Amtrak bolsters NEC sevice, security for World Cup traffic

After a years-long planning effort, Amtrak is prepared for the heavy influx of FIFA World Cup visitors into the New York and New Jersey area and the broader Northeast Corridor, officials said in a press briefing on June 11.

Preparations include additional police and staff deployment, mitigation and outage work plans, increased maintenance and inspections and infrastructure investments of $30 million directed to specific locations that will see particularly heavy traffic.

“The World Cup presents a strong opportunity for Amtrak and NJ Transit to highlight the strength of our partnership, trains and infrastructure,” said Amtrak Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Gery Williams. “Our role is to ensure safe, reliable and seamless travel to World Cup events, especially across the Northeast Corridor.”

Working with regional partners, including the NY/NJ host committee and the Northeast Corridor Commission (NEC), Amtrak has supported plans for coordinated transportation, security and emergency response efforts, including developing an outage plan to minimize any disruptions, Williams said. 

On World Cup game days, additional Amtrak crew will be standing by with their equipment on the Northeast Corridor to respond to any track or catenary incident.

To increase security, the Amtrak Police Department (APD) will deploy 90 officers at New York Penn Station and along Amtrak-owned right-of-way along the New York and New Jersey region on game days. Over 400 APD officers will be deployed nationwide, Amtrak officials said. 

“The APD will be all-hands-on-deck on every World Cup match day,” said Amtrak Executive VP and Chief Safety Officer Steve Predmore. “This is the largest security deployment in APD’s history. APD will play an extensive, hands-on role alongside NJ Transit and other partner agencies in providing passenger security at New York Penn Station for the thousands of fans traveling to matches in New Jersey – covering access points, platforms and concourses, and providing the full array of law enforcement services, including crowd management, threat assessment and emergency response.”