One New Jersey Bridge Will Thin Out Penn Station for Five Weeks

If your autumn plans include a train into or out of New York Penn Station, check your timetable now. Amtrak and NJ Transit are cutting and rerouting service for roughly five weeks while crews finish moving tracks onto the new Portal North Bridge over the Hackensack River. Work starts Friday evening, October 9. Amtrak’s adjusted schedules run from October 10 through November 15, and NJ Transit’s temporary timetables begin October 11, with normal service planned to return on Monday, November 16.

The reason is geometry. One track already runs over the new bridge; connecting the second means funnelling trains through a single-track section between Newark and Secaucus. Amtrak says it has adjusted more than 280 trains. On weekdays, Acela drops from 20 trains to 18 and the Northeast Regional from 44 to 40. The biggest hit falls on Keystone Service between Philadelphia and New York, which falls from 24 weekday trains to 10, although Harrisburg–Philadelphia trips keep their full schedule and long-distance trains are unchanged.

NJ Transit riders face their own reductions. Weekday Northeast Corridor service falls from 133 trains to 113 and the North Jersey Coast Line from 99 to 87, with smaller trims on most other lines; only the Atlantic City Rail Line is untouched. All weekday Midtown Direct trains on the Morristown Line, Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Line will terminate at Hoboken, where tickets will be honoured on PATH, NY Waterway ferries and the Route 126 bus. Extra shuttles will link Secaucus Junction and Penn Station.

The long-term payoff is real. The new fixed-span bridge replaces a 116-year-old swing bridge whose openings and mechanical failures have delayed trains on the busiest rail corridor in the country for decades. For the next five weeks, though, the advice is to book early, build in extra time, and double-check that your usual train still exists before you head to the station, particularly on Keystone and Midtown Direct routes.

Sources: Time Out New York, Trains