NJ Transit Releases Service Details for Pope Visit

Seeing the pope is a once in a lifetime, memorable experience. Traveling to see the pope can be just as memorable, but not for the same reason.

Pope Francis will be visiting New York City on Sept. 24 and 25, including a Papal Mass at Madison Square Garden. As if the New York metro area wasn’t already congested enough, traffic is expected to reach epic proportions to see the pontiff.

New Jersey Transit announced service details Monday afternoon as well as tips for the best ways to travel during the weekend.

Additional rail service during off-peak hours into Penn Station and enhanced bus service into the Port Authority Bus Terminal throughout the day, New Jersey Transit said.

Football “Game Day” rail service will run on Thursday and Sunday for the New York Giants and New York Jets home games, respectively.

Special queuing in Penn Station will be in place to handle anticipated crowds, NJT said. Customers can transfer to PATH service stations in Newark and Hoboken where they can travel via New York Waterway, NJT said. The Waterway will operate its regular service on Thursday and Friday, but extra boats will be on standby if needed. The Waterway has additional commuter ferry capacity from locations to accommodate New Jersey residents heading into the city for the visit.

According to New Jersey Transit, ferry service is available to West 39th Street in Manhattan from Port Imperial in Weehawken, 14th Street in Hoboken and Lincoln Harbor in Weehawken. These routes operate all day, with departures every 10 to 30 minutes. Morning and evening rush hour service is available from Edgewater in Bergen County to West 39thStreet, a 13-minute crossing every 30 minutes. Morning and evening rush hour service is available from Belford/Middletown in Monmouth County to Lower Manhattan in 40 minutes and to West 39th Street in 65 minutes with departures every 30 minutes. There also is service from Hoboken Rail/Ferry Terminal and Jersey City’s Paulus Hook, Liberty Harbor and Port Liberty to the World Financial Center and to Pier 11 at Wall Street.

Amtrak will provide direct rail service to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia with some trains making stops in New Jersey including Newark, Metropark, Princeton Junction, Hamilton and Trenton.

For more specifics on travel during the Papal visit, checknjtransit.com/papal.

“With crowds moving into, out of, and around New York City on Thursday and Friday of the Papal visit week, NJ Transit’s regular customers should know that this will be very far from their normal commute,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director Veronique Hakim in a statement. “We are asking our customers to be patient – and to be prepared – as we expect our rail and bus service to be at or near capacity during the peak periods so wait times may be lengthy. Our goal is to have visitors utilize off-peak trains and move as many people as possible in a safe and efficient manner.”