Station Review #86: Ridgewood (NJT)


Ridgewood is a station on NJT's Main Line. The station is located in Ridgewood, New Jersey. 

History

The station, sometime before 1915

Ridgewood station first started life along what was formerly the Paterson and Ramapo railroad, as "Godwinville" station, in 1848. This station was rebuilt in 1856 and 1859. In 1866, the station was renamed to Ridgewood due to the popularity of the new name for the town. The station was rebuilt again in 1915, to grade separate the whole line. In 2011, the station was remodeled to make it accessible. 

At its peak, Ridgewood station was a regional transfer point between many different services heading to far flung locations such as Chicago. But of course, those days couldn't last forever, and no more intercity service stops at Ridgewood station. Despite this, the station is still important in a regional context.  


Services That Run Here

Three services run here:

Main Line: Hoboken to Suffern via Passaic County

Bergen County Line: Hoboken to Suffern via western Bergen County

Port Jervis Line: Hoboken to Port Jervis via either of the two right of ways of these lines

Tour

The platforms are fully high level

One of the former low level platforms, now fenced off

A lot of new decoration was installed after the remodel

In order to get from one side of the station to the other, there is a fenced off path

Bushes

The actual station house

Not open at the time of taking the pictures, the station depot

The station from outside of it 

Bus Connections

Nearby Ridgewood station is Ridgewood Bus Terminal, where all the bus connections are. These connections include: 

163: Upper Ridgewood to Port Authority Bus Terminal.
163s: Upper Ridgewood to Ridgewood High School.
164: Midland Park to Port Authority Bus Terminal.
175: Ridgewood Bus Terminal to George Washington Bridge Bus Station via Glen Rock and Bergen Community College.
722: South Paterson to Paramus Park Mall via Ridgewood.
746: Paterson Bus Terminal to Ridgewood Bus Terminal.
752: Hackensack Bus Terminal to Oakland via Ridgewood.

Points of Interest in Ridgewood



Ridgewood is a very fancy town. There are a lot of places to do things like shop for clothes and eat, but don't expect to do so cheaply at all whatsoever. This town is similar to a lot of towns along the Keystone Corridor in southeastern Pennsylvania, especially between the Philadelphia City Line and Downingtown, a region often called "the Main Line", which is ironic considering this train station has service from a route called the Main Line. 

Statistics

Name: Ridgewood
Agency: NJT, MNRR
Line(s): Bergen County Line, Main Line, Port Jervis Line 
Locality: Downtown
Municipality: Ridgewood
County: Bergen
State: NJ
Ridership: 735 per average weekday (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: 10/10

I can't believe it took this long to get a 10/10 but here we are. 

Station Directory

Main Line

--------New Jersey--------
--------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''''''''
Paterson
''''''''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

Bergen County Line

--------New Jersey--------
--------Hudson County--------
''''''''Zone 1''''''''
Hoboken
Secaucus Junction
--------Bergen County--------
''''''''Zone 3''''''''
Rutherford
''''''''Zone 4''''''''
Wesmont
Garfield
''''''''Zone 5''''''''
Plauderville
''''''''Zone 6''''''''
Broadway Fair Lawn
Radburn
''''''''Zone 7''''''''
Glen Rock (Boro Hall)
''''''''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

Port Jervis Line

--------New Jersey--------
--------Hudson County--------
Hoboken
Secaucus Junction
--------Bergen County--------
Ridgewood
Ramsey-Route 17
--------New York--------
--------Rockland County--------
Suffern
Sloatsburg
--------Orange County--------
Tuxedo
Harriman
Salisbury Mills
Campbell Hall
Middletown/Town of Walkill
Otisville
Port Jervis



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