NJ TRANSIT has accelerated the restoration of service on the Princeton Branch (Dinky) and Atlantic City Rail Line, announcing that both rail services will resume on Sunday, May 12.

The new date is nearly two weeks ahead of the most recent target date and will have these services operating prior to Memorial Day weekend.

“Our economy relies upon our residents getting where they need to go reliably and safely, and Governor Christie’s nearly decade-long mismanagement of NJ TRANSIT undermined the capacity of NJ TRANSIT to fulfill that responsibility,” said Governor Murphy. “That is why I’m so pleased to announce the early restoration of the NJ TRANSIT Atlantic City Rail Line and the Princeton Branch Dinky Line, which will allow our commuters to get to work, school, and back again, free of disruption. I applaud NJ TRANSIT’s leadership for their efforts to improve safety and restore service. Our residents and commuters deserve nothing less.”

Dinky service will resume with a schedule similar to its previous operation prior to the temporary suspension, which began last fall and was originally supposed to end in mid-January. The service was shut down for the installation of Positive Train Control throughout the system.

In advance of both the ACRL and Dinky resumption dates, test trains and rail equipment will begin to operate on the tracks.  The NJ TRANSIT Office of System Safety (OSS) urges the public to stay alert, remain cognizant that railroad equipment can operate at any time, in any direction and at various speeds.  Pedestrians and vehicles should only cross railroad tracks at designated crossings, while paying attention to crossing gates, lights and bells that warn of the potential presence of a train or other railroad equipment.

A release from NJ TRANSIT says that during the suspension, the agency installed 266 transponders, 17 poles, 20 wayside interface units, and nearly 60 miles of ground based network, including fiber optic cable to link all signal bungalows.  NJ TRANSIT also utilized the temporary suspension to perform state-of-good repair work on the ACRL by replacing 7.5 miles of track.  While NJ TRANSIT was at just 12% PTC completion in early 2018, the agency was able to meet this critical safety milestone in December 2018 to qualify for an alternative schedule for the remainder of the PTC installation process. NJ TRANSIT now has until the end of 2020 to ensure its PTC system is fully functional.