Who’s to blame for the $100 train ticket?
The governor of New Jersey has pointed the finger at FIFA.
FIFA, meanwhile, says to look at New Jersey.
The uproar stems from news, first reported by The Athletic, that a ticket on New Jersey Transit between Penn Station in New York and New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium could cost more than $100 during this summer’s World Cup. A return ride from the stadium to the station typically costs $12.90. Final ticket prices have not been posted for the World Cup, but a “special FIFA ticket” will be announced Friday for fans using rail to reach the stadium, New Jersey Transit’s board said in a meeting Wednesday.
The stadium will host eight games during this summer’s World Cup, including the July 19 final.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Wednesday defended the stark increase, saying she would approve a steep hike if FIFA would not chip in to cover costs.
“We’ve already reached out to [FIFA] saying, ‘Look, this is going to cost about $50 million to move people. The best possible outcome would really be for FIFA to take on this cost,’” Sherrill said on WNYC.
Earlier Wednesday, Sherrill posted on X that “we inherited an agreement where FIFA is providing $0 for transportation to the World Cup. And while NJ TRANSIT is stuck with a $48 million bill to safely get fans to and from games, FIFA is making $11 billion. I’m not going to stick New Jersey commuters with that tab for years to come.”
FIFA, through a spokesperson, pushed back.
“We are quite surprised by the NJ Governor’s approach on fan transportation,” the organization said in a statement. “The original FIFA World Cup 2026 Host City Agreements signed in 2018 required free transportation for fans to all matches. Recognizing the financial strain this placed on the host cities, back in 2023 FIFA adjusted the Host Agreement requirements across all host cities as follows: All Match Ticket holders and accredited individuals shall be able to access transport (public or additionally planned transport) at cost to allow travel to Stadiums on match days.”
“Moreover, FIFA has worked for years with host cities on their transportation and mobility plans, including advocating for millions of dollars in federal funding to support host cities for transportation,” the statement added.
The back-and-forth came the same day that New Jersey Transit’s board approved a resolution to “cover any and all costs that New Jersey Transit will incur to facilitate the movement of over 40,000 fans to each of the eight matches.”
The resolution, it said, met the “governor’s mandate of not charging regular commuters or our system, NJ Transit, to cover the costs of FIFA-related operations.”
Fans will be paying steep fee increases to reach other World Cup venues using public transportation, as well. In Massachusetts, the cost of a round-trip train ticket to Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium is $80, four times the usual cost, and an express bus service ride can reach as high as $95.
