Hamilton is a modern Park & Ride Intermodal Station that opened as an infill station on February 16, 1999 and was designed to provide easy access to major highways since it is just off of Exit 65B on Interstate 295. It filled in a former nearly 10-mile gap between Trenton and Princeton Junction stations. In planning it was considered a stop for Amtrak trains, but Amtrak trains have never regularly stopped at the station. Not even the former Clockers that used Amfleet equipment, were pulled by New Jersey Transit ALP45 locomotives and accepted NJ Transit Monthly and Weekly tickets stopped at Hamilton. When New Jersey Transit discontinued the partnership with Amtrak to run the Clockers; the last Clocker ran on October 28, 2005 and NJ Transit began running their own peak hour super express trains using the same North River Tunnel slots (but terminating at Trenton instead of Philadelphia) but fully NJT push-pull Comet coaches running non-stop from Newark to Princeton Junction, these express trains began stopping at Hamilton. Today every Northeast Corridor Line to and from Trenton also stops at Hamilton. Train service is provided by at least one train per hour in each direction, increased at most hours of the day to two trains per hour in each direction.
The station consists of two 12 car long high-level side platforms along the 4 track Northeast Corridor. At their southern ends, the platforms end with locked steps down to a wooden low-level platform area so trains can open two sets of doors and stop on the inside express tracks (using wooden crossovers) in the event of service disruptions or maintenance on the local tracks. These platforms are each canopied for about their middle four car lengths. These canopies have grey supports that are in a decorative curved fashion. In the middle of the station is the stops enclosed glass-walled pedestrian footbridge, it has red accents both on its interior and exterior. It connects with an elevator and two wide and enclosed, staircases (some have up-escalators) down to each platform. On the New York-bound side is the stations small fully enclosed waiting area that includes a Dunkin Donuts and red metal seating. A ticket window was retrofitted to the station later (when it opened there were just 5 Ticket Vending Machines), opening on February 15, 2005 and is located near the fully enclosed waiting area but has an opening in an exterior wall near one of the staircases up to the pedestrian bridge.
The New York-bound platform houses the station’s intermodal amenities with four bus stops along the New York-bound platform south of the station house, serving 3 New Jerbus routes. These buses are stored and serviced at the Hamilton Bus garage located on the northern corner of the station’s property and built as part of the new train station. Along the northern portion of the New York-bound platform is the station’s 2,066 space, 6 story parking garage that opened in November 2007, supplementing what was originally only surface parking at the station that still has an additional 1,556 parking spaces. Parking in both the garage and surface lots costs $8.00 for 18 hours (slightly cheaper for up to $3) and allows long-term parking for $12.00 per day for up to 21 days.
The entrance to the parking lots, and the parking lot’s themselves are decorated by some large sculptures by contemporary artist and philanthropist J. Seward Johnson II, a native of Hamilton, that weave the station to the Ground’s for Sculpture, a unique art museum, just a few miles away. This includes a large silver arch outside the main vehicular entrance into the station for passengers being dropped-off or picked-up at the Kiss & Ride.
The Trenton-bound platform does have one pedestrian entrance to call its own (plus some additional ramps off the platform that have gates that claim they are emergency exits to the grass along the rail line, but these gates were all open when I visited). A walkway leads down off the platform near the pedestrian bridge to a roadway that is the driveway to the American Metro Office park. This office park uses a former American Standard factory. There is a parking lot to cross before arriving at this transit adjacent development.
Photos 1-36: May 28, 2014
Princeton Junction 
Trenton