NJ Transit announces some trains will be rerouted to Hoboken starting July 10

HOBOKEN– In a notice to customers, NJ Transit announced an adjusted travel plan for commuters to and from Penn Station as Amtrak will be repairing tracks from July 10 to Sept. 1.
Riders of the Midtown Direct trains on the Morristown Line will be diverted to Hoboken as will the Midtown Direct trains on the Gladstone Branch.
According to the notice, “NJ Transit rail customers have been forced to deal with delays, derailments, and unreliable service because Amtrak, which owns the tracks our service relies upon, has neglected the maintenance of its critical infrastructure for years. For three-quarters of NJ TRANSIT rail customers travel patterns will not be modified, including the Trenton to New York Northeast Corridor Line. However, delays on all rail lines, except for the Atlantic City Rail line, are inevitable.”
The notice states the repairs are “long overdue” and the work will “significantly disrupt travel this summer for customers who normally travel on the Morris & Essex Midtown Direct service to and from Penn Station New York.”
NJ Transit will offer commuters on that line “about a 50 percent discount off the regular Hoboken ticket cost, in addition to cross-honoring with ferry and PATH service at Hoboken Terminal.”
This means a customer who currently purchases a Gladstone to New York monthly pass pays $451 but during the Amtrak repair work Gladstone customers will pay $168 – 63 percent less.
During a press conference on Tuesday Governor Chris Christie said this would mean a loss of about $15 million in revenue to New Jersey.
“I’m not happy about any of this, but the fact of the matter is, we’re gonna either make these repairs now or make them later,” he said. “But the repairs need to be made.”