Trenton Transit Center, formerly known as Trenton Rail Station, is the main passenger train station in Trenton, New Jersey. It is the westernmost stop in New Jersey on the Northeast Corridor. It is the terminus for New Jersey Transit trains to and from New York City and SEPTA Trenton Line Regional Rail trains to and from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and an intermediate station for Amtrak trains traveling between the two cities along the Northeast Corridor.
The River Line light rail, which offers service to Camden along the Delaware River, is across the street.
Bus service at the station consists of local New Jersey Transit routes, including Capital Connection buses, serving the New Jersey Capitol Complex, and regional service to Philadelphia via Camden. In addition, the station serves as the northern terminus for SEPTA buses to Oxford Valley Mall. Greyhound Bus service to the station was previously available but has been discontinued.
Trenton is the only city to serve three major railway systems in the state of New Jersey (Amtrak, NJ Transit, and SEPTA). Behind Secaucus Junction and Newark Penn Station, Trenton is the third-busiest train station in New Jersey and the 24th-busiest stop in the Amtrak network.
Facilities
Trenton Transit Center has two levels; the upper level with ticket offices, ticket machines, two snack kiosks, and a McDonald's restaurant. From that level steps lead down to the two island platforms for the trains. The eastbound island platform (Tracks 1 & 2) also has a newsstand/snack kiosk.
A $56.6 million renovation is currently under way, which will include an addition of a mezzanine level providing additional office and retail space. New lighting, air-conditioning, information displays, escalators, and elevators will also be installed. Construction is anticipated to last two years.
Across the street is the River Line light rail station that connects to Camden, New Jersey.
History
Rail service in Trenton dates back to the days of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, which built a station on East Street in 1837, until it was moved to the current site in 1863. The C&A was merged into the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company in 1867 and acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1893, which replaced the station the same year. As with many Pennsylvania Railroad stations especially in New Jersey, the station became a Penn Central station once the New York Central & Pennsylvania Railroads merged in 1968. Amtrak took over intercity railroad service in 1971, but Penn Central continued to serve commuters, even as it was reduced to little more than a platform in 1972. In 1976, Penn Central built the new Trenton Rail Station just as the railroad was being acquired by Conrail. By 1983, the station became part of the New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, but also continued to serve Amtrak as well as SEPTA Regional Rail to Philadelphia. From 2006-2008, a major reconstruction project authorized by NJT took place with $46 Million worth of federal aid, and $33 Million worth of state funding that resulted in the replacement with the current Trenton Transit Center.
Current operations
Trenton Transit Center links Mercer County and the greater Delaware Valley area, Bucks County and Philadelphia with Camden, Newark, New York City, Boston, and Washington, D.C.. Because of frequent NJ Transit high-speed rail service between New York's Pennsylvania Station and the Trenton Transit Center, the city of Trenton is connected with Newark Liberty International Airport, Princeton University, Secaucus Junction to Hoboken and New York State, and Midtown Manhattan.
The SEPTA Trenton Line continues southwest, providing regional service through to 30th Street Station and Temple University in Philadelphia. Passengers traveling in New Jersey can continue using any of SEPTA's regional rail services from the 30th Street Station hub in and around the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area and in Bucks County. The line is also one of two ways in which passengers can reach the NJ Transit Atlantic City Line from New Jersey, which connects Philadelphia and Atlantic City.
The River LINE light rail service connects Trenton with service to the Pennsauken Transit Center that provides an alternative connection with the Atlantic City Line in Cherry Hill and the PATCO Speedline at the Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden. The line operates at street level along the Delaware River, connecting Trenton with Camden and municipalities and neighborhoods between these cities.
Amtrak's Northeast Regional stops regularly in Trenton in its 453-mile, 6-hour high-speed run between Boston South Station in Massachusetts and Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C.. Select Regional trains operate as far south as Norfolk or Newport News, while others continue to Springfield, Massachusetts or St. Albans, Vermont (branded as the Vermonter), in place of Boston to the north. The Amtrak Keystone Service continues through Philadelphia and on to Harrisburg, and its sister line the Pennsylvanian runs to Pittsburgh. While many Acela Express trains do not stop in the station, they run through Trenton on an express track located between platforms between Washington and Boston.
Trenton also receives long-distance service south of Washington that operate on electrified Northeast Corridor tracks as far north as New York. Lines that pass through and may stop in Trenton en route to the Southeastern United States include the Cardinal to Chicago via West Virginia, the Carolinian to Charlotte, the Crescent to Atlanta and New Orleans, the Piedmont to Savannah, and the Silver Service to Florida. All lines, including the Northeast Regional, pass through Philadelphia's 30th Street Station as a major stop along the line.
Station Description
The Trenton Transit Center consists of a station building, four boarding locations, and a separate platform for the River LINE. The River LINE terminal is found across the street from the station building at street level, one story above the Northeast Corridor tracks. The River LINE platform consists of one low-level island platform and two tracks that end in bumper blocks. These two tracks cross over the Northeast Corridor and then bend southwards towards the river, where they head towards Camden.
Being the terminus for NJ Transit Northeast Corridor Line service and the last stop for Amtrak and SEPTA in New Jersey, the Trenton Transit Center is central Jersey's largest station facility, with the ability to load five trains across seven operational tracks at any given time. NJ Transit trains that terminate in Trenton discharge passengers and continue on a two-mile haul to the Morrisville Yard in Pennsylvania. SEPTA trains either remain idle at the station platform or park on a special siding on the northern side of the station reserved for these trainsets. There are two express tracks â€" one in each direction â€" that can be used for trains running express from Philadelphia's 30th Street Station to Penn Station in Newark. The line narrows to four tracks for the majority of its length east and west of the station. To the west, all trains traverse the Delaware River via the Morrisvilleâ€"Trenton Railroad Bridge, entering Pennsylvania, at which point two tracks separate from the main line towards the NJT's Morrisville Yard.
Being a major station along the Northeast Corridor, Trenton boards and receives passengers through the use of two lengthy platforms (for day-to-day operations) that can accommodate up to four trains on separate tracks at once. Both platforms are high-level, enabling faster boarding and greater accessibility for handicapped passengers. All tracks are accessed from an overpass that connects the train terminal to the front of the station and with parking facilities on the station level. Tracks 1 and 2 share an island platform and handle all service eastbound towards New York's Pennsylvania Station. Tracks 4 and 5 share an island platform and handle all service from New York and to and from Pennsylvania. Track 3 has a low-level platform and is largely unused except if one particular track is out of service or in an emergency.
One of the unique features of the Trenton Transit Center is that inbound NJ Transit trains from New York release passengers on the same track reserved for SEPTA operations, deliberately allowing for an efficient transfer between the two rail lines for continued service to Philadelphia. As a result, the aft ends of both trains may not be able to open their doors, since they extend past the ends of the platforms with both trains stopped on the same track.
All tracks are electrified with overhead catenary wires, as is the entire Northeast Corridor from Washington Union Station to Boston South Station.
Track Alignment
Note: Shows platform layouts only, not the actual station layout.
See also
- River Line (New Jersey Transit)
References
External links
- NJT rail station information page for Trenton Transit Center
- DepartureVision real time train information for Trenton Transit Center
- NJT Northeast Corridor Line schedule
- NJT River Line station information page for Trenton Transit Center
- River Line schedule
- Amtrak â€" Stations â€" Trenton, NJ
- New Jersey Transit Trenton Station Renovation page
- SEPTA - Trenton Transit Center
- Web site showcased in the informational kiosks within the Trenton Transit Center
- Station Building from Google Maps Street View
- Light Rail Station from Google Maps Street View
- Station Building and track platforms from Bing Birds-eye View
- Trenton, NJ (TRE) (Amtrak's Great American Stations).
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