New Jersey Transit will move its Princeton station to accommodate Princeton University's plan for a new Arts Center. The line, officially called the Princeton Branch, is referred to as the Dinky by almost everyone who uses it. The new station will be 460 feet down the track from the current station. The current station is 2.7 miles from Princeton Junction. It connects to NJT's and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor trains.
In the early part of the 19th century when the Camden and Amboy Railroad built a line from Trenton to New Brunswick the line ran through Princeton. There was a realignment in 1863. The line was straightened which means it ran through West Windsor, about 3 miles from Princeton. The new station was called Princeton Junction and the Princeton Branch was built to connect with Princeton. Originally it ran all the way up to Nassau Street. Many years ago it was pushed back several blocks to its current location at the foot of University Place to accommodate university buildings. Now, because of the arts center, it is being pushed back even further.
Several years ago New Jersey Transit proposed paving over the right of way and converting it to a bus way. Since the train is a 2 person operation a bus, operated by only one person, would be a lot cheaper to operate. A second advantage is that the bus could continue up University Place to Nassau Street and beyond, providing one seat service to Princeton Junction station for more people. Some have said moving the station is part of a plan to replace the train with a bus.
The report of the closure is in today's Star-Ledger: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/06/historic_princeton_dinky_line_train_station_to_move_for_arts_center.html#incart_river_default
Several years ago New Jersey Transit
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