NJ Transit will impose temporary schedule changes across nearly its entire rail network for about five weeks beginning Sunday, October 11, as Amtrak transfers the final active track from the 116-year-old Portal Bridge to the new Portal North Bridge over the Hackensack River.
The September 17 announcement says every NJ Transit rail line except the Atlantic City Rail Line will operate with modified schedules. Some trains will be consolidated or canceled, while others will depart at different times or use different stopping patterns. Regular schedules are expected to return Sunday, November 15, subject to completion of safety testing.
The largest weekday change affects Midtown Direct riders. Trains on the Morris & Essex Line, Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Line will be diverted to Hoboken instead of Penn Station New York. NJ Transit says weekday tickets and passes to Hoboken will be cross-honored on PATH between Hoboken and 33rd Street, on enhanced NY Waterway service between Hoboken and West 39th Street, and on the Route 126 bus to Port Authority.
Raritan Valley Line one-seat rides to and from New York will begin and end at Newark Penn Station during the work. Separate projects will also replace North Jersey Coast Line trains with buses between Bay Head and Manasquan for two weeks beginning October 11, substitute buses for eight weekday midday Port Jervis Line trains through November 14, and replace Raritan Valley Line trains with buses between Cranford and Newark on Saturday, November 7.
Commuters should check the new timetable
NJ Transit’s dedicated Portal cutover page now provides temporary weekday and weekend schedules by line. The agency recommends traveling before 7 a.m. or after 9 a.m. during the morning peak, and before 4 p.m. or after 7 p.m. during the evening peak when possible. It also warns that alternate service through Hoboken has limited capacity and may be crowded.
The work will deactivate old infrastructure, connect new track alignments and integrate signaling, power and communications systems before testing. During the cutover, trains will use a single track between Newark and Secaucus, reducing the number of trains that can operate into New York Penn Station.
The Portal North Bridge project replaces a movable bridge that has long interrupted rail traffic when opened for marine vessels. The new fixed-span bridge has two tracks and 50 feet of clearance over the river, allowing boats to pass beneath without stopping trains. It is a core Gateway Program project intended to improve Northeast Corridor reliability and support future capacity.
Riders should use the temporary timetable rather than their usual departure time, update the NJ Transit app and allow extra travel time throughout the cutover. The five-week disruption is scheduled, but the November 15 restoration date remains conditional on safety testing.
