All weekday Midtown Direct trains serving Summit and New Providence began running to Hoboken Terminal instead of Penn Station on Sunday, Oct. 11.
The diversion runs through Saturday, Nov. 14, while NJ Transit transfers the final track from the 116-year-old Portal Bridge to the new $1.5 billion Portal North Bridge over the Hackensack River. Regular service is expected to resume Sunday, Nov. 15, pending safety testing, according to NJ Transit's cutover plan.
NJ Transit calls this the last service disruption from the bridge replacement project. Once complete, trains will cross the new fixed-span bridge at up to 90 mph, ending decades of swing-bridge delays on the Northeast Corridor.
How to get to Manhattan
Commuters arriving in Hoboken have three cross-honored options to reach Midtown, all included with eligible rail tickets and passes:
- PATH trains between Hoboken and 33rd Street
- NY Waterway ferries between Hoboken Terminal and West 39th Street (Pier 79), with enhanced peak-hour service
- No. 126 bus between Hoboken and the Port Authority Bus Terminal, supplemented by Academy Bus
NJ Transit warns that all three alternatives may see significant crowding during peak hours. The agency 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.
Tickets and passes
Monthly pass holders on the Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch should buy passes to Hoboken via Newark Broad Street for October and November. Those passes will also work on Penn Station trains outside the cutover window and will be cross-honored on PATH, ferry and bus service through Nov. 14.
One-way ticket riders should buy Hoboken-bound tickets on weekdays. Weekend riders still need Penn Station tickets, because weekend Midtown Direct service continues to run directly to Penn Station.
NJ Transit is also offering a FLEXPASS option with 20 trips at a 15% discount. The agency says Hoboken-bound fares can save riders up to 25% per trip compared to their regular fare.
Monday is not a holiday
Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 12, will run on the cutover weekday schedule, not a holiday schedule. Commuters should plan for the Hoboken diversion.
What's behind the work
The cutover involves deactivating the old bridge's infrastructure, reconfiguring track alignments, and integrating new signaling, power and communications systems on the Portal North Bridge. NJ.com reported the work requires a 50% reduction in trains between Newark and Secaucus. The Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch will drop from 148 to 139 trains during the period.
Private carrier Boxcar is adding about 2,400 reserved seats on luxury buses serving Morris and Essex County communities during the cutover, according to NJ.com.
NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said the agency wants the work finished "well before Thanksgiving," as 6sqft reported. After the cutover, the old bridge will be decommissioned and demolished early next year.
Local leaders weigh in
Summit Mayor Elizabeth Fagan said in September she remains in close contact with NJ Transit officials and continues to advocate for service upgrades. "We understand the frustration with unreliable service and the disruption it causes to people's lives," Fagan told TAPinto Summit in September.
Speaking about broader NJ Transit reliability concerns in September, Assemblyman Andrew Macurdy, a Summit resident who commutes to New York with his wife, called effective mass transportation "crucial for our economy and our way of life."
The Borough of New Providence posted an advisory urging residents with flexibility to work remotely during the five weeks. Full cutover details are available on NJ Transit's cutover page.
Commuters with mobility needs should notify their train conductor in advance so accommodations can be arranged at Hoboken Terminal.
