Extension from Franklin St, Newark to Grove St, Bloomfield (under construction)

·        New vehicle facility in Bloomfield (under construction)

·      Stations upgrade to meet accessibility requirements mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (under construction).

All these projects are part of the collaboration between NJ Transit and NJ Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and their goals are to reduce traffic congestion, provide more transportation options, and create benefits for the community (provide higher mobility, protect environment and improve quality of life).

Here we are at new subway station - Branch Brook Park

Then we all boarded new train car and took ride from Penn Station Newark to newly opened Branch Brook Park Station. After a short tour of the station we took the train back to NJIT – for those who don’t know, Newark City Subway Warren Street Station.

We hope to see you in our next field trip!