Avenel is a lightly used station on the North Jersey Coast Line, and the most northern stop on the branch before it joins the Northeast Corridor. The station receives extremely limited weekday only basically rush hours only service. Northbound service to New York City, stopping at the station is just 6AM and 1PM Rush Hours trains. Southbound service (mainly on the South Amboy short-turn trains) is 3AM Peak trains and 11 total PM trains, stopping both in rush hours with a few returning evening trains to give locals more returning operations. The station, surprisingly was recently renovated and has two short 3 car high-level side platforms with tactile warning strips, simple lampposts and plenty of ads. These appear to be ADA compliant with short ramps up to each platform but the stop isn't listed on timetables or the schedules with this feature.
The station is located directly above the underpass of Avenel Street. A staircase (to the northbound platform through concrete, to the southbound platform alongside the concrete sides of the underpass) leads directly down to the northern sidewalk of the Avenel Street underpass. At the top of this staircase each platform has its only amenity a double long bus shelter with a white domed roof and bench to wait inside. At the southern end of the platform is the other exit. There is a ramp that wends its way down from each platform and a staircase. These lead to local distributor roads of Avenel Street that don't go down the underpass but serve houses above the underpass. An old pedestrian tunnel with staircases down at each end and concrete entry portals around the staircases at each end connect the two platforms and different sections of this street. The station only recently received a TVM in May 2011, with the $5 surcharge becoming effective on May 23, 2011. The single TVM is located in a bus shelter along the end of the street beneath the Newark-bound platform.
All photos were taken on 22 October, 2012
Rahway 
Woodbridge