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Princeton Junction station

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Coordinates: 40°19′00″N 74°37′24″W / 40.3167°N 74.6233°W / 40.3167; -74.6233
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Not to be confused with Princeton station (NJ Transit).
Princeton Junction
at West Windsor
Princeton Junction station in 2006
General information
Location2 Wallace Circle
Princeton Junction, New Jersey
United States
Coordinates40°19′00″N 74°37′24″W / 40.3167°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
IATA codeZTJ
Fare zone19 (NJT)[2]
History
OpenedNovember 23, 1863[3]
ElectrifiedJanuary 16, 1933[4] (partial service)
February 1, 1933[5] (full service)
Key dates
December 27, 1953Station depot burned[6]
Passengers
FY 20176,817 (avg. weekday)[7] (NJT)
FY 202386,015 annually[8] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Trenton
toward Harrisburg
 Keystone Service
Limited 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
     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 New Orleans
 Crescent New Brunswick
toward New York
Trenton
toward Pittsburgh
 Pennsylvanian Newark Penn
toward New York
Location
Map

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.

History

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Construction and first fire (1863–1893)

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Amtrak Metroliner passing through the station in 1978

Railroad service through West Windsor Township dates back to the realignment of the Camden and Amboy Railroad from Princeton via Kingston. The railroad closed bids for a new direct line between the Deans Pond section of South Brunswick Township on April 13, 1863. Construction re-started in June 1863. The first train crossed this stretch on November 23, when a single track opened between Clinton Street station in Trenton and Deans Pond.[3] A new station called Princeton Junction opened with this new line and a new stagecoach was approved to bring people from Princeton to the new rail alignment in January 1864. The railroad approved a new branch to Princeton on April 25, 1864, purchasing a new rail car for the line on September 26. The second track opened on September 26, 1864, eliminating all but one train via Kingston. The railroad would offer a horse-drawn omnibus service to Princeton from Princeton Junction.[9] The new Princeton Branch opened on May 29, 1865, eliminating the omnibus service and passenger service via Kingston. The alignment between Princeton and Trenton was removed in June 1865 and by September, the entire line to Kingston had been removed. That same month, the railroad built a new turntable and a freight depot at Princeton Junction to facilitate smoother service on the branch.[10]

The original station depot at Princeton Junction, built in 1865, caught fire on the morning of August 7, 1892. The fire resulted in the complete demolition of the station depot and everything inside it. No source was found for the fire in a following investigation. The railroad announced that they would replace the station depot.[11] By December 1892, the railroad announced that the new station depot would be a three-story tall brick building with tirles. There would be a hardwood interior with then-modern conveniences for passengers.[12] The new station opened in 1893.[13]

Death of Charles Rogers (1913–1916)

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The condition of the tracks at Princeton Junction became a problem with the death of a local cement contractor, Charles Rogers, of Bradley Beach in Monmouth County. On June 13, 1913, Rogers was on his way back to the farm in the area that he had purchased for the family. His wife was waiting for him on a platform nearby to get him to the family wagon to the farm. After departing his train, Rogers stepped across the tracks to access a telephone and was struck by a nearby freight train. The station had a physical grade crossing near the station depot that provided access to a nearby hotel, where the telephone was located. Due to some freight cars on a siding at the station, Rogers' view was inhibited of the oncoming freight. After being crushed, his wife passed out on the platform and taken for emergency medical care. The Mercer County Coroner informed her of her husband's death and she was taken by automobile to Princeton where the family wagon would meet her.[14]

A coroner's hearing held on June 21 declared that the railroad was responsible for the death of Rogers because of the grade crossing. The railroad had left the grade crossing unstaffed and that if someone had been watching the tracks at the crossing, Rogers' death would have been prevented. The coroner's hearing also recommended that the railroad should build a tunnel under the tracks to prevent a repeat of the same type of incident.[15] Lena Rogers sued the railroad in the Supreme Court of New Jersey in January 1914 for $25,000 for the death of her husband.[16] Trial began on March 3, 1916 after the railroad's petition to dismiss was denied by the judge. The railroad claimed that Rogers had not performed due diligence before crossing the tracks for the telephone.[17] On March 7, the court ruled that the railroad would have to pay Rogers' estate $5,000 due to the negligence of the railroad, one-fifth of what was asked by the Rogers family.[18]


Transit village

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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.[19] Development adjacent to the station permits higher densities and will include retail end entertainment elements.[20]

Service

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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.[7] 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",[21] and has also been known as the "PJ&B" (for "Princeton Junction and Back").[22] 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.[23][24]

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 southbound Amtrak Palmetto began stopping in Princeton Junction on weekdays in October 2015.

The Central Jersey Route 1 Corridor BRT is a proposed bus rapid transit system which would use Princeton Junction as its hub.[25][26][27]

Station layout

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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 and the weekday southbound Palmetto.[28] 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.

References

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  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. ^ a b Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Its Predecessors and Successors and Its Historical Context: 1863" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society. pp. 29, 52, 96. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  4. ^ "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 icon
  5. ^ "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 icon
  6. ^ "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 icon
  7. ^ a b Kiefer, Eric (February 21, 2018). "Here Are New Jersey Transit's Most, Least-Used Train Stations". Patch.com. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  8. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of New Jersey" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  9. ^ Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Its Predecessors and Successors and Its Historical Context: 1864" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society. pp. 3, 31, 32, 74. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  10. ^ Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Its Predecessors and Successors and Its Historical Context: 1865" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society. pp. 42, 54, 66. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  11. ^ "A Station Burned". Monmouth Democrat. True American. August 11, 1892. p. 2. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Prniceton Junction is favored with a new station..." The Daily Times. New Brunswick, New Jersey. December 14, 1892. p. 2. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Its Predecessors and Successors and Its Historical Context: 1893" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society. p. 100. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  14. ^ "Charles A. Rogers is Crushed Under Train". Asbury Park Evening Press. June 14, 1913. p. 1. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Railroad Responsible for Death". The Freehold Transcript. June 27, 1913. p. 8. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Sues Railroad for $25,000". The Freehold Transcript. January 2, 1914. p. 6. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Refuse Non-Suit in Favor R.R." Trenton Evening Times. March 3, 1916. p. 1. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Must Pay $5,000 for Death of Man". Trenton Evening Times. March 8, 1916. p. 10. Retrieved February 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "West Windsor gains Transit Village designation Township becomes 24th Transit Village in New Jersey" (Press release). NJDOT. January 5, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  20. ^ Martin, Antoinette (October 9, 2011). "An Unofficial Transit Village". The New York Times. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  21. ^ "Princeton University: Train Travel". Princeton University. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  22. ^ Rosenbaum, Joel; Gallo, Tom (1997). NJ Transit Rail Operations. Railpace Newsmagazine. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ "Governor Murphy, NJ Transit Announce ACRL and Princeton Dinky to Resume May 12th" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. April 17, 2019. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  25. ^ "US 1 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)". Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. 2012. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  26. ^ "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.
  27. ^ "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.
  28. ^ "Amtrak – Service Alert". Archived from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
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