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Rail News Home Amtrak

9/22/2026



Rail News: Amtrak

Amtrak, NJ Transit begin final Portal Bridge cutover process


Transfer of Amtrak-owned wires and electrical systems to the new bridge will take about five weeks; regular schedules are expected to resume Nov. 15.
Photo – NJ Transit/Gevon Servo

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Amtrak and New Jersey Transit will perform critical work next month to transfer the final track from the 116-old Portal Bridge to the newly constructed Portal North Bridge over the Hackensack River in New Jersey.

The transfer of Amtrak-owned wires and electrical systems will impact scheduling, and customers will experience temporary adjustments to rail service beginning on Oct. 11 and continuing for approximately five weeks, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

Once the cutover is complete, rail operations will resume in full over the new bridge, and the old bridge will be retired. Regular schedules are expected to resume on Nov. 15, subject to the completion of safety testing. Amtrak began the cutover process in February.

“Five weeks of adjusted schedules will deliver a modern, high-level bridge that ends a century of swing-bridge delays for customers traveling the Northeast Corridor to and from New York,” said NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri. “We worked closely with Amtrak on a service plan that maximizes capacity and keeps every rail line running, and we thank our customers for their patience as we complete the final step of this long-awaited project.”

Amtrak will utilize the reduced-traffic opportunity to perform additional critical maintenance projects across the Northeast Corridor, officials said.



Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.

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