MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) — Commuting may get a bit more complicated for NJ Transit riders this summer as New York’s Penn Station gets ready for the World Cup.<\/p>\n
NJ Transit has announced plans to close its section of Penn Station to all but World Cup-bound trains four hours before the matches at MetLife Stadium.<\/p>\n
Eight world cup matches are being held in the Meadowlands in June and July and parking at MetLife will not be allowed.<\/p>\n
That means about 40,000 people are expected to ride NJ Transit to get there each day, and at the games themselves, there will be dignitaries and world leaders expected to attend — including President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
So due to the heightened security, only riders possessing specially printed tickets to each match will be permitted to enter the boarding area for an entire four hours before the game.<\/p>\n
NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri testified at a budget hearing in Trenton on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“The eight FIFA games that we are going to conduct at MetLife Stadium is arguably the most important security event we’re ever going to see in the nation,” Kolluri said. “Not just because the president of the United States is going to be there, but something like 14 dignitaries or heads of state will be there, we have essentially three security perimeters that establish the route for somebody with a FIFA ticket to take from New York. New Jersey Transit is obligated to move 40,000 people per game, 28,000 of those will come from New York and almost all will come through Penn Station.”<\/p>\n
The matches begin on June 13. Four of them will be on weekends and three weekday matches are in the early afternoon, but the June 22 game is at 8 p.m., so the four-hour restriction will coincide directly with the evening rush hour.<\/p>\n
NJ Transit will soon announce alternate transportation plans for non-World Cup riders at Penn Station, likely redirecting them to Amtrak, NJ Transit buses, PATH trains or ferries to New Jersey.<\/p>\n
Those plans are still being finalized and are expected to be announced in the next weeks.<\/p>\n
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