NJ Transit’s Princeton Transitway study is underway

NJ Transit’s year-long Princeton transitway study is currently underway. The study is looking at the Princeton Branch right of way and travel connections to the branch, a 2.7-mile rail line that connects Princeton with Princeton Junction. The two-car train known as the Dinky currently runs along a single track in the right of way and is the shortest scheduled commuter rail line in the United States.

The study will help direct the future of transit service along this corridor. The study will evaluate existing conditions and estimate future demand for public transit along the corridor, taking into consideration planned developments such as the expansion of Princeton University, as well as new and emerging transportation technologies and other trends that are changing how and when people want to travel. The study will also evaluate the potential for the corridor to become a “multi-modal backbone” for public transit that could be used to improve local and regional connections for bus and rail transit, as well as pedestrian, bicycle, and other modes of transportation. A potential extension of service into downtown Princeton and the potential to add new stops along the corridor will be evaluated.  

Advocates for the Dinky fear that the goal of the study is to replace the train with bus rapid transit, a proposal that area residents opposed when it was first proposed about a decade ago. According to NJ Transit, the Princeton transitway study is exploring various transit alternatives, including:

• A roadway with embedded rail that can support both rail and rubber-tired transit vehicles. 
• A stand-alone rail corridor with a parallel roadway for rubber-tired tram and/or bus service. 
• A roadway with a guideway that could support a rubber-tired tram and buses.
• A no-build option that continues to use the existing Arrow III cars or similar rail vehicle. No new stations would be considered under this alternative. 

The result of the study will be the selection of a preferred alternative that state officials say would improve the quality, reliability, and frequency of service on the Princeton Branch to meet the needs of the surrounding community now and in the future. The preferred alternative could then be studied more and the project would then be designed. The estimated cost of the project is about $61 million.

For more than 150 years, the Princeton Branch has linked the Princeton and Princeton Junction stations. NJ Transit officials have said the agency has reached an “important crossroads” for the service, necessitating a study of the corridor to address existing and future anticipated needs including:

• Aging rail vehicles. The vehicles that are used on the Princeton Branch, as well as other rail corridors, are 43 years old and will soon be replaced with high-capacity, modern, multilevel vehicles systemwide. Officials said three vehicles minimum are required to make up a “train consist,” they said will present significant operational and efficiency challenges on the short Princeton Branch. 
  
• Providing access to new, comfortable vehicles, improving the reliability of service due to the elimination of electrified rail, reducing operating costs, and improving the safety and reliability of the surface transportation system that would replace electrified rail are also considerations.
  
• According to NJ Transit, Dinky ridership has declined from 1,095 average weekday boardings in 2009 to 515 in 2019.  State officials have attributed the decline to several factors, including limited service frequency, service reliability issues due to the age of rail vehicles, and the availability of parking at the Princeton Junction station. Advocates for the Dinky have attributed some of the decline to the Dinky station in Princeton being closed temporarily when the station was being moved from University Place to Alexander Street, and the relocation of the station just over 400 feet farther from the center of town.
  
• Changing demands for transportation. Officials said the COVID-19 pandemic has changed travel patterns and will likely have a longer-term impact on working from home. NJ Transit officials said they want a “more robust and flexible system that can be scaled” to meet changing demands. 
  
• New demand along the corridor. With development planned by Princeton University and transit-oriented development in West Windsor, state officials said transit demand is anticipated to increase. They said growth will require more efficient connections to the Northeast Corridor, as well as the potential for new stops along the corridor to serve new developments.

The primary study area includes the Princeton Branch corridor between the Princeton Station and Princeton Junction Station. NJ Transit officials said concept plans will be prepared for alternatives that fall within the study area. In addition to looking at alternatives for the Princeton Branch, the study will assess opportunities to improve connections to bus, pedestrian, bicycle, and other transportation modes.

A planning firm, Stantec, was hired to serve as the consultant for the transitway study. The study is expected to take about a year to complete and is expected to be finished by the end of 2021. Following is the timeline for the study:
•    January 2021 – March 2021: Data collection and an assessment of existing conditions
•    April 2021 – May 2021: Sharing of initial findings and stakeholder/community outreach
•    June 2021 – August 2021: Develop and evaluate concept alternatives
•    September 2021 – October 2021:  Share alternatives and obtain stakeholder/community feedback
•    November 2021 – December 2021: Finalize analysis of alternatives and select preferred alternative

The first kick-off meeting for stakeholders is set for April 21. According to a list provided to Planet Princeton earlier this week, so far 44 people are part of the stakeholders group. The list includes local, county and state officials, consultants, representatives from transportation management associations, Princeton University officials, and representatives from NJ Transit. Only one resident who is not a representative of an agency, government, institution, planning group, or the consulting firm is part of the stakeholder group, Kip Cherry of Save the Dinky. NJ Transit has promised to solicit feedback from area residents so that the final plan responds to the needs of the community. The agency has promised to hold virtual meetings with agency and municipal stakeholders, an advisory committee, and the community throughout the project. You can get updates and share your comments about the Dinky and the transitway study with NJ Transit by filling out a comment form online.

Stakeholder Members

1. Kristin Appelget – Princeton University Government Relations
2. Sen. Christopher Bateman
3. Assemblyman Daniel Benson
4. Nat Bottigheimer – Chair, Princeton Transit Advisory Committee (Regional Planning Association)
5. Michael Boyer – Delaware River Planning Commission
6. Kip Cherry – Save the Dinky
7. Jeremy Colangelo-Bryan – NJ Transit
8. Marc Dashield – Princeton Administrator
9. Jackie Davis – Delaware River Planning Commission
10. Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo
11. John Del Colle – NJ Transit
12. Leslie Floyd – Mercer County Planning Director
13. Jerry Foster – Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association (GMTMA) (Suburban Transit)
14. Mark Freda – Mayor, Princeton
15. Assemblyman Roy Freiman
16. Lois Goldman – North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority
17. Sen. Linda Greenstein
18. Francis Guzik – West Windsor Township
19. Karen Jezierny – Princeton University (Public Affairs)
20. Cheryl Kastrenakes – Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association (GMTMA) (Suburban Bus)
21. Leah Katz – NJ Transit
22. Michael LaPlace – Princeton Planning Director
23. Matthew Lawson – Mercer County Principal Planner
24. Barbara Lazzaro – NJ Transit
25. Justin Lesko – Princeton Princeton Planning Dept.
26. Hermant Marathe – Mayor, West Windsor Township
27. Matthew McHale – NJ Transit
28. Louis Millan – NJ Transit
29. Bill Neary – Keep Middlesex Moving (KMM)
30. Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
31. Cynthia Rhymer – West Windsor Township
32. Marlena Schmid – West Windsor Township
33. Natalie Shivers – Princeton University Associate Architect
34. Deanna Stockton – Princeton Engineering Dept,
35. Samuel Surtees – West Windsor Township Land Use Planning Director
36. John Taylor – West Windsor Township
37. Charlie Tennyson – Princeton University Interim Director, Transportation and Parking Services
38. Sen. Shirley Turner
39. Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli
40. Michael Viscardi – NJ Transit
41. Paul Wyckoff – NJ Transit
42. Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker
43. Roseann Abrams – Stantec
44. Adam Catherine – Stantec