Temporary Rail Service Changes October 11, 2026 – November 14, 2026* Portal North Bridge Enters Final Phase of Construction as Work Begins to Put the Second of Two Tracks into Service

Beginning Sunday, October 11, 2026, service on all rail lines except the Atlantic City Rail Line (ACRL) will experience temporary schedule adjustments for approximately five weeks to accommodate Amtrak’s critical work to transfer the final track onto the new Portal North Bridge. The modified train schedules include some train consolidations or cancellations, and others with changed departure times and/or stopping patterns. 

The work is essential to advancing long-term reliability and capacity improvements on the Northeast Corridor. While this work will ultimately deliver substantial benefits, it is complex and operationally intensive work that will require temporary but significant changes to rail service. The adjusted schedules go into effect on Sunday, October 11. View adjusted schedules, as well as links to alternate public transportation options by rail line at njtransit.com/portalcutover. 

*Regular schedules are expected to resume on Sunday, November 15 – subject to the completion of safety testing. 

Midtown Direct Customers:

All weekday Midtown Direct trains on the Morris & Essex (M&E), Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Line will be diverted to Hoboken. Weekend Midtown Direct trains will operate to/from PSNY.

  • Weekday Midtown Direct customers on the M&E, Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Line should purchase tickets/passes with a destination of Hoboken instead of New York. For Midtown Direct customers with Hoboken as a destination on their tickets/passes, the following options will be available for travel between Hoboken and Midtown Manhattan:
    • Cross-honoring with NY Waterway ferries will be in effect on weekdays between Hoboken Terminal and West 39th Street in Midtown Manhattan only. Ferry service to Midtown Manhattan will be enhanced during the morning and evening peak periods.
    • Cross-honoring will be in effect with NJ TRANSIT’s No. 126 bus to/from PABT, including Academy buses that will be operating on the 126 route.
    • Cross-honoring will be in effect with PATH at Hoboken and 33rd Street only.

  • Weekend Midtown Direct customers on the M&E, Gladstone Branch and Montclair-Boonton Line using Hoboken monthly or weekly passes or a FLEXPASS can use those passes for travel to/from PSNY.

    • Customers using one-way tickets will need to purchase those tickets with a destination of PSNY. Hoboken one-way tickets will not be accepted for travel to PSNY on weekends.

 

All NJ TRANSIT rail customers (except ACRL) are strongly encouraged to view the temporary schedules at njtransit.com/portalcutover, as all lines (except ACRL) will experience modifications to their regular schedules.

 

North Jersey Coast Line:

Temporary schedules:         WEEKDAY                WEEKEND

North Jersey Coast Line – Available Alternate Travel Options by Station HERE.

Northeast Corridor:

Temporary schedules:         WEEKDAY (WEEKDAY FROM NEWARK PENN TO PSNY)               WEEKEND (WEEKEND FROM NEWARK PENN TO PSNY)

Northeast Corridor – Available Alternate Travel Options by Station HERE.

Raritan Valley Line: 

Important note: All Raritan Valley Line one-seat rides to/from PSNY will originate and terminate at Newark Penn Station during the temporary schedule adjustment period.

Temporary schedules:         WEEKDAY                WEEKEND

Raritan Valley Line – Available Alternate Travel Options by Station HERE.

Morris & Essex Lines: 

Temporary schedules:         WEEKDAY                WEEKEND

Morristown Line – Available Alternate Travel Options by Station HERE.

Gladstone Branch – Available Alternate Travel Options by Station HERE.

Montclair-Boonton Line:

Temporary schedules:         WEEKDAY                WEEKEND

Montclair-Boonton Line – Available Alternate Travel Options by Station HERE.

Main/Bergen County/Port Jervis Line:

Temporary schedules:         WEEKDAY                WEEKEND

Main Line – Available Alternate Travel Options by Station HERE.

Bergen County – Available Alternate Travel Options by Station HERE.

Port Jervis Alternate – Available Alternate Travel Options by Station HERE.

Pascack Valley Line:

Temporary schedules:         WEEKDAY                WEEKEND

Pascack Valley Line – Available Alternate Travel Options by Station HERE.

Note: The following projects will be taking place during Portal Cutover work on other rail lines: 

  • Port Jervis Line: Customers will have substitute busing on weekdays from October 11 through November 14 to accommodate track maintenance between Suffern and Port Jervis stations. Buses will replace eight weekday midday off-peak trains, with rail connections at Ramsey Route 17 Station.
  • Raritan Valley Line: Buses will replace trains between Cranford and Newark on Saturday, November 7 to accommodate Conrail track replacement work.

Customers are encouraged to subscribe to the latest updates via text messages and emails at My Transit Alerts, through the TRANSIT Mobile App (including customized push notifications), by visiting Travel Alerts & Advisories for the latest service-related information, or by following us at @NJTRANSIT or via your line-specific accounts on “X” (formerly Twitter).

The translated version of this notice in your preferred language is available through the Google Translate dropdown menu at the top right corner of the page. For more information and language assistance, please call NJ TRANSIT Customer Service at (973) 275-5555 between the hours of 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM daily.