With Amtrak’s extensive track repair work at Penn Station set to begin in exactly one month, New Jersey Transit has released the forthcoming changes to its weekday schedule.
Amtrak, which owns and operates the 21 tracks at the nation’s busiest — and incident-riddled — rail terminal, is slated to close portions of them for 44 days throughout July and August and cause what New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called a “summer of hell” for commuters.
NJ Transit’s service changes go into effect Monday, July 10 through Friday, Sept. 10. Weekend service will not be impacted, the agency said on its website.
“More than 80 percent of NJ Transit customers travel over a portion of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor at some point during their trip, so in essence, they are customers of Amtrak as well,” Executive Director Steven H. Santoro said in a statement Friday. “In developing this service plan, the safety of every customer was the top priority. Not only is this plan the safest, but it maintains the maximum number of seats across the rail system.”
So what is NJ Transit’s schedule during Amtrak’s repair work at Penn Station?
Morris and Essex Lines (M&E) customers, who will receive a discount of up to 63 percent off their New York far, are urged to check the new schedules for train times and stops and purchase a Hoboken destination ticket for July and August.
• Midtown Direct trains on the Morristown Line arriving at Penn Station after 7 a.m. will divert to Hoboken for rest of service day. Customers traveling into the city on four early-morning Midtown Direct trains — 6602, 6604, 6696 and 6306 — won’t have return service in the evening; they will need to go to Hoboken for westbound M&E trains.
• Midtown Direct trains on the Gladstone Branch will divert to and from Hoboken.
• Midtown Direct trains on the Montclair-Boonton Line will run on their regular weekday schedule with “minor” time changes to and from Penn Station, but they will not stop at Broad Street Station during peak hours.
• All Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line trains to and from Penn Station will also run on their normal weekday schedule with “minor” time changes.
• Hoboken-bound North Jersey Coast Line trains will terminate at Newark Penn Station. Commuters can access rail service to Secaucus to transfer to Hoboken-bound trains, and tickets to Hoboken will be honored at Secaucus. “See gate agent upon arrival,” NJ Transit said.
• Raritan Valley Line trains will run on their normal weekday schedule with minor adjustments.
• Main/Bergen, Pasack Valley and Port Jervis lines will run as normal, but connecting to PATH trains at Hoboken Terminal may change.
• Atlantic City Line will run on its normal weekday schedule.
Again, these changes will be in effect July 10 through Sept. 1 and will only affect weekday service.
For complete information, visit njtransit.com.
