New Jersey Transit Handles World Cup Final Logistics Without Major Disruptions

New Jersey’s transit agencies managed the transportation of fans for the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, operating trains and shuttle buses an hour earlier than during earlier matches. The schedule was designed to have attendees seated by 1:30 p.m., 90 minutes before kickoff, and to accommodate heightened security measures and road closures expected for the event.

NJ Transit chief executive Kris Kolluri said the agency applied lessons learned from the 2014 Super Bowl, noting that the current plan involved “logistics for seven Super Bowls.” He added that the organization would continue to execute the plan thoughtfully.

The transit plan reduced regular rail service before and after each match and set a round-trip fare of $98 for train tickets to the stadium, compared with $20 shuttle bus tickets sold by the World Cup host committee. Officials reported that between 22,000 and 26,000 train tickets were sold per game, below the projected 40,000.

NJ Transit spokesperson Jim Smith said the average door-to-door travel time from New York to the stadium was 35 to 45 minutes, and that the agency cleared the venue in 60 to 80 minutes on average after games.

Amtrak and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) also avoided service interruptions. The MTA recorded a 7% rise in subway ridership in June compared with the same month last year, and Long Island Rail Road ridership returned to pre-pandemic levels for the first time since the pandemic began. MTA policy chief John McCarthy noted that the LIRR had reached “100% of pre-COVID numbers.”