Princeton Junction station

Service

As of 2015, Princeton Junction was the 6th-busiest station in the NJ Transit rail system, with an average of 6,968 weekday boardings. 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", and has also been known as the "PJ&B" (for "Princeton Junction and Back"). Two train cars, or sometimes just one, are used. A single switch connects the branch to the Northeast Corridor tracks north of the station.

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 in October 2015.

Parking

Permit parking is operated by the West Windsor Parking Authority. All spaces on the New York-bound side as well as most spaces on the Philadelphia-bound side are in permit lots. West Windsor Township residents have about a five-year wait to buy quarterly permits; nonresident quarterly permits cost more and have a waiting period twice as long.

Daily parking is available in a nearby lot just north of the Princeton Branch platform and another lot in the rear of the paved lot on the south side of Vaughn Drive. The nearby lot usually fills by 7:15 am on Mondays through Thursdays; the Vaughn Drive lot does not usually fill up. Privately operated parking is available along Station Drive near Washington Road.

Central Jersey Route 1 Corridor BRT

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

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

History

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, 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. More than once, he employed trains to explain the practical effects of his General Theory of Relativity.

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 mph (270+ 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.

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 Since October 28, 2005, the Clockers have been replaced by NJT trains that run only as far south as Trenton.

High-speed rail corridor

In August 2011, the United States Department of Transportation committed $450 million to a six-year project to support capacity increases on one of the busiest segments on the NEC, a 24-mile (39 km) section between New Brunswick and Trenton, passing through Princeton Junction. The Next Generation High-Speed project is designed to upgrade electrical power, signal systems, and overhead catenary wires to improve reliability and increase speeds up to 160 mph (260 km/h), and after the purchase of new equipment, up to 186 mph (299 km/h). In September 2012, speed tests were conducted using Acela train sets, achieving a speed of 165 mph (266 km/h).