Princeton Branch
| Princeton Branch | |||
|---|---|---|---|
The "Dinky" at Princeton Junction | |||
| Overview | |||
| Owner | New Jersey Transit (since 1984) | ||
| Locale | Mercer County, New Jersey | ||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 2 | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Commuter rail | ||
| System | New Jersey Transit Rail Operations | ||
| Operator(s) | New Jersey Transit | ||
| Rolling stock | Arrow III railcars | ||
| Daily ridership | 1,021 (FY 2012) 814 (FY 2017) | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | 1865 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 2.7 mi (4.3 km) | ||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | ||
| Electrification | Overhead line, 12 kV 25 Hz | ||
| |||
The Princeton Branch, also known as the Dinky, or the Princeton Junction and Back (PJ&B), 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 (the line had an intermediate stop, Penns Neck, until 1971). The branch is served by special 1-or-2 car 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 in each direction.
At the initiative of Princeton University, the line was shortened by 460 ft (140 m) in order to construct a new University Arts Center. A new station opened on November 17, 2014.
Service on the Princeton Branch was temporarily suspended and replaced by shuttle buses from October 14, 2018, through May 11, 2019, as part of NJT's systemwide service reductions during the installation and testing of positive train control.