Everyone: The Arrow Three cars have served NJDOT/NJ Transit well since they were built in 1977-1978... They were rebuilt/overhauled during the mid to late 1990s with the thought of 20 or more years of service... They certainly got that - and definitely their money's worth - over time from the Arrow MU car fleet...
When does NJT expect any deliveries to begin of the new multilevel MU cars to replace the Arrows? With the backlog and delays that seem to be a part of any passenger railcar order 2024 deliveries may be overly optimistic - and even then there will be a long test period of months after they arrive...
I feel that the 2.8 mile PJ&B Line should be the last use for a small dedicated fleet of no more than 8 of the single unit cars kept for service on the Princeton Branch Dinky...If necessary a parts stream from retired cars could be kept to keep these "Chosen Few" Arrows running along with some needed redundancy...
Multilevel cars - and any locomotive-hauled one or two car trains will just be too impractical for the Princeton Branch - the Arrow MU cars offer flexibility and speed for the 5 or so minute scheduled runs back and forth... The Dinky is a time-sensitive line - any service that either takes longer or causes connections at PJC not to be met will be shunned by riders and eventually lead to the downfall of the service altogether...
A dedicated small fleet of DMU cars will not just end up being oddballs - they would have to be maintained someplace...What would a small DMU yard/shop facility just to serve the Princeton Branch extra cost be? Ferrying these cars to the MMC or the River Line shop in Camden for maintenance will become a necessary, expensive and time-consuming move for any Princeton Branch DMU fleet...
In closing keeping the Dinky as we all know it: a MU car rail route - looks to be the best NJT option...MACTRAXX
EXPRESS TRAIN TO NEW YORK PENN STATION-NO JAMAICA ON THIS TRAIN-PLEASE STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING TRAIN DOORS