(The following article by Linda Stein was posted on the Trenton Times website on October 11.)
PRINCETON BOROUGH, N.J. — At this town’s charming stone train station, commuters board the Dinky electrified train for its four-minute trek to nearby Princeton Junction, where they make connections for such destinations as New York City, Philadelphia, Trenton and Newark.
It’s been that way for close to 100 years.
But plans are afoot that could change the Dinky service, either by replacing it or upgrading it with a rapid transit bus system.
NJ Transit is analyzing various alternatives, the first step required to secure federal funds.
Dan Stessel, a spokesman for NJ Transit, said changes are needed along the busy Route 1 Corridor to ease traffic congestion and keep up with increasing population growth in the area.
“Traffic volume (in that area) is expected to increase 55 percent in the next 15 years,” Stessel said.
A new bus system would use dedicated lanes on which the buses could travel free of other traffic.
The Dinky, which now handles 1,000 to 1,250 passengers daily, is being studied as part of the larger area transportation system, with planners trying to determine what the region’s needs will be by 2025.
Alternatives being considered include:
— Leaving the Dinky as is and establishing an accompanying bus system.
— Eliminating the Dinky and replacing it with buses.
— Upgrading the Dinky with a double track to allow for more trains and establishing a bus line.
— Upgrading the Dinky without the use of buses.
Stessel said there will be extensive consultation with the local communities before a decision is made.
But any change is years away, he said. “It would be very premature to predict the end of the Dinky.”
Reaction to the idea of replacing the Dinky, which has ferried Princeton residents in one form or another since the 1800s, was hardly positive.
“That would be terrible,” said Mike O’Connell, 44, a Princeton Township resident.
The Dinky “adds to the character of the town,” he said. “I’m sure it’s not the most efficient way to spend transportation dollars, but it’s a focal point, and to shut it down would be a negative,” O’Connell said.
Bethany Trainor, 20, a student at Westminster Choir College, likes taking the train and called the Dinky `’fast and efficient.”
Many famous past and present Princetonians have ridden the Dinky’s 2.7-mile route, including Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John F. Nash Jr., who was the subject of the movie “A Beautiful Mind,” actress Brooke Shields, novelist Joyce Carol Oates and even the late Albert Einstein.
Jean Pantin, who is from New York and was heading to her job in Princeton yesterday morning, is a regular rider.
“I found it works for me,” Pantin said of the Dinky.
Sanford Gordon, a visiting scholar at Princeton University who also commutes from New York, said buses would be fine with him if they ran more frequently than the Dinky, which can leave its would-be riders waiting for 45 minutes if they miss their connection.
“Whatever gets you here and there faster,” agreed Reona Kumagai, 21, a senior at Princeton University who often takes the Dinky.
“You have to keep the Dinky,” said Kevin Douglas, who was in Princeton from College Station, Texas, to visit his brother, a professor. “That’s the heritage of this place.”
“It’s such a tradition for Princeton,” agreed Barbara Walker, a Princeton Township resident who takes the Dinky once a week, heading for New York City. “We’ve been coming here off and on for years.”
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, D-Princeton Borough, said he has spoken with NJ Transit officials to urge that the tiny train be kept in service. Like many borough residents, Gusciora walks to the station to catch the Dinky, which he called “an institution in Princeton and an example of mass transit that does work.”
“There’s a great business community and the university and the Princeton community at large that takes the Dinky,” Gusciora said.
“You can leave from downtown Princeton. It’s an example of how they do it in Europe, and it’s very accessible. Business people can catch the Dinky at 6:05 a.m. and be in New York about an hour later. They don’t want to be at the mercy of a bus.
“We want to keep the Dinky. You can expand service to other points in the Princeton community but it should augment the Dinky, not replace it.”
Pam Hersh, director of community and state affairs for Princeton University, said the proposed changes are “way in the future.”
“We’re in favor of improving the service,” Hersh said. “That would be wonderful and certainly necessary. It’s worth exploring better service.”
For 17-year-old John Hay, a prospective Princeton University student who traveled from his home in Long Island, N.Y., yesterday by way of the Dinky to visit the campus, keeping the train is a no-brainer.
“With gas prices the way they are, it’s certainly convenient,” Hay said.