NJ Transit

Full NJ Transit service to resume with new Portal North Bridge opening

The project in 2024. Photo courtesy of Amtrak

March 13, 2026

Full NJ Transit service to resume with new Portal North Bridge opening

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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.
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NJ Transit to cut service by 50% for four weeks

The project in 2024. Photo courtesy of Amtrak

February 12, 2026

NJ Transit to cut service by 50% for four weeks

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New Jersey Transit riders will have a tough time reaching New York City for the next month. Starting Sunday, February 15, NJ Transit will cut service by 50 percent for four weeks to transfer rail operations from one track on the 115-year-old Portal Bridge to one track on the new $1.5 billion Portal North Bridge over the Hackensack River, a major part of the Gateway Program. During construction, trains can only operate on a single track between Newark and Secaucus, resulting in fewer trains serving Penn Station on the North East Corridor and the North Jersey Coast Line. Weekday commuters on Midtown Direct trains along the Gladstone Branch, Morris & Essex, and Montclair-Boonton lines will be diverted to Hoboken, where several options will be available to reach Penn Station.
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NJ Transit strike ends, service to resume Tuesday

Photo by James Petts on Flickr

May 19, 2025

NJ Transit strike ends, service to resume Tuesday

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NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) reached a tentative agreement on Sunday, ending the first strike at the agency in 42 years. Regular weekday train service will resume on Tuesday, May 20, giving workers a day to inspect and prepare tracks and rail cars. The strike began on Friday when 450 unionized workers walked off the job over engineers' wages. While details of the agreement have not been released, Gov. Phil Murphy called the contract settlement "fair and fiscally responsible" with a "generous wage increase" for union members.
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NJ Transit strike: The best travel alternatives for getting to NYC

NJ Transit gated off the concourse at Penn Station as a result of the strike. Photo © 6sqft

May 14, 2025

NJ Transit strike: The best travel alternatives for getting to NYC

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NJ Transit engineers are now on strike for the first time in more than 40 years, impacting commutes for hundreds of thousands of residents. According to the New York Times, about 450 unionized workers went on strike on Friday as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and NJ Transit failed to reach a long-delayed contract agreement. The engineers' demands include pay parity with engineers at nearby commuter railroads. With no train service as of Friday morning, here’s how you can still get to New York City from the Garden State.
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Penn Station needs expansion to boost train capacity, new report concludes

Photo courtesy of Fernando Sandoval/MW

October 3, 2024

Penn Station needs expansion to boost train capacity, new report concludes

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The only way to increase train capacity at Penn Station is to expand the Midtown Manhattan transit hub, a new report concludes. This week Amtrak, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and NJ Transit released "Doubling Trans-Hudson Train Capacity at New York Penn Station," an engineering feasibility study exploring four concepts to double train capacity without expanding the station's size. Ultimately, none of these proposals were found feasible, marking a shift in focus towards options that would increase Penn Station's footprint.
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NJ lawmaker calls for riders to get refunds for Amtrak, NJ Transit delays

NJ Transit hall in Penn Station. Photo by Chris Rycroft on Flickr.

August 15, 2024

NJ lawmaker calls for riders to get refunds for Amtrak, NJ Transit delays

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A New Jersey official wants Amtrak and NJ Transit to refund riders when their travel plans are delayed or canceled. NJ Rep. Josh Gottheimer on Monday introduced the All Aboard Act, which includes a "Rail Passenger Bill of Rights" that guarantees refunds to riders experiencing transit disruptions, as reported by Gothamist. If passed, the legislation would require the rail company to invest in improving maintenance issues and service times. In the meantime, Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday announced NJ Transit trains and buses will be free for one week at the end of August to thank commuters for putting up with a summer of service problems.
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Amtrak and NJ Transit service in NYC disrupted again

NJ Transit hall in Penn Station. Photo by Chris Rycroft on Flickr.

June 21, 2024

Amtrak and NJ Transit service in NYC disrupted again

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It's been a rough week for Northeast Corridor commuters. New Jersey Transit and Amtrak service in and out of New York City was disrupted this morning for a third time this week. On Friday, a disabled train at Penn Station caused NJ Transit to suspend service and led to delays in Amtrak service. The delays came just hours after Amtrak suspended service on Thursday evening for over three hours due to power outages. Rail service on both lines was halted earlier in the week because of overhead wire issues and a disabled train on the tracks. As of this morning, Amtrak service is expected to resume by 1 p.m., with delays. Some NJ Transit trains were diverted to Hoboken.
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Murphy proposes new tax on wealthy corporations to fund NJ Transit

Photo by Adam E. Moreira via WikiCommons

February 28, 2024

Murphy proposes new tax on wealthy corporations to fund NJ Transit

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Gov. Phil Murphy has a plan to raise taxes on New Jersey's wealthiest corporations to help NJ Transit meet its roughly $900 million budget deficit. During his annual budget address on Tuesday, the governor unveiled the "Corporate Transit Fee," a new tax on Garden State corporations with net taxable incomes of more than $10 million per year. The proposal raises the corporate tax rate from 9 percent to 11.5 percent for qualifying businesses to create a dedicated funding source for the cash-strapped NJ Transit.
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In New York, Biden touts $300M investment for Hudson River rail project

President Biden hosted a press conference in NYC to discuss the Hudson River Tunnel Project on 1/31/23; Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

February 1, 2023

In New York, Biden touts $300M investment for Hudson River rail project

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President Joe Biden made an appearance at Hudson Yards on Tuesday to announce a $292 million investment for a project that would fix a century-old rail tunnel and build a new one under the river between New York and New Jersey. The $16 billion Hudson River tunnel project is just one part of the broader $30 billion Gateway Project, which includes new bridges and the expansion of Penn Station. The funding announced by Biden will go toward a $649 million project that extends the concrete casing for the tunnels between Penn Station and the Hudson River before any work on the tunnels can actually begin.
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NJ Transit wants feedback on its Newark Penn Station revitalization project

Photo of Newark Penn Station by King of Hearts on Wikimedia

August 8, 2022

NJ Transit wants feedback on its Newark Penn Station revitalization project

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Newark Penn Station is set to undergo a major renovation and NJ Transit wants feedback from riders who travel through the historic terminal. The transit agency will host three virtual public meetings about the $191 million restoration, with the first scheduled for August 9. First introduced by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2020, the project includes immediate aesthetic improvements and refurbishment of historic elements, as well as longer-term upgrades to the overall customer experience.
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See new looks for the massive mixed-use ‘transit-oriented’ project headed to the Hoboken waterfront

All renderings courtesy of LCOR

March 16, 2022

See new looks for the massive mixed-use ‘transit-oriented’ project headed to the Hoboken waterfront

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After 16 years of deliberation, plans to revitalize Hoboken's waterfront are moving forward. New Jersey Transit, the City of Hoboken, and developer LCOR on Wednesday released new renderings of Hoboken Connect, a mixed-use transit project that aims to bring major investments to the city. The development will include a 20-story office building with retail, a 389-unit residential property with 20 percent of the units affordable, public open space, and the renovation of transit infrastructure and buildings like the historic Lackawanna Terminal. The project is currently under review by the city and is pending redevelopment agreement approvals, which could be decided next month.
More details here
NYC-area transit agencies seek ways to restore ridership post-Covid

Image courtesy of Patrick Cashin / MTA New York City Transit

February 1, 2022

NYC-area transit agencies seek ways to restore ridership post-Covid

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New York City-area transit agencies are looking for ways to restore public transit ridership to the levels they were before the pandemic. The MTA, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, NJ Transit, the city's Department of Transportation, and the Partnership for NYC announced on Monday the fourth round of the Transit Tech Lab, a program that aims to find solutions to problems facing the city's public transportation system. The agencies put forth two challenges; the first is a solution to help the public transit system recover from Covid-19 and restore its ridership to pre-pandemic levels. The second is a sustainability challenge, looking for innovations that will better prepare the transit system against extreme weather conditions while leaving less of a carbon footprint.
See more here
See what a renovated Penn Station could look like

View from 33rd Street, a shared space for pedestrians

April 22, 2021

See what a renovated Penn Station could look like

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A dark and cramped Penn Station could soon be replaced with a light-filled transit hub with more space for commuters. Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled on Wednesday two possible options for the reconstruction of the Midtown train station as part of his broader Empire Station Complex project, which would unify an upgraded Penn Station and the new Moynihan Train Hall. The interconnected station would increase train capacity at the site, which is considered the busiest in the country. It could serve 830,000 daily passengers by 2038, up from 600,000 the station served each day before the pandemic.
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Coast Guard bans Portal Bridge openings during rush hour to reduce Northeast Corridor delays

Photo by Ken on Flickr

October 16, 2019

Coast Guard bans Portal Bridge openings during rush hour to reduce Northeast Corridor delays

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A 109-year-old swing bridge will no longer be the bain of commuters' existence. The United States Coast Guard agreed last week to permanently restrict when boats can pass under the Portal Bridge, which carries about 200,000 passengers daily to and from Penn Station via New Jersey Transit and Amtrak. The 1910 bridge's aging mechanics frequently malfunction while opening and closing for maritime traffic, causing hourslong delays, felt especially during rush hour.
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Partial shutdown of Hudson River tunnel would cause NY and NJ home values to drop by $22B, report says

Via Amtrak

February 27, 2019

Partial shutdown of Hudson River tunnel would cause NY and NJ home values to drop by $22B, report says

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If the only rail link between New Jersey and Manhattan shuttered, homes in the region would see a drop in home value by $22 billion, according to a report released on Tuesday. An analysis from the Regional Plan Association highlights the economic effects of a partial shutdown of the Hudson River tunnel, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy and carries 200,000 daily passengers via Amtrak and NJ Transit. To make repairs to the 110-year-old tunnels, officials have called for a $13 billion project that would construct a second tunnel to keep service operating while the existing tunnel is restored. But President Donald Trump's administration said it will not support the Gateway tunnel project, making a partial shutdown of the tunnel more likely, according to the RPA (h/t Crain's).
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NJ Transit offers discounted fares as it cancels some service to and from Penn Station

Via Wikimedia

September 20, 2018

NJ Transit offers discounted fares as it cancels some service to and from Penn Station

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New Jersey Transit announced Thursday it will offer discount fares for three months as it reduces train service to and from New York Penn Station. In addition to its already diminished service, the agency plans to cancel 18 daily trains on five lines and suspend all train service on a short rail segment in Princeton. There will also be no weekend service on the Gladstone Branch of the Morris & Essex line. All fares will be cut by 10 percent from November through January, Bloomberg reported.
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New RPA report calls for combining LIRR, NJ Transit and Metro-North into one rail network

A map showing T-REX’s new crosstown connections, via RPA

April 18, 2018

New RPA report calls for combining LIRR, NJ Transit and Metro-North into one rail network

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When NYC's three commuter railroads--the Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit, and Metro-North--were built more than a century ago when the metropolitan area was less than half its current size. Today, the systems are crumbling, both in their physical infrastructure and politics. The latest suggestion for how to fix the issues comes from a new Regional Plan Association report that wants to take advantage of the fact that these railroads "share an amalgamation of rail lines" and thereby create one integrated regional rail network. Dubbed T-REX, short for Trans-Regional Express, the 30-year, $71.4 billion proposal would add 60 new train stations and more than 200 miles of new tracks.
We break it down
The ‘summer of hell’ at Penn Station will finish on time, Amtrak says

Photo via Kev Harb via Flickr

August 25, 2017

The ‘summer of hell’ at Penn Station will finish on time, Amtrak says

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The emergency Penn Station repairs that began in July will be completed on time with regular operating service resuming on Sept. 5, Amtrak announced Thursday. After delays and a few train derailments, Amtrak closed 21 tracks at Penn earlier this summer. Nearly seven weeks of the eight scheduled weeks of repair work for this “summer of hell” have been completed thus far.
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Here’s what will change as the ‘summer of hell’ for commuters begins
July 10, 2017

Here’s what will change as the ‘summer of hell’ for commuters begins

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Eight weeks of infrastructure repairs at Penn Station officially began Monday, affecting commuters using the Long Island Rail Road, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit. Amtrak will close some of the station’s 21 tracks for renovations, which will force the MTA to cancel or divert 15-weekday trains between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Overall, there will be a 20 percent reduction in the number of trains to Manhattan from NJ and Long Island. To minimize the impact on riders, the MTA has offered discounted fares and transit alternatives like ferry and bus service (h/t NY Times).
Find out how your commute will be affected
Emergency ferry route between N.J. and Midtown will become permanent this fall
April 13, 2017

Emergency ferry route between N.J. and Midtown will become permanent this fall

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Following the recent Penn Station train derailment and subsequent delays during the busy weekday commute, NY Waterway launched an extra ferry route running from Hoboken to Midtown Manhattan. Now, NJ.com reports, that ferry service will become permanent starting in September of this year. The new ferry will run between between West 39th Street and Hoboken terminal according to NY Waterway president and founder Arthur Imperatore Sr.
Find out more about the new commuting option
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