Summit rail commuters will lose direct weekday service to Penn Station New York for five weeks starting Sunday, Oct. 11.
All weekday Midtown Direct trains on the Morris & Essex Line, Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Line will be diverted to Hoboken through Saturday, Nov. 14, the City of Summit announced Monday, Oct. 5. The advisory urged residents who can work remotely to do so during the disruption.
The diversion is the second and final phase of the Portal North Bridge cutover. NJ Transit and Amtrak are transferring the last track from the 116-year-old Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River to a new span that rises 50 feet above the water. Once complete, the higher bridge will let marine traffic pass without the swing-bridge openings that have caused delays for decades.
During the cutover, only a single track will operate between Newark and Secaucus, according to NJ Transit. That bottleneck eliminates Midtown Direct service on weekdays entirely.
Weekend trains still run to Penn Station.
Getting to Manhattan from Hoboken
Riders diverted to Hoboken have three cross-honored options to reach New York on weekdays:
- PATH between Hoboken and 33rd Street
- NY Waterway ferry between Hoboken and Midtown/West 39th Street Pier 79, with enhanced peak service
- NJ Transit 126 bus between Hoboken and the Port Authority Bus Terminal
NJ Transit warned that these alternatives have limited capacity and may see significant crowding during rush hours.
Tickets and timing
Commuters should purchase tickets and passes to and from Hoboken via Newark Broad Street instead of Penn Station New York. Monthly and weekly pass holders for October and November should buy Hoboken-routed passes. Those passes will also be valid for Penn Station travel from Oct. 1 through Oct. 10 and from Nov. 15 through Nov. 30.
NJ Transit is offering a FLEXPASS option during the cutover: 20 trips at a 15% discount. The agency said riders could save up to 25% per trip by purchasing Hoboken tickets and using PATH or the ferry.
To avoid the worst crowding, NJ Transit recommends traveling before 7 a.m. or after 9 a.m. on weekday mornings, and before 4 p.m. or after 7 p.m. on weekday evenings.
Why it matters long-term
The $1.56 billion Portal North Bridge project is the single largest construction contract in NJ Transit history. It spans 2.44 miles of the Northeast Corridor and is part of the broader Gateway Program, which aims to double rail capacity between Newark and New York.
"Five weeks of adjusted schedules will deliver a modern, high-level bridge that ends a century of swing-bridge delays," NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said in a Sept. 17 statement.
Regular service is expected to resume Sunday, Nov. 15, with a full return to normal schedules Monday, Nov. 16. NJ Transit said the timeline depends on completion of safety testing. Riders needing mobility accommodations should notify their train's conductor in advance.
A free tool called RerouteNJ helps riders find which train to take and where to transfer during the cutover. The tool drew about 24,000 page views during the first cutover earlier this year, Montclair Local reported. Updated schedules are available on NJ Transit's Portal Cutover page.
