Amtrak Shares Progress of Portal North Bridge Cutover

Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor

Site visit of the Portal North Bridge cutover on Saturday, February 21, 2026

Image and caption courtesy of Amtrak

NEW YORK - In February, Amtrak began to cutover, or transfer, one track of service from the existing bridge to the new Portal North Bridge.

Amtrak gave a progress update on its Portal North Bridge cutover. In January, Railway Age contributing editor David Peter Alan wrote of the impending cutover. Train schedule changes were imminent for the second half of February and the first half of March as Amtrak began for a cutover from the current bridge to the newly constructed one.

Now, Amtrak says it has began this cutover project to advance long-term reliability and improve capacity on the NEC. In particular, this is the first major bridge cutover project for the NEC. During the project, crews have installed track, tested the signal system, and finalized the new catenary. Amtrak, NJ Transit, USDOT, FRA, and FTA have been working together on the project, and Amtrak thanks the “generational investments from state and federal partners.” Below is a gallery, courtesy of Amtrak, showcasing the current work.