Penn Station stands as the busiest transportation hub in North America and serves as a vital gateway for New Jersey commuters traveling in and out of New York City by train. Unfortunately, those same commuters may need to make alternate plans during the World Cup.
According to documents obtained by NorthJersey.com, the station will be restricted exclusively to World Cup ticket holders for four hours leading up to eight matches scheduled in New Jersey this June and July.
Although the full plan has yet to be publicly released, the outlet confirmed the details through an anonymous NJ Transit official who was not authorized to discuss the unreleased strategy.
Per the documents, regular NJ Transit riders will be unable to board New Jersey-bound trains from New York Penn Station during that four-hour window before kickoff at MetLife Stadium, as access will be reserved solely for fans with match tickets. Those attendees will be screened at entry points along 33rd Street and 32nd Street near Seventh Avenue.
“After the match, trains will arrive empty at Secaucus and will be fully dedicated to egressing [FIFA World Cup 2026] spectators,” the document said.
Natalie Hamilton, a spokesperson for the New York New Jersey Host Committee overseeing World Cup preparations, declined to confirm or deny the report.
“The mobility plan is still being finalized and will be announced later this month. NJ Transit remains committed to safely transporting 40,000 fans to and from the FIFA matches, while also providing a transportation plan that will minimize the impacts to our regular riders to the greatest extent possible,” said John Chartier, a spokesman for NJ Transit.
Needless to say, this is horrible news for commuters in the city, and it led to a lot of reactions on social media.
“How is a World Cup match any different than a sold out Giants/Jets game? They didn’t do this for the Super Bowl,” one person wrote in a post on X.
“This time so a select few can travel from NYC to an incredibly overpriced match in a swamp? Make them go through what we do-fight through The Pit to your platform, squeeze into unsafe overcrowded trains, miss train & wait for next,” someone else added.
“So how the [expletive] am I supposed to get to work??” another person wrote.
“World cup is going to be a complete disaster here and it’s very obvious,” someone else added.
“NY is run by idiots,” another person wrote.
“This is their solution??? oh my god lmao,” someone else wrote incredulously.
All in all, the situation is shaping up to be a major headache for one of the most heavily traveled commutes in the country.
About Dave Kelsey
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