Cedar Street subway

The Cedar Street Subway is a tunnel in Newark that allowed street cars (and later buses) access to the subterranean level of the Newark Public Service Terminal. It was built by the Public Service Corporation in 1916, at the same time as the terminal building.

Despite its use for streetcars, the term "subway" is not the typical transportation meaning of an underground rapid rail system. The Cedar Street Subway was only a short tunnel serving access to an underground terminal point for a number of surface lines. A tunnel was needed because the terminal was underground, and to avoid blocking broad street with transit infrastructure.

The tunnel starts at street level at Washington Street, it runs down a ramp into a short tunnel extending one block under Cedar Street and across Broad Street. The subway line opened on April 30, 1916 ^[1] At that time, four street car lines, which served Central Avenue, Orange, South Orange and Springfield. At its height in 1927, fourteen lines used the subway. A station stop was added inside the tunnel under Cedar Street and Broad Street on January 27, 1927, serving Kresge's Department Store.

On May 8, 1966, the last three bus lines using the Cedar Street Subway, Line 62 to Perth Amboy, Line 128 to Paterson and Line 134 to New Brunswick, operated final service through the tunnel. Since the demolition of the Public Service Terminal in 1981, it has ended at a wall under Broad Street.

As of 2016, the tunnel portal and track stubs is still visible from Washington Street.

Stations

Subway portal at Washington Street (2015)

Station	Location	Notes	Date Opened
Public Service Terminal	Newark		April 30, 1916
Kresge-Broad Street	Newark	Served the Kresge-Newark department store	January 27, 1927
Washington Street	Newark		April 30,1916