Union County Train Towns: Commuting to New York from Rahway, Linden, Cranford and Westfield

If you're comparing Union County, NJ train towns for an NYC commute, the short answer is this: the county is served by five NJ TRANSIT rail routes, and the line your town sits on shapes the trip more than anything else. Rahway and Linden are on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line, with direct trains to Penn Station New York. Cranford and Westfield are on the Raritan Valley Line, where every morning rush-hour trip to New York involves a change at Newark Penn Station. Summit's trains go to New York or Hoboken.

I'm based in Rahway, and most of the homes I sell are here and in nearby Union and Middlesex County towns. The schedule details below come from NJ TRANSIT's weekday timetables dated 8/30/26, and the other facts come from the linked sources. For homes near these stations, see our homes for sale in Union and Middlesex County.

Union County, NJ train towns at a glance

Union County, whose seat is Elizabeth, counted 575,345 residents in the 2020 census (Wikipedia). Its stations fall into three groups:

• Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line: Rahway, Linden, Elizabeth and North Elizabeth, per the Northeast Corridor timetable.
• Raritan Valley Line: Union, Roselle Park, Cranford, Garwood, Westfield, Fanwood, and Netherwood and Plainfield (Raritan Valley Line, Wikipedia).
• Morris & Essex Lines: Summit, where the Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch meet, plus New Providence, Murray Hill and Berkeley Heights on the Gladstone Branch (Gladstone Branch, Wikipedia).

Sources: lines from NJ TRANSIT's 8/30/26 timetables; accessibility as listed in each station's Wikipedia entry, such as Rahway station.

Rahway and Linden: direct trains on two lines

Rahway station, on Milton Avenue between Irving and Broad Streets, is served by both the Northeast Corridor and the North Jersey Coast Line. It sits just northeast of the junction at Union Tower, where the two lines split. It is listed as wheelchair-accessible and has parking, and the first station at Rahway opened on January 1, 1836.

Linden station, on South Wood Avenue, serves the same two lines. It is listed as accessible and has parking. Wikipedia gives its opening as about 1843 and its former name as "Wheat Sheaf."

NJ TRANSIT describes the Northeast Corridor as frequent service from Trenton to Penn Station New York, and says the Coast Line runs direct from Long Branch to Penn Station New York at all times. Between Newark Penn and New York, it calls the trip 15 to 20 minutes.

What the timetables show

• Northeast Corridor Train 3700 leaves Rahway at 5:17 AM and reaches New York at 5:59 AM.
• Northeast Corridor Train 3818 leaves Rahway at 7:02 AM and Linden at 7:08 AM, reaching New York at 7:54 AM.
• North Jersey Coast Line Train 3502 leaves Rahway at 7:30 AM and Linden at 7:35 AM, reaching New York at 8:20 AM.
• North Jersey Coast Line Train 3504 leaves Rahway at 8:01 AM and Linden at 8:06 AM, reaching New York at 8:46 AM.

Sources: the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line timetables. Coast Line trains that stop at Rahway and Linden also appear in the Northeast Corridor timetable. Not every train stops at every station. Both timetables also list PATH connections from Newark Penn to the World Trade Center.

Elizabeth, the county seat

Elizabeth station, at 11 West Grand Street, serves both lines and is listed as accessible. A reconstruction begun in September 2019 extended its platforms for 12-car trains and ended with a ribbon cutting on June 18, 2024.

Cranford and Westfield: the Raritan Valley Line

NJ TRANSIT says the Raritan Valley Line provides weekday service from High Bridge, Raritan and Plainfield to Newark Penn Station, with trains extended to and from New York during midday and evening hours. On weekends and holidays, it says trains run between Raritan and Newark Penn Station, with connecting service to and from New York. As a result, most weekday trains in the timetable require a change at Newark Penn Station.

One-seat rides versus changing at Newark

In the weekday Raritan Valley timetable, "NY" marks a one-seat ride to Penn Station New York and "C" means change trains at Newark Penn Station. Every morning rush-hour train into New York is marked "C"; the first one-seat arrival is at 10:06 AM.

There are eight one-seat trains toward New York: five late-morning and midday arrivals (10:06 AM, 11:11 AM, 12:07 PM, 1:08 PM and 2:10 PM) and three evening arrivals (8:14, 9:16 and 10:10 PM). Heading home, one-seat trains leave New York at 10:40 AM, 11:40 AM, 12:45 PM, 1:40 PM, 2:40 PM, 8:48 PM, 9:48 PM and 10:48 PM; every other weekday train is marked "C."

• Rush hour: Train 5718 leaves Westfield at 7:39 AM and Cranford at 7:44 AM, reaching Newark Penn at 8:03 AM. After the change, the timetable lists a New York arrival of 8:31 AM, and it notes that New York times for "C" trains may not be the same train.
• Off-peak one-seat ride: Train 5126 leaves Westfield at 9:17 AM and Cranford at 9:23 AM and arrives at New York at 10:06 AM with no transfer.

Why the split? One-seat service began as a pilot on March 3, 2014, and is limited to off-peak hours because of capacity in the Hudson River tunnels (Wikipedia). After service was cut back to Newark Penn for Positive Train Control work, an October 14, 2019 release from the Governor's office, datelined Westfield, announced that weekday off-peak one-seat rides would resume on November 4, 2019.

The stations

• Westfield (South Avenue at Summit Avenue for trains toward Newark; North Avenue at Elm Street for westbound trains): rail service since January 1, 1839; two Central Railroad of New Jersey depots, the older built in 1892; listed as accessible, with high-level platforms.
• Cranford (South Avenue and High Street): opened as "French House" in 1839 and renamed Cranford in 1869; listed as accessible, with parking.
• Garwood: opened August 1892; low-level platforms, listed as not accessible, and no public commuter parking. Not every train stops here: Train 5718, for example, shows no Garwood or Fanwood stop.
• Fanwood: an 1874 Carpenter Gothic station building; the station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980; listed as not accessible.

Summit and the Gladstone Branch: New York or Hoboken

Summit station, at 40 Union Place, is listed as accessible. Its trains run either to Hoboken Terminal, where the timetable lists PATH and ferry connections, or through the Kearny Connection directly to Penn Station New York. That junction opened in 1996, and Midtown Direct service began on June 10, 1996.

In the weekday Morris & Essex timetable, "MD" marks Midtown Direct trains to and from Penn Station New York. Train 6616 leaves Summit at 7:45 AM and reaches New York at 8:29 AM. Midtown Direct Train 6410 leaves Berkeley Heights at 7:10 AM and Summit at 7:26 AM, reaching New York at 8:12 AM. Train 412 leaves Berkeley Heights at 7:24 AM for Hoboken, arriving at 8:13 AM.

On weekdays, Gladstone Branch trains run to Hoboken or New York. Wikipedia notes that two peak-hour trains from Gladstone offer direct trips to and from Penn Station New York, and that on weekends the branch runs only between Gladstone and Summit, where riders transfer.

Getting to Newark Airport by train

NJ TRANSIT says the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line provide direct service to Newark Liberty International Airport Rail Station, with no transfer needed on most Coast Line trains. Raritan Valley riders transfer at Newark Penn Station, and Morris & Essex riders transfer at Secaucus Junction. Not every train stops at the airport station; Train 3504, for example, shows no Newark Airport stop. NJ TRANSIT says your train ticket includes the AirTrain fee.

From the rail station, AirTrain Newark serves the terminals. The Port Authority's AirTrain page says Terminal A is not directly connected to AirTrain and is reached by a covered walkway or a shuttle. It also says AirTrain is being modernized and that shuttle buses run whenever AirTrain service is unavailable, so check its advisories before you travel.

Questions to ask before choosing a train town

• Need a one-seat ride at rush hour? Look at the Northeast Corridor, the Coast Line or Midtown Direct trains.
• Does your train stop there? Check the train number, not just the line.
• Do you need step-free access? Garwood and Fanwood are listed as not accessible.
• Test the trip at the hour you'd actually travel.

Weighing Rahway against Linden, Cranford, Westfield or Summit? I'd be glad to walk through homes near each station with you, in English or Spanish. Contact me to start the conversation, explore our Rahway, NJ homes for sale, or read about how I work with buyers.

This article is for general educational purposes only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Schedules and station details come from the linked sources as of September 2026 and may change; confirm current timetables with NJ TRANSIT. Angela Becerra is a New Jersey real estate licensee (License #1970190) affiliated with Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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