Newark Liberty International Airport is a fortress United hub but also one of the most annoying major airports in the United States. I used Newark often when I lived in Philadelphia, preferring to depart Philadelphia from Amtrak’s 30th St Station (ZFV) on a United codeshare train service to EWR, then fly to Los Angeles direct from Newark. But it was annoying–the monorail connecting the rail link station to the terminals was excruciatingly slow and prone to delay as were late afternoon departures as the runways became clogged. But things could be worse…and travelers using Newark in the coming months will see double trouble: runway and monorail closures.
Monorail and EWR Rail Station closed for 75 days
Serious corrosion issues have been discovered on the monorail AirTrain tracks linking the terminals and parking structures to the EWR rail station. From 01 May through 15 July, not only will the AirTrains not run, but the EWR rail station will be closed, with NJTransit and Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor service bypassing the station.
While bus service through airport service roads is possible to reach the station, it was never designed for egress or ingress except via the monorail, so the station will be closed. Bus service (the normal #62 bus and special shuttle service will run between Newark Airport and Newark Penn Station, NWK).
Shuttles buses will operate from terminal to terminal and to airport parking structures.
Runway 4L/22R closed through 01 June
Runway 4L/22R will be closed through 01 June, then operate at reduced capacity through 15 June. It will be fully operational through the peak summer travel period, then closed one final time from 20-30 September.
The project will construct new high-speed exits to get airplanes off the runway faster, a total resurfacing, and new LED lighting.
Both projects will cause delays
If you are traveling through Newark, allow yourself extra time. If you are booked on a United-Amtrak codeshare out of the following stations to Newark during the closure period, keep in mind you need to allow a lot of extra time to get off at NWT. If your plans are a bit flexible, call United to be accommodated out of a different airport:
- New Haven Rail Station, CT (NHV)
- Stamford Rail Station, CT (STM)
- Philadelphia 30th Street Station, PA (ZFV)
- Wilmington Rail Station, DE (WIL)
I could make jokes here about the corruption in New Jersey and how the failure to install PATH train service all the way to Newark was a horrific blunder in the mid-90s, but what points would that serve? Just be warned that traveling out of Newark will be difficult in the coming weeks and plan accordingly.
(tip of the hat to EWR764 on FT)
PANYNJ claims that the airlines have voluntarily cut scheduled flights by 15%. However, as of right now (11 PM on a temperate Wednesday), FAA is reporting an average of 176 minutes of delay due to the construction. Not surprising considering that it looks like landing capacity actually goes down by around 30% under VMC.
At least it’ll reduce demand on AirTrain a little…
Have UA rebook you through IAD, or better yet on Lufthansa if you’re going to Europe. It’s not gonna be fun if you’re flying out of EWR.
Maybe if UA cut a few of their gazillion daily EWR-LAX/SFO then it wouldn’t be that congested.
Honestly, could it get ANY WORSE for UAL passengers ?? The most delayed airport in the country and now you can’t even get into it. Obviously with the probable increase of auto traffic and parking at Newark Airport, the problems will be compounded even more. United is doomed. They don’t even need to turn off even more passengers, the AirTrain and NJ Transit will do it for them.
Good info Matt. I’m hoping for no delays in the 75 day estimate. I’ve got a couple of trips through there in September. Fingers crossed.
I love the doom and gloom. I’ve flown in and out of Newark a dozen in times in the last week and had a single delay, which wasn’t even due to the airport, but an issue with the plane.
The issue in the last week has been the winds, they have been particularly strong and thus they are being forced to space out the planes more than normal.