Trenton (Amtrak station)
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Trenton Transit Center is the main passenger
train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing s ...
in
Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
on the Northeast Corridor. It is the terminus for NJ Transit trains to and from
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and
SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five c ...
Trenton Line Regional Rail trains to and from
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, and an intermediate station for
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
trains traveling between the two cities along the Northeast Corridor. The northern terminus of the River Line light rail system, which offers service to Camden along the Delaware River, is across Clinton Avenue from the main station building. Bus service at the station consists of local NJ 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 The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...
bus service to the station was previously available but has been discontinued. Trenton is the only city in New Jersey to serve three major railway systems in the state (Amtrak, NJ Transit, and SEPTA).


Facilities

Trenton Transit Center has two levels; the upper level with ticket offices, ticket machines, a Dunkin' Donuts and newsstand, the Pizza Grill, a snack kiosk, two sets of restrooms, a bank branch, an
Auntie Anne's Auntie Anne's is an American franchised chain of pretzel shops founded by Anne F. Beiler and her husband, Jonas, in 1988. Auntie Anne's serves products such as pretzels, dips, and beverages. They also offer Pretzels & More Homemade Baking Mix fo ...
pretzel shop, and a
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restaurant. The upper level of the station also crosses
Assunpink Creek Assunpink Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in western New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garde ...
. From the upper level, stairs and elevators lead down to the two
island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
s for the trains. The eastbound island platform (Tracks 1 & 2) also has a newsstand/snack kiosk as well as NJT ticket machines. Unlike most large Amtrak stations along the Northeast Corridor, there is no checked baggage service. A $56.6 million renovation is currently underway, 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.


History

Rail service in Trenton dates back to the days of the
Camden and Amboy Railroad The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (UNJ&CC) was a railroad company which began as the important Camden & Amboy Railroad (C&A), whose 1830 lineage began as one of the eight or ten earliest permanent North AmericanList of Earliest Am ...
, 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 The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (UNJ&CC) was a railroad company which began as the important Camden & Amboy Railroad (C&A), whose 1830 lineage began as one of the eight or ten earliest permanent North AmericanList of Earliest Am ...
in 1867 and acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1893, which replaced the station the same year. As with many PRR stations, especially in New Jersey, the station became a
Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...
station once the New York Central merged with the PRR in 1968. Amtrak took over intercity railroad service in 1971, but Penn Central continued to serve commuters, even as the station building closed in 1972. In 1976, the bankrupt Penn Central and Amtrak built the new Trenton Rail Station just before Penn Central's rail assets were taken over by Conrail. It was built to a standard template used at many Amtrak stations built in the 1970s and early 1980s, with a rectangular shape and a boxy, cantilevered metal roof.
NJ Transit Rail Operations NJ Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of NJ Transit. It operates commuter rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered on transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark. NJ Transit also operates rail service ...
took over the station when it acquired Conrail's New Jersey commuter lines in 1983, but the station continued to serve Amtrak as well as
SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelp ...
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 current Trenton Transit Center.


Station description

Trenton Transit Center consists of a station building, four boarding locations, and a separate station for the River Line. The River Line terminal is across Clinton Avenue from the station building at street level, one story above the Northeast Corridor tracks. The River Line station consists of two low-level
side platforms A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...
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, Trenton 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 – one in each direction – that can be used for trains running express from Philadelphia's
30th Street Station 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
to
Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...
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 Morrisville–Trenton Railroad Bridge, entering Pennsylvania, at which point two tracks separate from the main line towards 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 Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...
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 An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
and handle all service northbound towards New York Penn 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 station 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 In physics and geometry, a catenary (, ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superfici ...
wires, as is the entire Northeast Corridor from
Washington Union Station Washington Union Station is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's headquarters, the railroad's second-busiest station, and North Ame ...
to Boston South Station.


Track layout

Note: Shows platform layouts only, not the actual station layout.


References


External links


SEPTA - Trenton Transit CenterStation Building from Google Maps Street ViewLight Rail Station from Google Maps Street ViewStation Building and track platforms from Bing Birds-eye View
{{PRR Main Line stations SEPTA Regional Rail stations Amtrak stations in New Jersey Stations on the Northeast Corridor NJ Transit Rail Operations stations River Line stations NJ Transit bus stations Railway stations in Mercer County, New Jersey Former Pennsylvania Railroad stations Buildings and structures in Trenton, New Jersey Transit hubs serving New Jersey Transit centers in the United States Railway stations in the United States opened in 1863