It has been an “all hands on deck” situation for NJ Transit as the FIFA World Cup “soccer” (as Americans and Canadians call the game) or “football” (as people elsewhere call it) matches are played at the Meadowlands. The schedule calls for 4 weekday matches and 4 others on weekend days to be played there, including 2 knockout games and the final on Sunday, July 19.
NJ Transit had planned to sell 40,000 train tickets for each of the 8 matches, almost half of the stadium’s capacity of 82,500 seats. Gov. Mikie Sherrill had announced that the fare would be $150 for a round-trip ride from New York Penn Station or New Jersey points served by the agency’s rail network, to defray the state’s costs of $48 million for its part in hosting the tournament. That fare was later reduced to $105, and then to $98, due to corporate contributions. Transit authorities in other cities are offering rides to the local stadium at regular fares, with Boston’s $80 round-trip fare to the stadium in Foxboro being the only other notable exception. As of this writing, ticket sales for both the local games and the train to those games have lagged below expectations. A ride on an NJT train is available only to fans holding tickets to watch the game at the stadium. There are bus trips from New York City at $20 for the round trip, but there is no way to walk to the stadium.
For about 4 hours before each match and for 2 to 3 hours afterward, access to New York Penn Station and Secaucus Junction Station (where passengers from New York and other points on NJ Transit transfer to trains to the stadium) is available only to fans riding to or from the game. Other riders on the Morris & Essex, Montclair, and Gladstone lines must take trains to or from Hoboken during those times and use PATH trains for the segment to and from New York, as many riders did until Midtown Direct service started in 1996. Riders on the Northeast Corridor (Trenton Line), North Jersey Coast and Raritan Lines, must catch or exit their trains at Newark Penn Station and take PATH trains to or from Manhattan.
At this writing, 3 matches have been played at “New York/New Jersey Stadium” (FIFA is identifying venues by location, and not by corporate name). The situation on Saturday, June 13 was difficult, not so much because of problems with NJ Transit, but on the New York side, because police had made it impossible to get close to Penn Station. The Knicks had won the NBA basketball championship that night for the first time since 1973, which helped swell the crowds and make transportation difficult. On Tuesday, June 17, the agency ran the modified schedule, with many riders using Hoboken and PATH. Reports indicate that they agency did well that day. It rained during match time on Monday, June 22.
At this writing, NJ Transit has received high marks for its performance in getting fans to and from the games while providing service for other riders, too. It was reported at the Lackawanna Coalition meeting on Monday, June 22 (a game night) that NJ Transit was running longer trains than usual to increase capacity and assigning more crew members to those trains.
For more-detailed coverage, see the author’s article in Railway Age, found at https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/is-transit-ready-for-some-futbol-trains-fifa-and-politics/).
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