NEW YORK — Amtrak and NJ Transit have joined New Jersey officials in asking for limits on opening of the Portal Bridge, the 108-swing span over the Hackensack River that leads to frequent disruptions in Northeast Corridor operations.
The New York Times reports that Paul DelSignore, Amtrak’s program director, structures, had asked for additional restrictions on the current rules for opening the bridge. The Coast Guard has already allowed Amtrak to require a 1-hour notification before opening the bridge during peak traffic periods, but wants those periods extended — to 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., and from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. — while requiring 24 hours’ notice. NJ.com says NJ Transit officials joined Amtrak in making the request.
The two rail operations join New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker in asking the Coast Guard to act. Those officials did so in a Nov. 2 letter to the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. [See “New Jersey officials ask Coast Guard for relief from rail-bridge problems,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 5, 2018.]
The Portal Bridge problems were most dramatically on display on Oct. 30, when the bridge stuck twice as a result of opening for marine traffic. [See “Bridge failure leads to NJ Transit commuter woes,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 31, 2018.] DelSignore, in his letter, said the afternoon disruption delayed 16 Amtrak trains and 148 NJ Transit trains, affecting about 80,000 passengers.
