Princeton station (NJT)

Princeton
The 2014 Princeton station with a train at the station.
Location	Alexander Street, 1 block south of University Place Princeton, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°20′32″N 74°39′32″W / 40.3421°N 74.6589°W / 40.3421; -74.6589Coordinates: 40°20′32″N 74°39′32″W / 40.3421°N 74.6589°W / 40.3421; -74.6589
Owned by	Princeton University
Operated by	New Jersey 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 2012)	1,021 (average weekday boardings)
Services
Preceding station   NJ Transit Rail   Following station Terminus Princeton Branch Princeton Junction Terminus   Former services   Pennsylvania Railroad Terminus Princeton Branch Penns Neck toward Princeton Junction
Princeton Railroad Station (1918)
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
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Location	Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Coordinates	40°20′37″N 74°39′34″W / 40.3435°N 74.6594°W / 40.3435; -74.6594
Built	1918
Architect	Alexander C. Shand
Architectural style	Collegiate Gothic
Part of	Princeton Historic District (#75001143)
MPS	Operating Passenger Railroad Stations TR
NJRHP #	1742
Significant dates
Designated CP	June 27, 1975
Designated NJRHP	March 17, 1984

Princeton is the northern terminus of the Princeton Branch commuter rail service operated by New Jersey 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.

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. Even after the opening of the new station, some legal challenges were still pending as of 2015.

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.