After reports that New York Penn Station will partly close for hours on World Cup match days this summer, a pair of Hudson County legislators are demanding more details.
On Monday, NorthJersey.com reported that the NJ Transit section of New York Penn Station will close to non-ticket holders four hours before each World Cup match at MetLife Stadium this summer. Assemblywoman Katie Brennan (D-Jersey City) and Assemblyman Ravi Bhalla (D-Hoboken) issued a demand for clarification on Tuesday, asking how NJ Transit will avoid major service disruptions to commuters.
“It’s hard enough to commute into the city on a normal day. Now we’re finding out that NJ Transit riders are going to be locked out of Penn Station during rush hour so FIFA can have the trains to themselves,” Brennan said in the release. “It’s not clear how people are supposed to get home from work or if there’s any sort of contingency plans in place. Riders deserve answers right now.”
An NJ Transit spokesperson told NorthJersey.com that the transportation plan for the event is being finalized and will be announced later this month. NorthJersey.com obtained a document detailing the plan, the report said.
The World Cup will prove to be a major logistical challenge for NJ Transit, which has faced increased scrutiny in recent years regarding reliability. The World Cup — the world’s most-watched sporting event — will bring throngs of fans to New Jersey this summer. Tailgating and parking will not be available at MetLife, putting the onus on NJ Transit to deliver hundreds of thousands of fans to the stadium over the course of the tournament. Officials have detailed various efforts they’ll make to smoothly deliver fans to the matches, but some details, like the reported Penn Station closures, have yet to be announced.
One fixture, a Monday, June 22nd match between Norway and Senegal, would theoretically block access to Jersey-bound NJ Transit trains between 4 and 8 p.m., stifling the homeward commute. Three other matches occur on weekday afternoons, and the four others, including the World Cup final, will come on weekends.
“This will be a huge disruption for more than a hundred thousand NJ Transit riders,” Bhalla said. “The World Cup is only two months away. There’s been no public discussion about this or even a formal announcement. We need transparency and a real, detailed plan from NJ Transit and the Host Committee.”
Brennan and Bhalla aren’t the only legislators to express frustration.
“Seriously?” state Sen. Joe Cryan (D-Union Twp) asked in a social media post. “Can this actually be right?”