PRINCETON, N.J. — The run of the train known as the Princeton Dinky is both impressively long and unusually short. For 145 years, this rail link in a college town has ferried students and commuters over the briefest of distances. But Year 146 has not been kind to the nation’s shortest regularly scheduled commuter route, which travels a four-minute, 2.7-mile stretch of track between a small station at Princeton University and a larger one at Princeton Junction.

For one thing, New Jersey Transit, which operates the train, has raised Dinky fares and cut off-peak service, much as it has done with other trains and buses in these tight economic times. It has also consulted with local and university officials on a proposal to pave over the Dinky’s tracks and install a bus system that would extend through the whole town. Such a system, supporters say, could reach more people, run more frequently than the Dinky and even ease a dispute that has long delayed the establishment of a university arts complex.

But if these are the Dinky’s final days, one might not immediately sense it from riding the train. On a recent weekday morning, most of the seats in the Dinky’s one open car were filled with commuters sharing newspapers and conversation.

Robert Gibbs, 57, walked down the aisle, taking tickets and chatting with riders. (“How’re you doing?” “All right, got breakfast.” “Good, good.”) Mr. Gibbs first worked on the Dinky 25 years ago as a trainee conductor, with his most recent stint beginning two years back. “It’s a seniority job, mostly,” Mr. Gibbs said, his blue conductor’s cap pulled snugly over his bald head. He hopes to work on the Dinky until his retirement, in 2015.