Hoboken Terminal recovering; services, Track 8

New Jersey Transit's Hoboken Terminal main waiting room on Monday looked more like a warehouse half-filled with wooden crates than a way station for people, but the waiting room was in fact open for the first time since Hurricane Sandy flooded the century-old building Oct. 29, 2012.

The main waiting room’s opening allowed the terminal’s passengers to move more directly between trains and ferry service. The room’s wooden bench seating, however, was unavailable to patrons, requiring any who wished to stay warm to stand. As well, ticketing services remained relocated in the outside train concourse, where a trailer was positioned to serve customers.

NJ Transit also upgraded its restroom facilities at the site by stationing a parked three-car train consist on Track 8; the train also is available as an impromptu waiting room. One New Jersey rail advocate reported the consist was available this past weekend, prior to the opening of the main terminal on Monday.

Portable sanitation units located in the station’s outdoor plaza, which remain in place for now, were the only such amenities offered in the weeks following the hurricane.

NJT diesel trains, as well as west-of-Hudson Metro-North trains, currently serve Hoboken Terminal, but restoration of electric train service still has not occurred.