Princeton station (NJ Transit) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Princeton
The 2014 Princeton station with a train at the station.
Location	Alexander Street, 1 block south of University Place Princeton, NJ 08540
Coordinates	40°20′32″N 74°39′32″W / 40.3421°N 74.6589°W / 40.3421; -74.6589
Owned by	Princeton University
Operated by	NJ Transit
Line(s)	Princeton Branch
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Connections	NJT Bus: 605; Princeton Tiger Transit and Free-B shuttle buses
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	19
History
Opened	1865
Rebuilt	1918, 2014
Traffic
Passengers (FY 2017)	814 (average weekday boardings)
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station Terminus Princeton Branch Princeton Junction Terminus
Former services Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station Terminus Princeton Branch Penns Neck toward Princeton Junction
Princeton Railroad Station (1918)
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Location in Mercer County, New Jersey Show map of Mercer County, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Built	1918
Architect	Alexander C. Shand
Architectural style	Collegiate Gothic
Part of	Princeton Historic District (ID75001143)
MPS	Operating Passenger Railroad Stations TR
Significant dates
Designated CP	June 27, 1975

Princeton is the northern terminus of the Princeton Branch commuter rail service operated by NJ Transit (NJT), and is located on the Princeton University campus in Princeton, New Jersey. At the branch's southern end at Princeton Junction, connections are available to NJT's Northeast Corridor Line and peak-hour Amtrak trains. The shuttle train between the two stations is known as the "Dinky", and has also been known as the "PJ&B", for "Princeton Junction and Back". Now running 2.7 mi (4.3 km) along a single track, it is the shortest scheduled commuter rail line in the United States. Initial studies have been conducted to add a bus transitway along the Dinky right-of-way as part of a proposed bus rapid transit system.

Service on the Princeton Branch was suspended from October 14, 2018 through May 11, 2019, replaced by shuttle buses, as part of NJT's systemwide service reductions during the installation and testing of positive train control.

Plans to relocate Princeton station 460 ft (140 m) south, proposed by the university in 2006 and approved by NJT and the Princeton Regional Planning Board, were met with opposition from some commuters, residents, alumni, and transportation advocates. The historic 1918 train station closed permanently on August 23, 2013. Approximately 1,200 ft (370 m) to the southeast, a temporary station operated from August 26, 2013 through November 9, 2014, accompanied by various bus routes shuttling among the old station, the temporary station, and Princeton Junction. The new permanent Princeton station, designed by architect Rick Joy, opened on November 17, 2014, with construction continuing on a complex of arts and dining buildings in the surrounding area.

History

1865 location (c. 1910 postcard)

The original 1865 location of Princeton station, in what became the university's Blair Courtyard, 0.15 mi (0.24 km) south of Nassau Street, was replaced by the 1918 station, built on a site 0.25 mi (0.40 km) further south. The historic 1918 station was constructed when the branch was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) under the direction of architect-engineer Alexander C. Shand, who had also overseen construction of the now-demolished Philadelphia Broad Street Station. Designed in the Collegiate Gothic style, the 1918 Princeton station contained a stone station house, a stone freight house, and a canopy-covered platform. The station has been owned by several different parties since the PRR era: Penn Central (1968–1976), Conrail (1976–June 1984), New Jersey Department of Transportation, New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (to October 1984), and Princeton University. It was listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as part of the Operating Passenger Railroad Stations Thematic Resource.

Dinky Transitway

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and New Jersey Transit have conducted studies to develop the Central New Jersey Route 1 Bus Rapid Transit Project. Parts of the proposals call for the construction of a "Dinky Transitway" along the Princeton Branch right-of-way, which would incorporate the rail service and add exclusive bus lanes and a greenway for bicycle and pedestrian traffic. In 2011, NJT indicated that moving the station would not be detrimental to its planning.

In April 2012, the university submitted a revised plan for the arts and transit center, calling for the extension of the station's freight house onto the right-of-way for possible use as a restaurant. The Regional Planning Board introduced an ordinance requiring the land be preserved for a transportation right-of-way that could eventually extend farther into the central business district at Nassau Street. According to the university, ownership of the trackage would have to change hands in order for the extended transitway to be implemented. Approvals were subsequently issued for converting the station house and the expanded freight house into a pair of restaurants, preserving two original ticket windows for kitchen views, and using the wooden arrival/departure boards as overhead menus.