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Martin Luther King Drive
Hudson–Bergen Light Rail station
The Martin Luther King Drive station in April 2015, facing the eponymous street
General information
Location	Martin Luther King Drive and Virginia Avenue Jersey City, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°42′44″N 74°04′38″W / 40.7121°N 74.0773°W / 40.7121; -74.0773
Owned by	New Jersey Transit
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	NJT Bus: 6, 81, 87
Construction
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	April 17, 2000
Electrified	750 V (DC) overhead catenary
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station West Side AvenueTerminus West Side–Tonnelle Garfield Avenuetoward Tonnelle Avenue
Former services Preceding station Central Railroad of New Jersey Following station West Side Avenuetoward Newark Broad Street Newark and New York Branch Jackson Avenue Arlington Avenuetoward Jersey City

Martin Luther King Drive is a station of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail in the Jackson Hill neighborhood of Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey. Located on the east side of Martin Luther King Drive (Hudson County Route 609, named for Martin Luther King Jr.) near the intersection with Virginia Avenue, the station is a two side platform, two track structure on the West Side Avenue branch of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail. Train service through Martin Luther King Drive station goes from West Side Avenue in Jersey City to the Tonnelle Avenue station in North Bergen. The station is accessible for those with disabilities as part of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 with ramps to the train-level platform. Martin Luther King Drive station opened on April 17, 2000 along with the rest of the West Side Avenue branch as part of the original operating segment.

History

Jersey Central station

Martin Luther King Drive station is located just east of the former Central Railroad of New Jersey station at the same street, Jackson Avenue. Service in the area began a block west at Bergen Avenue in a cut for the Newark and New York Railroad, a branch that ran from Lafayette Street Terminal in Newark to the Communipaw station in Jersey City, where it met with the Central Railroad of New Jersey mainline, on July 23, 1869. In 1877, the station was moved east to the Jackson Avenue crossing. The station was replaced in 1892 and once again in 1911. The CNJ and Lehigh Valley Railroad shared the station from 1913–1918. Service to Lafayette Street ended abruptly on February 2, 1946 when a steamship crashed into a bridge over the Hackensack River, taking out two spans. Service to Jackson Avenue for passengers as a result ended on May 6, 1948. The CNJ sold the ornate 1911 station in 1951 for various purposes and was demolished after Autumn 2011.

HBLR station

The original cut of the Newark and New York Railroad Branch of Central Railroad of New Jersey excavated through Bergen Hill in 1869 with service running until 1946.

The station opened on April 17, 2000. It was raised to a level crossing to improve pedestrian access.

In early 2019, it was announced that the West Side Avenue, Martin Luther King Drive, and Garfield Avenue stations on the West Side Branch would close for nine months starting in June 2019 for repairs to a sewer line running along he right-of-way. During that time, replacement service would be provided by NJ Transit shuttle buses.

Station layout

Ground/platform level Exit/entrance and buses
	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Southbound	←      West Side–Tonnelle toward West Side Avenue (Terminus)
	Northbound	West Side–Tonnelle toward Tonnelle Avenue (Garfield Avenue) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right

Sited at its entrance is Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. and other related public art.

Vicinity

Martin Luther King Drive was once called Jackson Avenue, and until 1947 Public Service Railway's # 7 Jackson streetcar line ran along it. A small block called Jackson still exists that was not included in a realignment. It was later named in honor of the slain civil right leader Martin Luther King, Jr., who had twice spoken in the city. The drive has been the heart of the African American community in Jersey City for decades, and has sometimes been called "The Hill", though the area is not within the state designated Bergen Hill Historic District. The 100th affiliate of the National Urban League is located on MLK Drive., which is one of the city's shopping districts. The Cunningham Branch of the Jersey City Public Library, the city's newest named for former mayor Glenn Dale Cunningham, is located on MLK Drive. Lincoln High School and St. Patrick's Parish and Buildings, listed on National Register of Historic Places is nearby at Grand Street and Bramhall Avenue.

Bibliography

• Bernhart, Benjamin L. (2004). Historic Journeys By Rail: Central Railroad of New Jersey Stations, Structures & Marine Equipment. Outer Station Project. ISBN 1891402072.
• Urquhart, Frank J. (2017). A History of the city of Newark, New Jersey, Volume 1. Altenmünster, Germany: Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck. ISBN 9783849649906. Retrieved November 3, 2019.

References

1. NJT 6 schedule
2. NJT 81 schedule
3. NJT 87 schedule
4. ^ Dunleavy, Brian (April 18, 2000). "Day One is Smooth for New Light Rail". The Bergen Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. p. 3. Retrieved November 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Urquhart 2017.
6. ^ Bernhart 2004, p. 103.
7. "Railroad Ripples". The Passaic Daily News. Passaic, New Jersey. October 4, 1889. p. 3. Retrieved November 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "CNJ to Drop Part of Branch". The Plainfield Evening News. Plainfield, New Jersey. May 6, 1948. p. 2. Retrieved November 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Jackson Avenue Station". Railfan.net. June 8, 2001. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
10. "Jackson Avenue Station". Railfan.net. June 8, 2001. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
11. McDonald, Terrence T. (March 7, 2019). "Light rail riders sound off on planned route suspension in Jersey City". nj.com. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
12. "West Side Avenue Light Rail Service to be Suspended Until 2020". Jersey Digs. February 8, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
13. "Art: Memorializing Civil Rights Era", The New York Times, April 16, 2001, retrieved 2012-01-20
14. "MLK Station photos". Subwaynut.com. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
15. Hudson County New Jersey Street Map. Hagstrom Map Company, Inc. 2008. ISBN 978-0-88097-763-0.
16. "Martin Luther King, Jr. speeches in Jersey City". Cityofjerseycity.org. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
17. "JCRA The Hill". Thejcra.org. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
18. "MLK Drive". Thejcra.org. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
19. "The Hill". Thejcra.org. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
20. "National Urban League of Hudson County". Ulohc.org. September 19, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
21. "MLK Redevelopment Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
22. "JC Shoppring Districts". Jerseycityonline.com. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
23. "Glenn D. Cunningham Branch". Jersey City Free Public Library. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2012.

External links

• Station from Google Maps Street View.

• Hudson-Bergen Light Rail stations
• Transportation in Jersey City, New Jersey
• Former Central Railroad of New Jersey stations
• 2000 establishments in New Jersey
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 2000