Construction and first fire (1863–1893) Railroad service through
West Windsor dates back to the realignment of the
Camden and Amboy Railroad from
Princeton via
Kingston. The railroad closed bids for a new direct line between the
Deans Pond section of
South Brunswick on April 13, 1863. Construction re-started in June 1863. The first train crossed this stretch on November 23, when a single track opened between
Clinton Street station in Trenton and Deans Pond. A new station called Princeton Junction opened with this new line and a new stagecoach was approved to bring people from Princeton to the new rail alignment in January 1864. The railroad approved a new branch to Princeton on April 25, 1864, purchasing a new rail car for the line on September 26. The second track opened on September 26, 1864, eliminating all but one train via Kingston. The railroad would offer a horse-drawn omnibus service to Princeton from Princeton Junction. The new Princeton Branch opened on May 29, 1865, eliminating the omnibus service and passenger service via Kingston. The alignment between Princeton and Trenton was removed in June 1865 and by September, the entire line to Kingston had been removed. That same month, the railroad built a new turntable and a freight depot at Princeton Junction to facilitate smoother service on the branch. The original station depot at Princeton Junction, built in 1865, caught fire on the morning of August 7, 1892. The fire resulted in the complete demolition of the station depot and everything inside it. No source was found for the fire in a following investigation. The railroad announced that they would replace the station depot. By December 1892, the railroad announced that the new station depot would be a three-story tall brick building with a hardwood interior with then-modern conveniences for passengers. The new station opened in 1893.
Death of Charles Rogers (1913–1916) The condition of the tracks at Princeton Junction became a problem with the death of a local cement contractor, Charles Rogers, of
Bradley Beach in
Monmouth County. On June 13, 1913, Rogers was on his way back to the farm in the area that he had purchased for the family. His wife was waiting for him on a platform nearby to get him to the family wagon to the farm. After departing his train, Rogers stepped across the tracks to access a telephone and was struck by a nearby freight train. The station had a physical grade crossing near the station depot that provided access to a nearby hotel, where the telephone was located. Due to some freight cars on a siding at the station, Rogers' view was inhibited of the oncoming freight. After being crushed, his wife passed out on the platform and taken for emergency medical care. The
Mercer County Coroner informed her of her husband's death and she was taken by automobile to Princeton where the family wagon would meet her. A coroner's hearing held on June 21 declared that the railroad was responsible for the death of Rogers because of the grade crossing. The railroad had left the grade crossing unstaffed and that if someone had been watching the tracks at the crossing, Rogers' death would have been prevented. The coroner's hearing also recommended that the railroad should build a tunnel under the tracks to prevent a repeat of the same type of incident. Lena Rogers sued the railroad in the
Supreme Court of New Jersey in January 1914 for $25,000 for the death of her husband. Trial began on March 3, 1916, after the railroad's petition to dismiss was denied by the judge. The railroad claimed that Rogers had not performed due diligence before crossing the tracks for the telephone. On March 7, the court ruled that the railroad would have to pay Rogers' estate $5,000 due to the negligence of the railroad, one-fifth of what was asked by the Rogers family.
Second fire, decline and rebuilding (1953–1986) The second fire to ravage a station depot at Princeton Junction occurred on December 27, 1953. The caretaker, Virginia Worillow, a 62-year old lady, was rescued from the depot by the
New Jersey State Police and a local fire department. Worillow noted that mice had a habit of biting through electrical wires at Princeton Junction station, leading to a fire several years prior. This time, the entire depot was demolished and her dog was killed in the fire. In 1965, a prototype for the high-speed
Metroliner passed through the station at the record speed (at that time) of on a short demonstration run. Very few sections of the Northeast Corridor were capable of handling that speed, and most had to be upgraded before Penn Central's
Metroliner service was introduced in 1969. A speed of was achieved on the same portion of the track on December 20, 1967, when the U.S.-built
UAC TurboTrain set the rail speed record in North America. A plaque at the station commemorates the event. In June 1983,
New Jersey Transit purchased 12 active and four closed stations from
Amtrak along the line, including Princeton Junction for $408,000. In September 1986, West Windsor Township agreed to lease the station from NJ Transit through 1991, with options to extend the agreement. West Windsor would implement its own parking system and 650 parking spaces would be added to the station for the 4,000 commuters of NJ Transit and Amtrak that used the station. Amtrak began experimental service at Princeton Junction on April 28, 1986, with
Metroliner train 101 from
New York Penn Station stopping at 6:41 a.m. on its way to
Washington Union Station. A northbound
Metroliner from Washington Union would stop at Princeton Junction at 7:06 p.m. Amtrak's experimental service was because the area had growth that the rail organization wanted to tap into. The installation of high-level
side platforms at Princeton Junction also aided in their decision making.
Recent history The present station house was built in 1987. Most of Amtrak's Princeton Junction service prior to 2005 was
Clocker service commuter traffic to New York,
Newark, or
Philadelphia. On October 28, 2005, the
Clockers were replaced by NJT trains that run only as far south as Trenton. The northbound
Crescent stopped here from November 24, 2022, to July 4, 2023. On October 13, 2023, Amtrak announced Princeton Junction station, along with
New Brunswick station, would receive upgraded service due to increased demand. == Service and station layout ==