Princeton Junction (NJT station)
| Princeton Junction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Princeton Junction Station |
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| Address | 2 Wallace Road Princeton Junction, NJ 08550 |
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| Coordinates | 40°19′00″N 74°37′24″W / 40.3167°N 74.6233°WCoordinates: 40°19′00″N 74°37′24″W / 40.3167°N 74.6233°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lines | Amtrak: New Jersey Transit: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connections |  NJT Bus: 600, 612 |
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| Platforms | 3 side platforms (southbound NEC and Princeton Branch platforms connected at their north ends) |
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| Tracks | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking | 3,560 spaces[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Electrified | 1932 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible |  |
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| Code | PJC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | New Jersey Transit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 19 (NJT)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traffic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers (2010) | 7,030 (average weekday)  2.49% (NJT) |
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| Passengers (2011) | 39,573[3] 2.7% (Amtrak) |
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Princeton Junction Station at West Windsor is a New Jersey Transit and Amtrak rail station on the Northeast Corridor located in Princeton Junction, an area within West Windsor Township in New Jersey, USA. On Amtrak and NJT tickets its abbreviation is PJC.
A 2.8-mile (4.51-km) spur line, the Princeton Branch, connects Princeton Junction to the Princeton University campus in Princeton, New Jersey. New Jersey Transit provides shuttle service between the Princeton and Princeton Junction stations; the train is locally called the "Dinky",[4] and has also been known as the "PJ&B" (for "Princeton Junction and Back").[5] 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 now offers 2 early-morning trains to Washington, D.C., and 2 evening returns, as well as 1 morning train to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and 1 evening return. Those 6 trains also serve Philadelphia. Many more Amtrak trains stop at nearby Trenton station.
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[edit] Parking
Permit parking is operated by the West Windsor Parking Authority. All spaces on the New York-bound side as well as most of the spaces on the Philadelphia-bound side are in permit lots. West Windsor Township residents have about a five-year wait to buy quarterly permits;[6] 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.
[edit] History
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This section requires expansion. |
Albert Einstein, who lived at 112 Mercer Street in Princeton, used to enjoy sitting at the station and watching the trains go by.[citation needed] 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.
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.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainStationLookupFrom
- ^ "Northeast Corridor Timetables". Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. November 7, 2010. http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/R0070.pdf. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2011, State of New Jersey" (PDF). Amtrak. December 2011. http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/NEWJERSEY11.pdf. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ "Princeton University: Train Travel". Princeton University. http://www.princeton.edu/pr/visitors/traintravel.shtml. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ Rosenbaum, Joel; Tom Gallo (1997). NJ Transit Rail Operations. Railpace Newsmagazine. http://www.railpace.com/store/njt_book.htm.
- ^ Parking Permit Program, accessed February 3, 2007
[edit] External links
Media related to Princeton Junction (NJT station) at Wikimedia Commons
- NJT rail station information page for Princeton Junction
- DepartureVision real time train information for Princeton Junction
- NJT Northeast Corridor Line schedule
- West Windsor Parking Authority
- Princeton Junction train station page on Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association site
- Princeton Junction Photos from November, 2000
- Princeton Junction Amtrak & New Jersey Transit Station (USA RailGuide -- TrainWeb)
- Station from Google Maps Street View
