Princeton Junction station

Princeton Junction station (signed as Princeton Junction at West Windsor) is a railroad station in Princeton Junction, New Jersey, located in West Windsor Township. It serves NJ Transit (NJT) and Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), and NJ Transit on the Princeton Branch.

Not to be confused with Princeton station (NJ Transit).
Princeton Junction
Princeton Junction station in 2006
General information
Location2 Wallace Circle
Princeton Junction, New Jersey
United States
Coordinates40.3167°N 74.6233°W / 40.3167; -74.6233
Owned byNew Jersey Transit
Line(s)Amtrak Northeast Corridor
NJ Transit Princeton Branch
Platforms4 side platforms
Tracks4 (Northeast Corridor), 1 (Princeton Branch)
Connections
Construction
Parking4,161 spaces[1]
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: PJC
Fare zone19 (NJT)[2]
History
Opened1864
ElectrifiedJanuary 16, 1933[3] (partial service)
February 1, 1933[4] (full service)
Key dates
December 27, 1953Station depot burned[5]
Passengers
FY 20176,817 (avg. weekday)[6] (NJT)
FY 202251,957 annually[7] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Trenton
toward Harrisburg
 Keystone Service New Brunswick
toward New York
Trenton
toward Norfolk, Newport News or Roanoke
 Northeast Regional New Brunswick
toward Boston South or Springfield
     Acela does not stop here
     Cardinal does not stop here
     Carolinian does not stop here
     Crescent does not stop here
     Palmetto does not stop here
     Pennsylvanian does not stop here
     Silver Meteor does not stop here
     Silver Star does not stop here
     Vermonter does not stop here
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Hamilton
toward Trenton
 Northeast Corridor Line Jersey Avenue
One-way operation
Princeton
Terminus
 Princeton Branch Terminus
Former services
Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station
Trenton
toward Chicago
 Main Line Plainsboro
toward New York or Exchange Place
Penns Neck
toward Princeton
 Princeton Branch Terminus
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Trenton
toward Pittsburgh
 Pennsylvanian Newark Penn
toward New York

History
Amtrak Metroliner passing through the station in 1978

Princeton Junction's origins can be traced back to the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company, the predecessor of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 19th century. The original station was built in 1864,[8] in preparation for Princeton Branch service to begin in 1865.

Albert Einstein, who lived at 112 Mercer Street in Princeton, used to enjoy sitting at the station and watching the trains go by.[9] More than once, he employed trains to explain the practical effects of his General Theory of Relativity.

The Pennsylvania Railroad depot at Princeton Junction caught fire on December 27, 1953. The fire, believed to be caused by rodents eating electrical wire, trapped the station caretaker that lived in the building. Virginia Worrilow, the caretaker, stated that she heard a crackling noise similar to a fire from several years prior. When she opened the door to check on the fire, Worrilow had flames trap her in the second-story room. Worrilow escaped to the roof of the station and police rescued her. However, her dog perished in the fire.[5]

In 1965, a prototype for the high-speed Metroliner passed through the station at the record speed (at that time) of 164 miles per hour (264 km/h) on a short demonstration run. Very few sections of the Northeast Corridor were capable of handling that speed, and most had to be upgraded before Penn Central's Metroliner service was introduced in 1969. A speed of 170.8 mph (274.9 km/h) was achieved on the same portion of track on December 20, 1967, when the U.S.-built UAC TurboTrain set the rail speed record in North America. A plaque at the station commemorates the event.[10][11]

The present station house was built in 1987.[12] Most of Amtrak's Princeton Junction service prior to 2005 was Clocker service commuter traffic to New York, Newark, or Philadelphia. On October 28, 2005, the Clockers were replaced by NJT trains that run only as far south as Trenton.

On October 13, 2023, Amtrak announced Princeton Junction station, along with New Brunswick station, would receive upgraded service due to increased demand.[13]

Transit village

Princeton Junction has been designated the core of the West Windsor transit village, a smart growth initiative to promote transit-oriented development which can include government incentives to encourage compact, higher density, mixed-use development within walking distance of the station.[14] Development adjacent to the station permits higher densities and will include retail end entertainment elements.[15]

Service
Princeton Branch "Dinky" in 1971

As of 2017, Princeton Junction was the 6th-busiest station in the NJ Transit rail system, with an average of 6,817 weekday boardings.[6] In addition to the Northeast Corridor Line, NJT operates a 2.7-mile (4.3 km) spur line, the Princeton Branch, to Princeton station located at the Princeton University campus in Princeton. The shuttle is colloquially known as the "Dinky",[16] and has also been known as the "PJ&B" (for "Princeton Junction and Back").[17] Two train cars, or sometimes just one, are used. A single switch connects the branch to the Northeast Corridor tracks north of the station.

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.[18][19]

Amtrak provides two early-morning trains to Washington, D.C., and two evening returns, as well as one morning train to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and one evening return, all of which call at Philadelphia. Many more Amtrak trains stop at the nearby Trenton Transit Center. Until 2007, all Amtrak Pennsylvanian trains stopped at Princeton Junction. The Central Jersey Route 1 Corridor BRT is a proposed bus rapid transit system which would use Princeton Junction as its hub.[20][21][22]

Station layout
The platform for the "Dinky"

The station has two high-level side platforms. Most of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor lines bypass the station via the inner tracks, except for select Keystone and Northeast Regional trains.[23] The next northbound station is Jersey Avenue, but all northbound trains originating in Trenton skip this station and service New Brunswick, with other trains originating at Jersey Avenue.

P
Platform level		 Shuttle ←      Princeton Branch toward Princeton (Terminus)
←      Princeton Branch termination track →
Side platform, doors will open on the left or right
Side platform, doors will open on the right
Track 4 ←      Northeast Corridor Line toward Trenton (Hamilton)
←      Keystone Service limited service toward Harrisburg (Trenton)
←      Northeast Regional limited service toward Northern Virginia (Trenton)
Track 3 ←      Amtrak services do not stop here
Track 2 ←      Amtrak services do not stop here →
Track 1 ←      Keystone Service limited service toward New York (New Brunswick) →
←      Northeast Regional limited service toward Boston (New Brunswick) →
←      Northeast Corridor Line toward New York (New Brunswick) →
Side platform, doors will open on the right
G Street level Station building, parking, buses

References
  1. "Princeton Junction". New Jersey Transit. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  2. "Northeast Corridor Timetables" (PDF). New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  3. "P.R.R. Opens Electric Service Between N.Y. and Phila. Today". The Courier-Post. Camden, New Jersey. January 16, 1933. p. 3. Retrieved January 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. "Electric Service Line Wednesday". The Sunday Times. New Brunswick, New Jersey. January 29, 1933. pp. 1–2. Retrieved January 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. "P.R.R. Station Burns to Ground". The Daily Home News. December 28, 1953. p. 4. Retrieved July 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. Kiefer, Eric (February 21, 2018). "Here Are New Jersey Transit's Most, Least-Used Train Stations". Patch.com. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  7. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of New Jersey" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  8. Messer, David W.; Roberts, Charles S. (2002). Triumph V: Philadelphia to New York 1830–2002 (PDF). p. 89. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 5, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  9. Frassinelli, Mike (July 17, 2010). "Proposal to replace Princeton's longtime 'Dinky' train with bus line saddens sentimental locals". The Star Ledger. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  10. "Dedication of plaque commemorating high speed rail in America". National Capital Land Transportation Committee.
  11. "High speed rail commemorative plaque in Princeton Junction station". www.ns3010 .rrpicturearchives.net.
  12. "Princeton Junction, NJ". Great American Stations. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  13. "Amtrak Adds More Service for Customers at New Brunswick and Princeton Junction" (Press release). Amtrak. October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  14. "West Windsor gains Transit Village designation Township becomes 24th Transit Village in New Jersey" (Press release). NJDOT. January 5, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  15. "An Unofficial Transit Village". The New York Times. October 9, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  16. "Princeton University: Train Travel". Princeton University. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  17. Rosenbaum, Joel; Gallo, Tom (1997). NJ Transit Rail Operations. Railpace Newsmagazine. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  18. McGeehan, Patrick (September 20, 2018). "For New Jersey Rail Commuters, a Bad Situation Is About to Get Worse". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  19. "Governor Murphy, NJ Transit Announce ACRL and Princeton Dinky to Resume May 12th" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. April 17, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  20. "US 1 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)". Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. 2012. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  21. "Fact Sheet 2008". Central New jersey Route 1 Bus Rapid Transit Project. New Jersey Transit. 2008. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  22. "Central NJ Route 1 BRT" (PDF). NJ Transit Bus Service: The Next Generation. New Jersey Transit. April 26, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  23. "Amtrak – Service Alert". Archived from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
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