Portal North Bridge construction and study documents

https://archive.org/details/@isstatenisland/lists/7/portal-bridge-documents?sort=date

I gathered and uploaded documents relating to the Portal Bridge capacity enhancement project and its replacement, Portal North Bridge. The documents (except the Amtrak bulletins) come from NJDEP’s DocMiner. The Amtrak bulletins were retrieved by FOIA request. It appears the FEIS disappeared off the web many years ago.

The original plans intended to build a 3-track fixed span to the north. The documents from 2019 and later depict the currently chosen plan, the two-track fixed structure to the north. The south structure is not funded.

https://archive.org/details/portal-bridge-project-feis-final-4f-october-2008 Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement Project - Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation, October 2008

https://archive.org/details/portal-bridge-project-feis-final-4f-appendix-vol1-october-2008 Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement Project - Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation, October 2008: Appendix Volume 1

https://archive.org/details/portal-bridge-project-feis-final-4f-appendix-vol2-october-2008 Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement Project - Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation, October 2008: Appendix Volume 2

https://archive.org/details/portal-bridge-project-relocation-study-january-2010 Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement Project - Relocation Feasibility Study, January 2010

https://archive.org/details/portal-bridge-project-gc02-construction-plan-sheets-2019 Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement GC.02 Contract - Construction Plan Sheets, August 15th 2019

https://archive.org/details/portal-bridge-project-environmental-impact-sheets-2020-2025 Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement Project - Environmental Impact Sheets, January 2020 with November 2025 modifications

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As of December 13th, 2025, Swift and Portal interlockings have been renamed to “Old Swift” and “Old Portal”. Tracks and signals have also been renamed (2 turned into 22 and 3 turned into 33). I’ve already put in the edits.

OSM: osm.org/#map=16/40.75308/-74.09527

Openrailwaymap: https://openrailwaymap.org/?style=standard&lat=40.7532&lon=-74.1037&zoom=15

NYW1-23-b: https://archive.org/details/AMTK-NEC-employee-timetable-supplemental-bulletin-20251213-NYW1-23-b

Current NEC ETT: Amtrak - Northeast Corridor Employee Timetable 2025-11-03, Special Instructions

As always, I put all bulletins and new employee timetables in this list on Archive.org

Amtrak’s FOIA office is now really fast. I can get bulletins the same day they are requested. Back in August they were much slower but now that I’m doing these every month they are on top of it.

Update from November 6th: All the bulletins effectuating the Type A/B changes from 150 mph to 160 mph are in my possession. I upload employee timetables and bulletins here. I also now request bulletins every month from Amtrak.

I learned a bit about supplemental bulletin orders and summary bulletin orders and the schedule on which they’re issued. Summary bulletin orders are issued every first Monday of the month (and split by line such as NYW and BNY) and supplemental bulletin orders are issued as needed. The monthly summary bulletin orders always contain the aggregation of changes since the previous employee timetable so they can be further used to find the original supplemental bulletin orders that effectuated specific changes. Full employee timetable publications may take place of the monthly summary bulletins.

Modified on July 14th, 2025 by Supplemental Bulletin Order NYW1-18-c:

• New Jersey: Midway & CP Clark

Modified on July 14th, 2025 by Supplemental Bulletin Order BNY1-18-a:

• Rhode Island #1: MP 154.3 & MP 171.7, except Cv MP 159.7 & MP 160.5 and Cv MP 170.5 & MP 170.9

• Massachusetts: MP 194.5 & MP 205

Modified on September 1st, 2025 by Summary Bulletin Order BNY1-20SUM:

• Rhode Island #2: MP 174.5 & MP 180.5, except Cv MP 180.1 & MP 180.2 and Cv MP 180.2 & MP 180.5 (Type B speed remains unchanged at 125 mph)

There is no Type A train that can exceed 150 mph because the NextGen Acela is still Type B. The maximum speed possible in the Rhode Island #2 section remains 150 mph because the Type B speed is still 125 mph.

Update from August 29th: I’ve upgraded the speeds back to 160. What a crazy exercise of futility. One day later I also obtained summary bulletin order describing most of the changes. There’s still a little more work to do.

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Background

CGP Grey made a video about this issue.

Ellis Island (and Liberty Island, formerly called “Bedloe’s island”) sits on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. New York was quite territorial over the river, claiming the entire river as New York territory, such that New York claimed that even New Jersey’s piers belonged in New York’s jurisdiction. New York and New Jersey agreed to a compact in 1834, which set the proper boundary, as one might expect, down the center of the river and bay. The compact also set the other interstate boundaries around Staten Island and into Raritan Bay.

This is the southernmost portion of New York City, which is also the southernmost part of New York City. The New Jersey border is highlighted:

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