The first in a series of meetings to update commuters on the restoration of rail service on the Princeton Dinky shuttle train to the Princeton Junction train station, as well as the Atlantic City Rail Line, has been set for Feb. 19 at 6 p.m.at the Dinky station on Alexander Street.
State Assemblyman Daniel Benson (D-Mercer, Middlesex) and State Assemblywoman Patricia Egan Jones (D-Camden, Gloucester) will be joined by New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti to discuss rail line restoration efforts and related commuter concerns.
Benson and Jones are the chairman and vice chairwoman, respectively, of the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee.
The Princeton Dinky shuttle train has been out of commission since October 2018 so NJ Transit could install a high-tech safety system – Positive Train Control – on its rail network. It was supposed to be taken out service temporarily because crews were needed to help meet the Dec. 31, 2018 deadline to install the new safety system.
The Dinky was supposed to be placed back in service by mid-January, but service remains suspended. Commuters must use the NJ Transit bus between the Dinky railroad station and the Princeton Junction train station.
NJ Transit officials said rail service will be restored to the Princeton Dinky shuttle and the Atlantic City Rail Line during the second quarter of 2019.
Benson said the public deserves answers and better communications on the progress of rail line restoration efforts, as well as answers to concerns and issues that NJ Transit commuters are facing, and that’s why the series of meetings will be held.
Additional meetings will be held at NJ Transit rail stations in Atlantic City, Cherry Hill, Westfield, Somerville and Morristown.