Revamped Avenel Station To Offer Increased NJ TRANSIT Service
WOODBRIDGE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- NJ TRANSIT is celebrating new service for passengers in Woodbridge Township.
On weekdays, the revamped Avenel station will now see a 40% increase in train service, CBS2's Tara Jakeway reports.
NJ TRANSIT President Kevin Corbett rode the train to the station Friday and arrived on time.
"NJ TRANSIT certainly in the year and a half I've been here, you'll hear a number of complaints, but this is what I expect to see more of out of NJ TRANSIT," he said.
Web Extra: Officials Discuss Avenel Station Restoration --
Not much has changed to the actual structure of the station, but the schedule has expanded to include weekend trains for the first time since 1985.
"Today, in a rare example of government working, promises made, promises kept and NJ TRANSIT came through with the stops," Woodbridge Township Mayor John McCormac said.
There will be 21 stops at the station every Saturday and Sunday, something Avenel officials hope will inspire people to ride the North Jersey Coast Line straight to their new performing arts center and what they hope will be a thriving hub of entertainment.
"It's not about transportation for transportation sake. It's about really bringing communities together, getting economic growth, making people want to live, come work and play in Avenel in Woodbridge," Corbett said.
The increased service, Corbett says, is in large part a response to commuters' complaints about the often-delayed North Jersey Coast Line.
Hyung Yun, an opera singer at the Metropolitan Opera Company in Manhattan, lives in the brand new Station Village apartments across from the station.
"It's going to be more convenient, I think," he said.
The 500-unit residential complex had substantial bearing on NJ TRANSIT's decision to expand the service, but the whole township stands to benefit.
The expanded service kicked off on Sunday, Sept. 8.
