Construction is now underway on the aging rail link that carries thousands of New Jersey commuters into Manhattan each day, and riders of NJ Transit are being urged to prepare for weeks of schedule changes and crowded trains.
On Feb. 15, work began on the long-planned Portal Bridge project, a key upgrade along the busy Northeast Corridor, according to NJ transit.
Amtrak has already begun transferring rail traffic from the 115-year-old Portal Bridge to the new Portal North Bridge over the Hackensack River, a change expected to snarl service for roughly a month, CBS News reported.
As a result, some commuters traveling between New Jersey and New York City will see rerouted trips and modified schedules that are expected to last at least a month.
NJ Transit said the temporary disruptions are unavoidable but necessary to safely transition service to new infrastructure. The agency said that the changes are necessary to ensure a safe and successful transition to the new bridge infrastructure, even though they will create short-term inconvenience.
What Riders Should Expect
The impacts center on rail lines that pass through the Portal Bridge corridor and serve Penn Station. Over the next several weeks, riders can expect earlier departure times on many trains, fewer runs on some segments and longer travel times.
Hundreds of thousands of NJ Transit and Amtrak riders are being warned to prepare for slower, more crowded trains and significant schedule changes as traffic is routed onto the new bridge.
Many Midtown Direct trains on the Morris & Essex, Gladstone Branch, and Montclair-Boonton lines will not travel into New York Penn Station on weekdays but instead terminate at Hoboken, where riders must transfer to PATH trains, NY Waterway ferries, or buses to reach Manhattan, according to WABC.
NJ Transit is advising customers to check schedules before leaving home and to build extra time into their commutes, NBC 4 New York reported. The agency warned that alternate routes for Midtown Direct customers on the affected lines — which are being diverted to Hoboken — have limited capacity and “may experience significant crowding during peak travel periods.”
To avoid the heaviest congestion, riders are strongly encouraged to travel before 7 a.m. or after 9 a.m. in the morning and before 4 p.m. or after 7 p.m. in the evening. Officials are also asking anyone who can work remotely to do so as much as possible during the construction period.
Regular service is scheduled to resume March 15, and customers are urged to monitor NJ Transit’s website for updates.
What Construction Crews are Doing
The current phase of work focuses on shifting active rail traffic from one track on the more than 110-year-old Portal Bridge to the newly built Portal North Bridge. That process involves shutting down outdated equipment, activating new track alignments and tying in modern signaling, power and communications systems.
Crews are also testing and commissioning interlockings and safety systems. Because these systems are tightly connected, the work must happen in carefully planned time windows, which temporarily limits how many trains can move through the corridor at once.
During the “cutover” period, trains are restricted to a single track between Newark and Secaucus, significantly reducing track capacity and forcing NJ Transit to operate far fewer trains into New York, the Jersey Bee reported.
The project is being carried out in coordination with Amtrak, which operates service along the Northeast Corridor. With only one track available between Newark and Secaucus during parts of the work, the number of trains that can run each hour is effectively cut in half — a constraint that could trigger delays and occasional unplanned cancellations.
Extra travel options and support
To help ease the strain, NJ Transit is expanding customer support throughout the construction period. Rail tickets will be cross-honored on PATH trains and New York Waterway ferries, with added peak-hour ferry service to and from Midtown. Rail passes will also be accepted on NJ Transit buses.
For example, a rider who typically travels by train from Perth Amboy to New York can use a rail ticket or pass on a bus from Perth Amboy or Woodbridge to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Travelers heading to destinations different from those printed on their tickets may need to pay any applicable fare difference.
NJ Transit said it is pushing out advance notice of service impacts across all of its communication channels, including real-time digital alerts and updated station signage.
The agency is also deploying extra staff at Hoboken and Secaucus stations and rolling out a FLEXPASS option — a 20-trip ticket sold at a 15 % discount — to give riders more flexibility.
For many commuters, the next few weeks will require patience and planning. But transportation officials say the payoff will be a modernized bridge designed to improve reliability on one of the nation’s busiest rail corridors.
