Station Review #193: Broadway/Walter Rand Transportation Center (NJT/PATCO)
Broadway Station, also known as Walter Rand Transportation Center (which it will be called for the rest of this blog post) is an intermodal, interagency, station located on Broadway and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard in Camden, New Jersey. Broadway is the name used by PATCO and Walter Rand Transportation Center is used by everyone else.
History
Broadway was originally a station created by the Camden and Atlantic Railroad in the 1860s or so. Information about the station from this point in time is very scarce. Eventually, this railroad and many others become parts of the Pennsylvania Railroad's West Jersey and Seashore Railroad subsidiary. in 1933, this station became a station of PRSL, the main station for Camden commuter and intercity services. At the height of commuter rail, services operated to Atlantic City, Bay Head, Bridgeton, Cape May, Carney's Point, Millville, Quinton, Salem, Wildwood, Winslow Junction, and many other places not listed here.
The Bridge Line
In 1936, the PRT Bridge Line was opened, linking Camden to Philadelphia's subway system. The Bridge Line was the predecessor of PATCO, a line that only went between the never completed Philadelphia subway loop and Broadway Station via the Ben Franklin Bridge. There were many variations of service planned, including a service that would have connected to the subway that was planned to go on Ridge and Henry avenues that never ended up coming to fruition. Sometimes, Bridge Line trains would run on the Broad Street subway, going between Broadway Station and Girard Station, a service that began in 1949.
PATCO and the destruction of South Jersey Commuter Rail
In 1951, the Delaware River Port Authority was created, and with it the intention to upgrade rail service in South Jersey, to create a new system called PATCO. Originally, three lines were planned: a line to Mount Holly, a line to Lindenwold, and a line to Glassboro. Only the line to Lindenwold ended up being built. In order for PATCO to actually work, the original approach into Broadway station for PRSL had to be drastically changed in such a way that commuter rail in South Jersey that ran to Broadway station had to completely stop running. Though most of these services would probably stopped running eventually anyways considering that this was already happening by the time PATCO was being built. PATCO ended up opening in 1969, and afterwards ended up inspiring multiple heavy rail systems in the US.
River Line and the Return of Inter-modality
The Public Service Company (now PSE&G) meanwhile ran streetcars next to Broadway station for decades, with these eventually all being permanently bustituted. In 1979, this bus network was given to the state of New Jersey, and spun into New Jersey Transit. NJT suddenly ran almost all of the buses that ran to Broadway station.
Broadway Station otherwise stayed the same for decades after PATCO started service, until 1989, when NJT built a transit center next to it called Camden Transportation Center. In 1994, this was renamed to Walter Rand Transportation Center, named for Walter Rand, a senator in the New Jersey State Senate that had a focus on transportation. The entire complex suddenly started to be referred to under that name, or colloquially as "Walter Rand".
In the 1990s, New Hersey Transit decided to plan a new light rail line, the line that became the River Line. The River Line is the poster child of politician C. William Haines, a republican politician who did not want a rail project that was to link Camden to Mount Holly to happen, but he did want rail service in Burlington County, which at the time had none. Haines chose a route that went on the former Camden and Amboy railroad, and then the Conrail owned Bordentown secondary. In Camden, a new right of way would be constructed between the Camden waterfront and Walter Rand Transportation Center. It would be funded entirely out of the pocket of the state.of New Jersey, taking absolutely no federal funding, which many of those who planned it agree in hindsight was not at all a good idea.
Still, the River Line went through, and in 2004 it finally opened. For the first time in 40 years, there was rail service on the former Camden and Amboy railroad. The River line luckily completely beat expectations, getting almost double ridership expectations at 9000 riders per day. When the River Line entered service, it replaced the AquaLink bus, a bus that linked Walter Rand Transportation Center to Adventure Aquarium.
As of 2021, NJT has plans to replace this with a better transit center, though its unknown when any of this will happen.
Services
There are multiple services that go to Walter Rand Transportation Center
PATCO
PATCO is a heavy rail/metro service operated by the DRPA that runs from 15th-16th street and Locust in Center City Philadelphia to Lindenwold. This links to the B1, B3, and L, along with multiple other SEPTA and NJT buses that bypass Walter Rand Transportation Center. On its other end, it links to the NJT Atlantic City Line at Lindenwold.
NJT
Meanwhile, NJT runs the River Line, a light/medium rail (in europe people would call a service like this a tram-train) line that goes between Waterfront Entertainment Center and Trenton. This line stops at Walter Rand, and also links Walter Rand to the Aquarium.
Soon to start construction is NJT's Glassboro-Camden Line. This line will be similar to the River Line, but instead be running along the Vineland Secondary to Glassboro.
NJT runs these buses into Walter Rand Transportation Center:
313 - Philadelphia 30th Street to Cape May via Delsea Drive/Cumberland County. Runs a few times a day
315 - Philadelphia 30th Street to Cape May via Black Horse Pike. Rins a few times a day.
317 - Philadelphia City Hall to Asbury Park. Runs about every other hour, with several large gaps.
400 - This bus runs from Philadelphia City Hall to Sicklerville via Black Horse Pike. Buses run every 30 minutes or so.
401 - Philadelphia City Hall to Salem via NJ-45
402 - Philadelphia City Hall to Pennsville
403 - Walter Rand Transportation Center to Turnersville via White Horse Pike
404 - Philadelphia City Hall to Pennsauken and Cherry Hill
405 - Camden to Cherry Hill via Federal Street
406 - Philadelphia City Hall to Marlton and Berlin via Marlton Pike (NJ-70)
407 -
408 - Philadelphia City Hall to Millville and Vineland. Runs about every hour.
409 - Philadelphia City Hall to Trenton via US-130.
410 - Philadelphia City Hall to Bridgton
412 - Philadelphia City Hall to Glassboro. Runs about once every hour or so
413 - Walter Rand Transportation Center to Florence via Burlington and Mount Holly.
419 - Walter Rand Transportation Center to Riverside via River Road.
450 - Camden to Cherry Hill via Westmont
451 - Walter Rand Transportation Center to Voorhees and Lindenwold.
452 - Walter Rand Transportation Center to 36th Street Station. This runs in a loop around Camden.
453 - Walter Rand Transportation Center to Ferry Avenue station.
457 - Camden to Moorestown Mall via Kings Highway
551 - Philadelphia City Hall to Atlantic City via the Atlantic City Expressway
Other
PATCO and NJT are not the only ones to run services to Walter Rand Transportation Center. Here are some more:
Greyhound Cherry Hill-NYC route: This is a bus that Greyhound ran that happened to go between NYC and Cherry Hill via Walter Rand and Philadelphia. Despite downsizing, this route still exists.
Rutgers University Camden Campus Shuttle: This is a bus that entirely loops around the Rutgers and Rowan Camden campuses. This bus comes about once every 9-10 minutes or so, and is easily one of the most frequent buses in Camden.
SJTA Pureland North-South Shuttle: This is a workers shuttle that runs from the River Line parking lot at Walter Rand Transportation Center to the Pureland Industrial Complex in Logan Township. This runs three round trips a day. All of them are timed poorly. I have failed to take the 2:20 pm southbound trip of this bus seven different times in various increasingly comedic ways. Good luck. This is completely free.
SJTA SJ Connects Camden to Vineland Shuttle: This is a college/hospital connector shuttle that runs an express service between Camden and Vineland, stopping at various universities, colleges, and hospitals. This runs six round trips a day, but is completely free.
Via Camden Loop: This is microtransit that serves the entirety of the city of Camden, and then also 36th Street and Cherry Hill stations. The Via Camden Loop has a wait time of 30 minutes per trip
Tour
NJT Bus Terminal
Much of Walter Rand Transportation Center is this.
A lot of buses will often line up here and depart in multiple directions, it's incredibly chaotic.
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| Proof that Greyhound buses do stop here |
On the side closest to the main building, there's barely any space to actually get on or off the buses. There's so many fences everywhere that it just makes all of this difficult.
The station from the outside has architecture that looks fairly dated now, but looked very new in the 1980s. Next to it is a lightly used parking garage for the station.
In this picture on the left is the old PATCO waiting room. At some point, the DRPA made it so that you can't go into this building, going as far as to surround it with barbed wire fencing.
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| Inside the bus station portion |
Here, there's a few benches, some schedules, a screen mentioning whats departing next, TVMs, ticket offices, an ATM, etc
A lot of things even in here are cordoned off from the public. Walter Rand is an experiment on increasingly restricted access being placed into what would otherwise be fluid space. The very definition of a hostile space.
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| Vending machines |
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| Indoor bus bays |
Walter Rand Transportation Center has indoor bus bays, used only by NJT buses. Sometimes the buses will board from outside though instead of in here.
The PATCO Station
There's also the PATCO section, if you don't know how this works than transferring to buses or the River Line will be difficult. Especially if you don't know how exactly to navigate the fenced labyrinth outside, or use a wheelchair.
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| These doors are usually locked |
Between the staircases to the PATCO platforms and you is yet more fencing. There is a staircase or two behind that, as well as an escalator and elevator.
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| Mural on the walls |
If you ignore everything else wrong with this station, the PATCO platform really isn't too awful. Well, except for the stairs and escalators to the old building that are all completely closed off. They easily confuse newcomers to this station and really add to the maze-like feel of this station.
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| River Line platforms |
Finally, there's the River Line platforms. These are like other Camden River Line station platforms. These are genuinely alright.
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| Looking towards the rest of the transit center |
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| Yet again, the bench is hostile |
Points of Interest Near Walter Rand Transportation Center
I guess there's a small commercial strip? Much of the rest of Downtown Camden is closer to PATCO's City Hall station, even though you can use both stations to access it. The Cooper Medical School at Rowan is also closer to Walter Rand, as is the Walt Whitman house and the Cooper Hospital. There's also a couple of small apartments nearby.
Statistics
Name: Broadway/Walter Rand Transportation Center
Agency: Flixbus/Greyhound, NJT, PATCO, Rutgers University, SJTA
Line(s): Cherry Hill-NYC, PATCO, 313, 315, 317, 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 412, 413, 419, 450, 451, 452, 453, 457, 551, Rutgers Camden Shuttle, Pureland North-South Shuttle, Camden-Vineland Shuttle
Locality: Downtown
Municipality: Camden
County: Camden
State: New Jersey
Ridership: PATCO: 1174 rides per average weekday (2026), River Line: 920 riders per average weekday (2025)
Amenity Checklist
Accessible: ×
Bathrooms: ×
Bicycle parking: ×
Clean Station: ×
Connections to other transit routes: ✓ (it IS the connection)
Convenience Store inside: ✓ (I guess vending machines count)
Easy passage for each side: ×
Existence is justifiable: ✓
Fare Payment Kiosks (if applicable): ✓
Good Wayfinding: ×
Indoor Shelters: ✓
Maps: ✓
Multiple entrances/exits: ×
Multiple Rooms: ✓
Adequate Parking: ✓
Restaurant inside: ×
Safe to use: ×
Adequate Seating: ×
Shelters: ✓
Station In Good Condition: ×
TVMs: ✓
Ticket Offices: ✓
TOD: × (it seems like people are trying to rectify this at least)
Train Departure/Arrival Info (signs that update/screens): ✓
Updated/Useful Signage: ×
Final Verdict: 2/10. This somehow beat out Indianapolis, becoming the new worst large station.
Station Directory
PATCO
--------PENNSYLVANIA--------
--------Philadelphia County--------
15th-16th and Locust
9th-10th and Locust
8th-Market
Franklin Square
--------NEW JERSEY--------
--------Camden County--------
City Hall
Broadway/Walter Rand Transportation Center
Ferry Avenue
Collingwood
Haddonfield
Woodcrest
Ashland
Lindenwold
River Line
--------Camden County--------
Aquarium
Cooper Street/Rutgers
Broadway/Walter Rand Transportation Center
--------Burlington County--------
Palmyra
Riverton
Cinnaminson
Riverside
Delanco
Burlington South
Burlington
Florence
Roebling
Bordentown
--------Mercer County--------
Cass Street
Hamilton Avenue
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