Princeton Branch
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Princeton Branch
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The "Dinky" at Princeton Junction
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| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Commuter rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | New Jersey Transit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Mercer County, New Jersey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini |
Princeton Junction Princeton |
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| Stations | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daily ridership | 1,021 (FY 2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1865 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | New Jersey Transit (since 1984) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | New Jersey Transit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | Arrow III | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track length | 4.3 km (2.7 mi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrification | Overhead catenary since 1936 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Princeton Branch is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line is a short branch of the Northeast Corridor Line, running from Princeton Junction northwest to Princeton with no intermediate stops. Also known as the , or the Princeton Junction and Back (PJ&B), the branch is served by special shuttle trains. Now running 2.7 mi (4.3 km) along a single track, it is the shortest scheduled commuter rail line in the United States. The run takes approximately 5 minutes.
At the initiative of Princeton University, the Princeton station was moved approximately 460 ft (140 m) closer to Princeton Junction in order to construct a new University Arts Center. The new station opened on November 17, 2014.
The Princeton Branch provides rail service directly to the Princeton University campus from Princeton Junction, where New Jersey Transit and Amtrak provide Northeast Corridor rail service, heading northeast to Newark and New York City, and southwest to Trenton, Philadelphia and Washington. As of 2016, the weekday branch schedule includes 41 departures in each direction. The line is served by a single or two-car set of Budd Arrow III self-propelled electric coach cars.
When the Camden and Amboy Rail Road and Transportation Company opened its original Trenton-New Brunswick line in 1839, the line was located along the east bank of the Delaware and Raritan Canal, about one mile (2 km) from downtown Princeton. The new alignment (now the Northeast Corridor Line) opened in 1863, but some passenger trains continued to use the old line until the Princeton Branch opened on May 29, 1865, at the end of the American Civil War, using a Grice & Long steam dummy for passenger service. The Pennsylvania Railroad leased and began to operate the C&A, including the Princeton Branch, in 1871. The branch was double-tracked in 1905 to handle popular college football weekends, upgraded to a gasoline electric train in 1933, fully electrified in 1936, and single-tracked again in 1956.
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