Princeton Station (2014 to present) was relocated 460 feet south of the current station, as part of the Princeton Arts & Transit Project that built a new arts center. The project was entirely paid for by Princeton University and not with any taxpayer funds. It was part of the development of the Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts.
The new station is a modern gem of a railroad station designed by architect Rick Joy. The station although visually stunning is far away from most locations people want to go on campus, such as being more than a half-mile from historic Nassau Hall, and even farther away from the Town of Princeton. Lots of local Princeton residents who used to walk to the Dinky from their nearby homes to take the Dinky to jobs outside of Princeton had a right to be extremely unhappy with the station relocation. The station relocation has resulted in lower ridership on the Dinky since the station opened replacing the original station closer to the center of campus.
The modern station contains a high-level platform for the single terminating track. This track now ends at a bumper block just south of Theater Drive. Across from the station is the Theater Drive Parking Garage with a covered public bike parking (and rental at least in 2019 via Zagster bike share) to try and help ease the long trip to campus destinations. This is located opposite the track, just across from the bumper block of the platform.
Opposite the platform and beyond the two attached station buildings is a bus loop used for connecting Weekday Tiger Transit Route 4, a free bus route open to everyone (no Princeton ID required) this bus route even extends the length of the Dinky to Princeton Junction from 7am to 7pm on Weekdays – and one NJT bus route. On Nights and weekends two Tiger Transit routes stop at the station (but none run to Princeton Junction).
The platform itself has a black architecturally stunning canopy structure with embedded in the middle of it lights that are angled down and held up by black central pillars.
Attached to this canopy structure are two buildings. The larger one that runs along the southern half of the platform is the campus Wawa store. It has black metal sheeting walls, just like the platform canopy, with an extended roofline on the northern side creating a porch with some dining tables (these chairs, when moved to be along the platform is the only seating for waiting passengers). It also contains the station's restrooms.
The northern station building is the station's waiting room. Its main architectural feature are cream colored granite blocks. holding up a black sheeting roofline like the platform, with geometric angles creating a unique-looking roof. The column walls have Princeton Station engraved closest to the station's bus loop. A very subtle sign that you are at a railroad station. This building is designed to be the station house, but I didn't try to go inside when I visited on Labor Day 2024 and didn't try and take pictures through the windows. Inside is a proper waiting room with benches under tall floor to ceiling windows and the unique metal sheeting roofline adding unique visual elements.
The entire new station complex has that look of an Ivy League University with a very good endowment and money to spend on star-architecture. I'm surprised I found no plaques naming the new station after a donor.
The station has no standard NJ Transit signage. The station signage is minimalist with Princeton in white lettering on the side of the Wawa store building, and small signs in the same black design reading “Bike Parking & Rental, Princeton Campus.” Or “Wawa and Restrooms.” Passenger information is enclosed in black enclosures in a similar style to the station canopy that also surround the station's TVMs.
Photos 1-3 were taken on 30 January, 2012;
