World Cup crowds roll through NYC-area transit with rare smoothness

New Jersey’s transit network—NJ Transit, Amtrak, and MTA partners—carried hundreds of thousands of World Cup fans to Meadowlands games with few major hiccups, despite disruptions for regular riders and high round‑trip fares. NJ Transit planned up to 40,000 tickets per game but sold 22,000–26,000; fans exited MetLife in about 60–80 minutes. Amtrak and the MTA avoided major meltdowns, and NYC subways rose about 7% in ridership in June while the LIRR returned to pre‑pandemic levels, marking a rare transit win for the NYC‑NJ region during the tournament. The final test will come with a security-heavy MetLife visit by world leaders.