Penn Station to MetLife Stadium by Train

The Short Version

NJ Transit runs the Meadowlands Rail Line between Secaucus Junction and a station at the stadium itself. From New York Penn Station it's one easy transfer, and it's far and away the sanest way in.

NY Penn Station → MetLife, Step by Step

1. 1

   Buy a round-trip ticket in the NJ Transit app

   Select New York Penn Station to Meadowlands. Buying in advance avoids the $5 onboard surcharge and means you are not queuing for a machine on the way home.

2. 2

   Go to the underground NJ Transit concourse (7th Ave side)

   NJ Transit boards from the underground Penn Station concourse — not Moynihan Train Hall, which serves Amtrak and the LIRR. Enter at 7th Avenue & 32nd Street.

3. 3

   Ride any train that stops at Secaucus Junction (~10 min)

   Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line trains all stop there. Check the departure boards for the next one — you do not need a specific train.

4. 4

   Transfer upstairs to the Meadowlands Rail Line

   Follow signs to the upper level. On event days NJ Transit staffs the transfer point to direct crowds. Shuttles run every 10–20 minutes during the pre-event rush.

5. 5

   Arrive at Meadowlands Rail Station, steps from the gates

   The station sits at the stadium itself — no shuttle bus, no walk across parking lots. Roughly 10 minutes from Secaucus.

First time at Penn Station? Use our Which Entrance? wizard and the full navigation guide so the station doesn't eat your buffer time.

Fares & Tickets

Buy in the NJ Transit mobile app before you head down to the platform. The surcharge is avoidable, and having your return already in hand is worth more than the $5 on the way home.

Getting Home After the Event

This is the part people underestimate. Trains back to Secaucus run at least every 15 minutes on a load-and-go basis — they leave when full rather than on a timetable — and keep running until the crowds clear, generally about two hours after the event ends.

• ▶Budget 45–90 minutes from your seat to a train at Secaucus after a sellout. The trains are frequent; the queue to reach them is the bottleneck.
• ▶Leaving a few minutes early beats the crush — if you can stomach missing the end, ducking out before the final whistle can save you the better part of an hour.
• ▶Don't book anything tight that evening. A late dinner reservation or an early flight the next morning is a bad pairing with a stadium event.

Check our NYC schedule guide for DepartureVision and real-time alerts, and the late-night guide if you're getting back to Penn after midnight.

Before You Go

• 1.MetLife enforces a clear-bag policy (roughly 12″×6″×12″) and there is no bag check at the stadium. If you are carrying luggage, store it near Penn Station before you board — you will not be allowed in with it.
• 2.Give yourself more buffer than the 25–35 minute ride suggests. The pre-event rush at Secaucus can mean waiting for a second or third shuttle when a sellout crowd is moving.
• 3.Download your ticket before you go underground — cell signal in the Penn Station concourse is weak, and you do not want to be loading a mobile ticket at the gate.
• 4.Do not count on driving instead. MetLife parking generally requires an advance permit, and the road approach backs up badly on event nights.
• 5.Coming from abroad for a match or concert? Set up a US eSIM before you land so tickets, maps, and rideshare work the moment you arrive.
• 6.Watch for a Madison Square Garden event on the same night. If the Garden is also emptying, avoid the 7th Avenue entrance at Penn and use 31st Street instead.