The cutover starts today
The Portal North Bridge cutover is happening. Starting today, February 15, Amtrak is connecting the new bridge to the Northeast Corridor, and NJ Transit service will be disrupted for four weeks. Every rail line except the Atlantic City Rail Line is affected.
If you ride NJ Transit into New York, your commute changes today. This post covers what you need to know and how Reroute NJ can help you figure out the specifics.
What you need to know
The cutover runs from February 15 through March 15, 2026. During this period, roughly half of all NJ Transit trains between New Jersey and New York Penn Station will be cut. The impact depends on your line:
- Montclair-Boonton and Morris & Essex lines are diverted to Hoboken Terminal instead of New York Penn Station. From Hoboken, you transfer to PATH, ferry, or bus to reach Manhattan.
- Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line continue to New York Penn Station but with reduced frequency. Fewer trains, longer waits.
- Raritan Valley Line loses all one-seat rides to Penn Station. Trains terminate at Newark Penn Station. Transfer to Northeast Corridor or PATH from there.
How Reroute NJ helps
We built five tools to help you navigate the next four weeks:
Line guide — Select your line and station to see exactly how your commute changes, what alternative routes are available, and what tickets you need.
Commute comparison — Pick your NJ station and your Manhattan destination, then see every route option side by side with travel times, costs, and transfer details.
News coverage — Reporting about the cutover from local and regional news sources, updated throughout the day. Filter by source, line, or category.
Interactive map — All five affected lines rendered on a map with station markers, transfer points, and the Portal Bridge location.
Embed and share — Embed codes and tools for newsrooms and publishers who want to put these resources on their own sites.
Available in 11 languages
Every page on Reroute NJ is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Korean, Portuguese, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Arabic, and Polish. These are the most commonly spoken languages in New Jersey. Each language has its own complete set of translated pages with navigation, labels, descriptions, and metadata. Station names and line names stay in English because that's what's on the signs.
This disruption is temporary. The new Portal North Bridge will replace a 115-year-old bottleneck that has caused cascading delays across the Northeast Corridor for decades. Four weeks of pain for years of better service.
Plan ahead, leave early, and be patient with each other on the platforms. We'll get through it.
Reroute NJ is free, open source, and community-supported. If you find it useful, share it with someone who rides NJ Transit or support the project.