NJ Transit Report Recommends $145 Million Upgrade to Dinky Line

Plans to fundamentally change the 157-year-old Dinky line are being considered after a New Jersey Transit consultant recommended a $145 million upgrade, according to a report released in November. The end result would be a dual-purpose light rail line and bus rapid transit system. According to NJ Transit contractor and design and consulting firm Stantec, which wrote the 44-page “preliminary concept analysis,” this proposal represents the preferred option for the future of the Dinky. The next step would be to conduct an environmental impact analysis. NJ Transit hasn’t ruled out maintaining existing operations, though the current rail vehicles have been in use for 45 years and face challenges such as increasing maintenance costs and difficulty in finding replacement parts.

Should the proposal move forward, a paved “transitway line” with embedded rails would be constructed and eight stations would be added — two on the current Dinky line as well as six bus stops in West Windsor and Princeton.

During peak hours, riders could expect service every six to 10 minutes rather than the current schedule of every 30 minutes. The report estimates that 2,215 daily riders would use the new system — a slight increase.

The report also includes an option to add a parallel pedestrian path, though that would cost an extra $45 million.

Should the proposal move forward, a paved “transitway line” with embedded rails would be constructed and eight stations would be added — two on the current Dinky line as well as six bus stops in West Windsor and Princeton.

Totaling just 2.7 miles, the Dinky is the shortest scheduled commuter rail line in the nation, with one stop across from the Lewis Center for the Arts and the other at Princeton Junction Station. The University owns the land and buildings that make up Princeton Station.

There has been a decline in Dinky ridership since 2013, the same year the station temporarily shut down for its relocation 460 feet away; operation resumed in November 2014 at the current station.

Friends of the Dinky Corridor started an online petition in support of the proposal that had 559 signatures as of Jan. 12. Not everyone is as enthusiastic, though. Alain Kornhauser *71, professor of operations research and financial engineering at Princeton, said, “It’s just a shame that this asset, which has both historic and fundamental value, isn’t being cared for.”

Henry Posner III ’77, chairman of railroad transportation company Railroad Development Corp., suggests considering additional alternatives. “One of the biggest market opportunities for the Dinky, which is something that could not [happen should the proposal move forward], would be the ability to run a through service from Trenton,” he said.

Posner adds that planning has focused on “people from Princeton getting to New York, or students who might make occasional use” but that “there has been very little discussion of the mobility needs of people who work in Princeton,” which he finds shortsighted.

Charlie Tennyson, director of transportation and parking services at the University, told PAW via email that in addition to supporting its own mass transit mobility initiatives, Princeton  “looks forward to working with NJ Transit and other … entities as they consider improvements to the Dinky service … .”