Statement of the National Association of Railroad Passengers Regarding New Jersey Transit’s Application for Project Authorization For the Princeton Branch Track Removal Project

505 Capitol Court, NE, Suite 300, Washington, D.C 20002-7706 Phone 202-408-8362  Fax 202-408-8287  narp@narprail.org  http://www.narprail.org Statement of the National Association of Railroad Passengers Regarding New Jersey Transit’s Application for Project Authorization For the Princeton Branch Track Removal Project New Jersey Historic Sites Council Meeting Department of Environmental Protection Building – February 16, 2012 The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP), a 45-year-old advocacy organization with 44,000 dues-paying members nationwide, strongly opposes the removal of the segment of New Jersey Transit’s (NJT) Princeton Branch (the Dinky) that includes the existing Princeton Station It makes no sense to move Princeton’s direct, convenient connecting point to access New York City, Philadelphia and other Northeastern points much farther away from the center of town, where most of its potential riders (primarily Princeton University students, faculty and staff) live In the long term, this would disservice all concerned: the University, the Borough, and NJT Moving the Dinky so far away from the campus and town center that one may as well drive or taxi all the way to Princeton Junction to catch a train only serves to increase automobile dependence in an era when rising gas prices and worsening congestion threaten to severely hamper our way of life The convenient, walkable connectivity that the Dinky now offers the Princeton community greatly enhances its freedom of mobility – a benefit that makes the community unique and which will become even clearer as time goes on Despite its statements to the contrary, we know of no reason why Princeton University cannot easily expand its campus and build its desired arts and athletic facilities around the existing station, without moving the train terminus We don’t believe the University should sacrifice an asset that continues to serve and define it and the greater community just as it has for the past century, when it can achieve the same objective of an expanded and unified campus without doing so That this comes at a time of increasing rail ridership nationwide seems especially short-sighted But NJT, above all, should have an interest in maintaining the existing station location, as moving it farther away would diminish ridership, thus further cutting into the revenues of an agency that has already enacted several significant fare hikes in response to budgetary pressures We have seen no estimate of the impact on ridership this change would cause and question why this was not included in NJT’s filing as NJT’s mission is to serve the traveling public We urge the Historic Preservation Office to swiftly deny the Application for Project Authorization, both on the grounds of maintaining a historic structure in its original capacity and on the grounds of greater transportation utility for the region concerned Ross B Capon President and CEO Our Mission: A modern, customer-focused national passenger train network that provides a travel choice Americans want