Trenton is the northern terminus of the River LINE and is located across Clinton Avenue from the Trenton Transit Center, where connections can be made to Amtrak, the NJT Northeast Corridor Line to New York City, and SEPTA Trenton Line trains to Philadelphia. The station is located on a private ROW and service has been proposed to be extended via median or street running (like at the southern end of the line) as a true interurban to terminate in Downtown Trenton by the State House 1.3 miles away. Passengers who want to reach Downtown Trenton must connect to Capital Connection Branded Buses (these have a graphic of the State House next to the bus number) to continue into Downtown Trenton.
The station consists of two tracks that end in bumper blocks up against the sidewalk of Clinton Avenue, just south of its intersection with Barlow Street. Due to the angle of the tracks approach to the Clinton Avenue intersection, the bumper blocks are slightly offset from each other with Track 2 extending slightly farther north from Track 1. For passengers, the station has two side platforms that are also slightly offset from each other. A variable sign with arrows for Track 1 or Track 2 (just beyond the bumper block of Track 2) tells passengers which track the next departure will be on.
The two platforms each have their own unique entrances. Track 1 has a single entrance right next to the bumper block via a few steps or a short ramp down from Clinton Avenue, just before this street crosses over Assunpink Creek and then the Northeast Corridor. The southern end of this platform is located over Assunpink Creek.
Track 2's main entrance is from a plaza that is at the SW corner of Barlow Street and Clinton Avenue that leads to the station's 110 space paid ($12 per day) parking lot, with ADA parking spaces directly along the entrance at the northern end of the platform. At the southern end of the platform is a short bridge over to the parking lot.
South of the station, the two tracks go over a gentle S-curve going under Market Street before joining up with the continuation of the Bordentown Secondary Line freight only track to Millham, New Jersey. This line as of 2024 looks very overgrown. The tracks then finally cross over the Northeast Corridor before reaching a diamond crossover closer to the double-tracked Hamilton Avenue station than this station. This crossover is just before a small two-track covered car barn that allows two trains to be stored by the Trenton Transit Center station securely overnight without needing to deadhead to and from the main River LINE Yard in Pennsauken.
Photos 1-9: March 31, 2005; 10-14: September 16, 2012; 15-29: September 2, 2024;
Hamilton Avenue