MBTA opens Salem Intermodal Center; NJ Transit to serve new Princeton station

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) yesterday officially opened its new Salem Intermodal Center, which is the third-busiest station on the commuter-rail system.

MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott was joined by Salem Mayor Kimberly Driscoll, U.S. Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) and other local officials at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the center, which features a 700-car parking garage, bus, bike and Zipcar facilities, and a new pedestrian walkway to Bridge Street.

The facility opened to the public last month. Work on the second phase of the center's raised platform began late last month and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31. The project was designed to allow future transit-oriented development at the site, MBTA officials said in a press release.

The $44.5 million project is being funded by federal, state, city and MBTA dollars.

Meanwhile, a new station to be served by New Jersey Transit opened yesterday at Princeton University, marking the final stages of the transit portion of the university's Arts and Transit Project. A station opening celebration will be held Nov. 25.

The university's project calls for redeveloping an area along Alexander Street and University Place to create a complex of three arts buildings, new dining establishments and a modern, multimodal transit hub, along with roadway and landscaping improvements.

The NJ Transit train known as the Dinky provides service between Princeton and Princeton Junction, which offers connections to rail service along the East Coast. The station is 460 feet south of the former station building on University Place.