| Arlington | |||||||||||
| Style: | NJ Transit | ||||||||||
| Style2: | Former | ||||||||||
| Address: | Garafola Place between Elm and Forest Streets, Kearny, New Jersey | ||||||||||
| Coordinates: | 40.7698°N -74.1401°W | ||||||||||
| Platform: | 2 low-level side platforms | ||||||||||
| Levels: | 1 | ||||||||||
| Tracks: | 2 | ||||||||||
| Passengers: | 137[1] | ||||||||||
| Pass Year: | 2002 | ||||||||||
| Electrified: | N/A | ||||||||||
| Code: | 1701 (Erie Railroad)[2] | ||||||||||
| Owned: | Norfolk Southern | ||||||||||
| Former: | Conrail, New Jersey Transit | ||||||||||
| Other Services Header: | Former services | ||||||||||
| Mapframe: | yes | ||||||||||
| Mapframe-Custom: |
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Arlington is a former commuter railroad train station in the Arlington section of Kearny, Hudson County, New Jersey. Located on Garafola Place between the Forest and Elm Street intersections, the station served trains on NJ Transit's Boonton Line as well as the only remaining active station in Kearny until its closure. The station, which contained two low-level side platforms, operated trains between Hoboken Terminal and locations west to Dover and Hackettstown. The next station to the east was Hoboken while the station to the west was Rowe Street in Bloomfield.
Railroad service through the Arlington neighborhood began on January 1, 1873 with the introduction of the Montclair Railway between Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City to Monks in West Milford. The station was one of two in Kearny for the line, with the other one at West Arlington. This line became and the New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad, operated by the Erie Railroad until October 17, 1960.[3] The line became part of the merged Greenwood Lake-Boonton Line in 1963. The service continued into NJ Transit, becoming the Boonton Line. Arlington station closed, along with Rowe Street and Benson Street station in Glen Ridge on September 20, 2002 in advance of the opening of the Montclair Connection.[4]
| Ground/ Platform level | Side platform, doors opened on the right | |
| Outbound and Inbound | ← weekdays toward Dover or Hackettstown (Rowe Street) | weekdays toward Hoboken (Hoboken) → |
| Side platform, doors opened on the right | ||
| Street level | Parking (Garafola Place) |
On September 8, 1965, three Kearny High School students were struck and killed by a two car Erie Lackawanna train.[5] The trio, on their way to the first day of the fall term, crossed the tracks at the Elm Street crossing next to the station despite the gate being down. Thinking the warning lights were for a departing east bound train (towards Hoboken), the three students went around the barrier. A boxcar parked in a siding next to the station blocked the victims from seeing the oncoming west bound express train.[6]
All three (Robert Floyd, 16, Rodney Murdock, 16, and Richard Collins, 15) were killed instantly. Both the train's fireman and conductor were later arraigned on charges of manslaughter. Following the accident, the town of Kearny began to have physical guards at the crossing during school hours.[7]