Montclair Heights station

Montclair Heights
A westbound train departs Montclair Heights station in February 2015. The campus of Montclair State University is visible on the right side.
General information
Coordinates	40°51′27″N 74°12′09″W / 40.8576°N 74.2026°W / 40.8576; -74.2026
Owned by	New Jersey Transit
Platforms	2 low level side platforms with mini-high sections
Tracks	2
Connections	NJT Bus: 28, 191, and 705
Construction
Parking	67 spots
Bicycle facilities	parking racks
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	1745 (Erie Railroad)[1]
Fare zone	6
History
Opened	c. 1874[2][3]
Rebuilt	1905,[4] 1971,[5] 1982,[6] 1997–1998[7][8]
Electrified	September 30, 2002
Key dates
November 20, 1959	Station agency closed[9]
March 21, 1970	Depot caught fire[10]
Passengers
2017	350 (average weekday)[11][12]
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station Montclair State University toward Hackettstown Montclair-Boonton Line weekdays Mountain Avenue toward New York or Hoboken
Former services Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station Great Notch toward Sterling Forest New York and Greenwood Lake Railway Mountain Avenue toward Jersey City
Location

Montclair Heights (signed as Montclair Heights–Home of Montclair State University) is a New Jersey Transit station in the Montclair Heights area of Montclair Township, New Jersey. Located along the Montclair-Boonton Line at the Normal Avenue (CR 618) grade crossing, the station serves trains coming from six different terminals (two eastbound: New York Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal and four westbound: Montclair State University, Dover, Lake Hopatcong and Hackettstown stations). Depending on the direction of travel, Montclair Heights is either the first or last of six stations in the township. The next station westbound is Montclair State University, which is in Little Falls, while the next station eastbound is Upper Mountain Avenue.

The station consists of two low-level platforms with mini-high-level platforms at the southern end of both platforms. There are two ticket vending machines and 67 parking spaces available in lot along the westbound platform. The station primarily serves students of Montclair State University, which sits to the northeast of the platforms and has been owned by the township since 1983.

Montclair Heights station opened c. 1874 with the construction of the Montclair Railway, the predecessor to the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway. The station was replaced by the Erie Railroad in 1905 and moved to the Normal Avenue grade crossing from its previous home at Mount Hebron Road. The station depot lasted until it burned down on March 21, 1970, in a suspicious fire. A station shelter replaced that structure in April 1971 after the fire. That structure was replaced in 1982 by another station shelter. The current station was built in 1998.

Prior to the construction of the Montclair State University station, Montclair Heights was used as a transfer station for trains heading west towards Dover and Hackettstown on the Montclair-Boonton Line. The reason for this was that all trains going to points north of the station were required to be diesel-powered, while trains going to New York Penn Station are all electric because diesel trains are not allowed to use the North River Tunnels under the Hudson River.