BY SANDI CARPELLO
Staff Writer
RED BANK — The Red Bank train station may be getting a new look with high-level platforms, historic benches and information display cases.
On Nov. 18, the borough council unanimously passed a resolution supporting accessibility improvements to the century old station in the hopes of providing its 1,859 daily commuters with heightened safety and convenience, a shorter dwell time and level boarding both to and from the train cars, according to Councilman Pasquale Menna.
The upgrades, which are all ADA compliant, include the construction of two new 650 L.F. high metal platforms with canopies and staircases on both the east and westbound sides of the existing train tracks. Ramps would be constructed at each end of the platform and at the midbound platform. Shelters, windscreens, historic platform lighting, signs and a passenger amenities package with historic benches, information display cases and new trash receptacles are also on the roster.
"These plans incorporate in a sensitive and sympathetic manner design elements that are compatible with and complementary to the aesthetic and historic context of the Red Bank historic station and waiting areas," Menna said.
Officials have not yet determined when the project will be completed.
"At this point I couldn’t tell you how long the construction would take," said Janet Hines, a spokesperson for NJ Transit. "Since Red Bank has been designated a historic site, we have to go in front of the state historic registry on Dec. 18 and ask for approval. We should get the results approximately two weeks from then," she said.
If the project is approved, NJ Transit will complete the design phase and would immediately begin the project’s construction phase, Hines said.
The Red Bank train station, one of roughly 15 stops on the North Jersey Coast Line, is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.