Station Review #76: Kingsland (NJT)


Kingsland is a station on NJT's Main Line. The station is located on Ridge Road in Lyndhurst, NJ. 

History

In the 1860s, the Delaware and Lackawanna railroad created a railway branch called the Boonton Branch. This branch was to be a freight bypass of their main line, going via Paterson and Totowa.  Among other stations on this line was two in Lyndhurst Township, Kingsland and Lyndhurst. The reason there were two is because the Kingsland family had a manor named Kingsland Manor there. The small village of Kingsland got a station for this reason alone. 

Around the time the station was completed, there were also railway shops made for the line that were at Kingsland station. These shops then burned down in 1875, before being rebuilt. The shops were expanded in 1903 when the station itself was rebuilt and grade separated. It's unknown when the shops were removed. In 1916, there was a major accident at the station that caused a new westbound signal to be implemented. 

Sometime around 1963, the Boonton Branch was merged with the Erie Railroad's Main line after the Erie Railroad bought the Lackawanna Railroad. The section from Totowa to Boonton was abandoned before then becoming part of I-80. The section of the Erie Railroad's right of way south of Paterson was also abandoned. The Erie Railroad became part of Conrail in 1976, and the line itself later was absorbed into NJT in 1983. Sometime around this, Kingsland station lost it's ticket office.

In 2010, the town of Lyndhurst attempted to buy the station building and start a coffee shop in it. This went completely unsuccessfully.  

Tour


Train at Kingsland

The "platforms", if you can even call them that

As anyone can quite easily tell, Kingsland is not a very good station. There are no real platforms. Instead, NJT wants those using the station to just make do with some asphalt and a painted yellow line.

The station building

As similar as it is to the absolute lack of a station that is Angora, Kingsland is fortunately more substantial. Although that doesn't mean it's very substantial at all, but there is a station building at least. The building is a carbon copy of the station building for Watsessing Avenue, which was also on a Delaware and Lackawanna railroad owned line. Fortunately, Watsessing Avenue is a better station. The station building in both is essentially a giant set of staircases to the platforms at this point. 

A stairway

The look of the station itself from the top of the passageway near the staircases

If you go to the top of the stairs, and then look outwards at where you just were, you get to see the true extant of Kingsland station. Behold, absolutely nothing. 

This is the area near the southbound platform

And this is the northbound platform 

The closest there is to an inside of the station building 

The TVM

This used to be a door into the waiting room. 

The station, next to the extremely small parking lot

The Future of Kingsland Station

Work has started on a new Lyndhurst station. This station will be fully accessible. When completed, both the current Lyndhurst station and Kingsland station will be replaced by this new Lyndhurst station. 

Bus Connections 

There are two bus connections at Kingsland Station: 

76: Newark Penn Station to Hackensack via Kearney and Lyndhurst.

109: EXPRESS - PABT to Forest Hill (Northern Newark) or Harrison via Lyndhurst and Belleville

Points of Interest near Kingsland Station

Near Kingsland station, there's really not much. There is a bustling commerical corridor, but it's really not much different than what one would normally see anywhere else. It's nice to see and use if you're in the area and need something, but definitely nothing major of note otherwise. 

Statistics


Name: Kingsland
Agency: NJT
Line(s): Main Line
Locality: Kingsland
City/Township: Lyndhurst 
County: Bergen
State: New Jersey 
Ridership: 240 (2022)

Amenity Checklist


Accessible: ×
Bathrooms: ×
Bicycle parking: ✓
Clean Station: ×
Connections to other transit routes: ✓
Easy passage for each side: ✓
Fare Payment Kiosks (if applicable): n/a
Good Wayfinding: ✓
Indoor Shelters: ×
Maps: ✓
Multiple entrances/exits: ×
Adequate Parking: ×
Seating: ×
Shelters: ×
Station In Good Condition: ×
TVMs: ✓
Ticket Offices: ×
TOD: ✓
Train Departure/Arrival Info (signs that update/screens): ×
Updated/Useful Signage: ✓

Final Verdict: 2/10. What an awful station. 

Station Directory


--------Hudson County--------
''''''''Zone 1''''''''
Hoboken
Secaucus Junction
--------Bergen County--------
''''''''Zone 2''''''''
Kingsland
Lyndhurst
--------Passaic County--------
''''''''Zone 3''''''''
Delawanna
''''''''Zone 4''''''''
Passaic
''''''''Zone 5''''''''
Clifton
''''''''Zone 6''''''''
''''''''Zone 7''''''''
Hawthorne
--------Bergen County--------
''''''''Zone 8''''''''
Glen Rock (Main Line)
''''''''Zone 9''''''''
Ridgewood
''''''''Zone 10''''''''
Ho-Ho-Kus
Waldwick
''''''''Zone 11''''''''
Allendale
''''''''Zone 12''''''''
Ramsey
Ramsey Route 17
''''''''Zone 14''''''''
Mahwah
--------New York--------
--------Rockland County--------
Suffern 

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