Over the course of the next century, an expansive system operated by competing private companies crisscrossed the state, providing freight, long-distance and commuter passenger service.
Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971 after having taken over long-distance passenger service considered to be in the nation's best interest, including the Northeast Corridor in New Jersey.
[7] New Jersey Transit, in conjunction with State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), commissioned a field study concluded in 1981 of 112 train station buildings, or head houses, under its jurisdiction that had been built before World War II and were still in operation, which culminated in a report The Operating Railroad Stations of New Jersey: A Historical Survey.
Also not included in the TN were two significant individually-listed historic operating stations, Newark Pennsylvania Station and Hoboken Terminal, both of which are major rail hubs that also serve as terminals for light rail, PATH subway trains, and in the case of Hoboken, ferries across the Hudson River.
Among the others stations in the state, most of which of are inactive, listed in the state and federal registers are Allenhurst (NJT)[66] (station building demolished), Butler (NYSW), Cary (CNJ), Demarest (Erie Northern Branch), Great Meadows (L&HR), Long-a-Coming Depot, Maywood (NYSW), Mountain Lakes, North Pemberton (C&A), Pennington (Reading), Pompton Plains (Erie), Rio Grande (WJ), Tenafly (Erie Northern Branch), and Washington (DL&W) (demolished).