Full NJ Transit service to resume with new Portal North Bridge opening
The project in 2024. Photo courtesy of Amtrak
Some good news for New Jersey Transit riders: Full service to and from New York City will resume Sunday as the agency finishes replacing the century-old Portal Bridge. Service has been cut by 50 percent since February 15, while rail operations switched from the old bridge to the new $1.5 billion Portal North Bridge over the Hackensack River. A key part of the Gateway Project, the bridge will improve service by allowing trains to travel up to 90 mph, up from the previous 60 mph limit, according to Gothamist.
The new bridge is taller, so it won’t need to open for river traffic. The old bridge had to open and close dozens of times a year and would often get stuck, requiring workers to hammer the pieces back into place.
Regular weekday and weekend rail schedules will resume Sunday, March 15. Friday, March 13, will be the last day cross-honored tickets will be accepted on PATH and the NY Waterway Ferry. Starting Saturday, customers on the Morris & Essex and Montclair-Boonton lines with monthly passes to Hoboken will have their passes honored for travel to New York’s Penn Station.
“Today marks a historic step forward for New Jersey’s transportation future. For decades, the old Portal Bridge has been a source of delays and frustration for the hundreds of thousands of commuters and travelers who rely on the Northeast Corridor every day,” New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said.
“With the first train now crossing the new Portal North Bridge, we are delivering a modern, reliable piece of infrastructure that will strengthen our economy, improve the daily commute and support the entire Northeast Corridor.”
While normal service will resume, only eastbound trains will use the new bridge. Westbound trains will continue to use the old bridge until fall. Officials said leaving the old tracks in place will prevent delays during the expected transit ridership surge for the World Cup this summer.
On Friday, NJ Transit experienced significant service delays during the morning rush as a faulty overhead wire near the Portal Bridge forced trains to stop between Newark and Manhattan, according to CBS News. To bypass the problem, some trains were diverted onto the new Portal Bridge two days ahead of schedule.
Kris Kolluri, president and CEO of NJ Transit, told CBS News New York that he “thanked god” the new bridge was ready following the disruption.
“Thank god we had the bridge ready to go this morning because Amtrak called us at 4 o’clock this morning saying there was a catenary pole near the old portal bridge that had to be repaired,” Kolluri said. “So we were able to get service, limited service, up and running on the brand new bridge two days ahead of schedule. So thank god for that, even though it’s Friday the 13th.”
Kolluri attributed the problem to Amtrak, whose tracks NJ Transit uses along the Northeast Corridor, noting the railroad’s “100-year-old infrastructure” and emphasizing the importance of the new Portal Bridge in preventing future disruptions.
The new bridge was approved by the Gateway Development Commission in 2020, which is also leading the Hudson River tunnel project. President Donald Trump signed off on federal funding for the bridge during his first term, though since returning to the White House, he has sought to block funding for the tunnel project.
Crews had been preparing for the project for months. The work required 40,000 man-hours and involved lifting pre-constructed track panels into place to connect with existing tracks. Teams worked in two shifts, seven days a week, with 70 to 90 workers on each shift.
During the service reduction, NJ Transit riders had to rely on a mix of supplementary routes and cross-honored services, including shuttles to Hoboken and the NYC Ferry.
Find out more about regular NJ Transit service schedules here.
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