Portal North Bridge signal testing at Secaucus Junction - March 5th, 2026

Published on 2026-03-12 by Admin

Amtrak started testing Portal North Bridge signals during the week of March 1st, 2026. Signal work generally took place after 8PM and signaling employees were stationed along and inside signal cabinets. The following photos and videos were taken from Secaucus Junction.

Please see SIGNAL ASPECTS of AMTRAK's NORTHEAST CORRIDOR for a guide on signal aspects. Switch and signal numbers were derived from listening to radio communications and figuring out the patterns.

Tags: New Jersey, Secaucus Junction, Northeast Corridor, Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, Portal Bridge, Portal North Bridge
Copyright: CC BY-SA 4.0 Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons License (see file link for download and full license information)
Files: northeast-corridor-portal-north-bridge-signal-testing-2026-03-05, northeast-corridor-portal-north-bridge-signal-testing-2026-03-05-videos
Flickr links: 0001, 0006, 0008, 0020, 0023, 0027, 0032, 0033, 0034, 0035, 0038, 0039, 0040


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All the signals looking west as listed from left to right: OLD PORTAL 2W, PORTAL (signals over two new tracks), reverse side of 3E LACK, 3W LACK, 6W LACK (foreground); 6W LACK shows Approach for an incoming train.

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An NJ Transit train proceeds west to Portal Bridge

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Signaling employees walk around and into signal huts

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Zoomed view towards the Portal North Bridge approach


Amtrak train passes through on Track B

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Various views looking west including some incoming trains


Waiting patiently in the rain at 9:10PM for something to happen

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More views looking west including switch

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Finally at 9:32PM, the LACK 3W goes to Clear. 3W Portal shows Cab Speed.

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3W PORTAL shows Stop and 3W LACK shows Approach Limited

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3W LACK goes back to Stop

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3E ERIE shows Cab Speed

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All back to Stop