Overview
- Amtrak and NJ Transit reported trains operating on or close to schedule Saturday following extensive Friday delays tied to damaged overhead wires at the old Portal Bridge.
- Crews routed limited trains over the new Portal North Bridge before its public debut, with the first passenger run just before 6 a.m. Friday to bypass leaning catenary poles.
- NJ Transit says regular weekday and weekend schedules will resume Sunday, March 15, as the first track of the new span enters service after a month of reduced operations.
- The $2.3 billion Gateway Program project enables speeds up to 90 mph and eliminates river openings that plagued the 115-year-old movable bridge used by hundreds of daily trains and roughly 200,000 riders.
- Only one direction will initially use the new crossing and the old bridge will remain partially in service until a second phase of work scheduled for the fall.