Beginning October 9, Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT will perform critical work to transfer the final track from the 116-old Portal Bridge to the new Portal North Bridge over the Hackensack River. Once complete, rail operations will resume in full service over the new bridge, retiring the old bridge. The work is essential to advancing long-term reliability and capacity improvements on the Northeast Corridor.
While the transfer, or “Cutover,” of Amtrak-owned wires and electrical systems will ultimately deliver substantial benefits, it means customers on all rail lines except the Atlantic City Rail Line will experience temporary adjustments to rail service beginning on Sunday, October 11 and continuing for approximately five weeks. Expect modified train schedules to include some train consolidations or cancellations, and others with changed departure times and/or stopping patterns.
Concurrently, critical work on three rail lines will occur to utilize reduced train traffic and avoid impacting customers again at a later date:
- North Jersey Coast Line: Work on the moveable bridge at Brielle is scheduled to begin on October 11 and continue for two weeks. Busing will be provided for customers between Bay Head and Manasquan during this time.
- 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. Eight weekday midday off-peak trains will be replaced by buses, with rail connections at Ramsey Rt 17.
- Raritan Valley Line: Buses will replace trains between Cranford and Newark on Saturday, November 7 to accommodate Conrail track replacement work.
Similarly, Amtrak is utilizing the reduced-traffic opportunity to perform eight additional critical maintenance projects across the Northeast Corridor, in six states and Washington, DC.
Regular schedules are expected to resume on Sunday, November 15 – subject to the completion of safety testing.
The adjusted schedules, released today, 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, or by clicking HERE).
-via Press Release
