Princeton "Dinky" to Vanish???

[CHamilton]

Less convenience=lower ridership

New Jersey Transit’s (NJT) 2.9-mile Princeton Branch of its commuter rail network, known as the Dinky, on August 23 saw its Princeton station relocated 700 feet farther from the center of town to accommodate Princeton University’s “Arts and Transit” project. The branch connects Princeton with NJT’s Northeast Corridor line and some Amtrak trains at Princeton Junction, offering an hour and 25-minute ride to New York City. ...In the two months since the relocation, the Dinky’s ridership has gone down 13 percent compared to the same two months last year.

 

[Fan Railer]

well, ain't that a no-brainer...

 

[greatcats]

Hopefully the patronage will rebound when the new station is complete. f(?????) if my former employer NJT does not sabotage it too much. I used to ride it when I was a student at Westminster Chpir College starting in 1969. The old PRR owl eye cars were still in use. When visiting New Jersey this past May for my alumni week, I made use of the Dinky from the old station. The present " temporary " station from what I have read is difficult to access as a pedestrian. How brilliant are the bureaucrats.

 

[CHamilton]

From the Letters to the Editor, Times of Trenton, 5/20/14 (fourth letter on this page).

Keep riding the rails to Princeton

The Milepost 3 marker of the NJ Transit Princeton branch stands alone on the Princeton University campus near Blair Arch, a lone testament to the rail line that ran almost all the way to Nassau Street starting in 1865. The latest truncation of the line, the fourth undertaken by the university over more than a century, puts the Dinky station almost a mile away from that original location....

I was dismayed to read in the NJ Transit quarterly report on ridership that Dinky ridership has declined 10 percent since the latest relocation of Princeton’s station 1,200 feet farther away from town. The report further states that, “The ‘Dinky’ decline appears to correspond with the start of free shuttle buses operated by Princeton University between Princeton and Princeton Junction.” This decline comes at the same time as Northeast Corridor ridership was record-setting, with a 10 percent increase in ridership for the same reporting period.

A local news website reported that, in October 2013, the free bus made 2,288 trips and averaged just over four passengers per bus trip. In addition, the bus’ time-keeping during the winter months was pitiful. These are hardly positive developments for mass transportation....

-- John Kilbride,

East Windsor

 

[neroden]

For some reason, the Princeton Hedge Fund And University has been intent on sabotaging public transportation in Princeton for a long time.

All part of the degeneration of universities in this country, by "corporatization". Don't get me started on that, but the short summary is, never give money to a university, they'll spend it on administrator salaries.

 

[jis]

Hopefully the patronage will rebound when the new station is complete. f(?????) if my former employer NJT does not sabotage it too much. I used to ride it when I was a student at Westminster Chpir College starting in 1969. The old PRR owl eye cars were still in use. When visiting New Jersey this past May for my alumni week, I made use of the Dinky from the old station. The present " temporary " station from what I have read is difficult to access as a pedestrian. How brilliant are the bureaucrats.

Your former employer unfortunately is hell bent on getting rid of the dinky by hook or by crook. A typical case of a fox guarding the hen house.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

The dinky in its current form is a horrendously expensive operation.

 

[jis]

The dinky in its current form is a horrendously expensive operation.

In its present form it is not viable in the long run. It has to be converted to something that can be operated by a single person crew, and preferably can be extended into Princeton town. Otherwise its days on rail are numbered as far as I can see. Experience with the bus service by the way has been less than spectacular because of the legendary traffic jams in and around Princeton.

 

[greatcats]

HI jis- I have no love for my former employer, NJT. Otherwise, I would have worked until 2013, instead of resigning in 2002. That is another story. Since last year I am collecting RR Retirement, which puts a smile on my face. I do hope the Princeton Branch remains, but nothing would surprise me. After all, they have to save money, in order to create more bosses' jobs! Harrumph! I do keep in contact with some of my former co-workers, one of whom has visited me in Arizona.

 

[neroden]

After all, they have to save money, in order to create more bosses' jobs!

Sounds like the typical story at the typical American university -- they claim they can't afford to hire more tenure-track faculty, then they hire more administrators and raise their salaries.