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If your fall plans involve a train through New York Penn Station, check the timetable before you head out. Amtrak and NJ Transit are cutting and rerouting service for roughly five weeks while crews finish moving trains onto the new Portal North Bridge in New Jersey.
The work begins Friday evening, October 9. Amtrak’s adjusted service runs from Saturday, October 10, through Sunday, November 15, while NJ Transit’s new schedules take effect October 11. Regular NJ Transit schedules are expected to resume November 15, pending safety testing, with a full return to normal service planned for Monday, November 16.
The bridge crosses the Hackensack River between Newark and Secaucus, a stretch that carries trains bound for Manhattan. Crews have already moved one track onto the new bridge. To connect the second, they have to run trains on a single track through the area, which is a lot of traffic to squeeze through one lane.
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Amtrak says it has adjusted more than 280 trains in total. On weekdays, Acela service will drop from 20 trains to 18 and Northeast Regional service from 44 to 40. The biggest cut is to Keystone Service between Philadelphia and New York, which falls from 24 weekday trains to 10. Keystone trains will continue to run their full schedule between Harrisburg and Philadelphia and Amtrak’s long-distance routes will keep their current service levels.
NJ Transit riders will feel the changes, too. Weekday Northeast Corridor service drops from 133 trains to 113, while the North Jersey Coast Line falls from 99 to 87. Other lines will see smaller reductions. All weekday Midtown Direct trains on the Morristown Line, Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Line will go to Hoboken instead of New York Penn Station.
From Hoboken, eligible NJ Transit tickets and passes will be accepted on PATH to 33rd Street, NY Waterway ferries to Midtown and the Route 126 bus to Port Authority. The agency is also adding shuttle trips between Secaucus Junction and Penn Station to preserve connections.
The upside, eventually: The new fixed bridge will replace the 116-year-old swing bridge, whose openings have long held up trains. For now, build extra time into your trip and check your train’s schedule before assuming it will be there.