New Jersey’s NJ Transit is currently planning to charge more than $100 for return rail tickets from New York’s Pennsylvania Station to MetLife Stadium for FIFA World Cup games.

According to people familiar with the plans, who asked to remain anonymous in order to protect relationships, a return ticket purchased via NJ Transit, New Jersey’s transportation provider, is currently modeled for than a seven-fold increase from its usual prices during the World Cup this summer.

The 18-mile rail journey, which includes a stop at Secaucus station, ordinarily costs $12.90 for a return ticket — the same pricing for the FIFA Club World Cup final last summer. The new special event pricing, however, is due to come into effect for the World Cup and is currently due to be over $100. While NJ Transit ordinarily offers concessionary prices for seniors, children and disabled passengers, the World Cup pricing will be one blanket price for all categories. A final decision on the price is expected to be made in the next few days.

The World Cup host committee for New York City/New Jersey declined to comment, with the transportation plans expected to go live in the coming week.

A spokesperson for NJ Transit said on Monday: “The ticket prices for match day travel have not been finalized and any reference to cost would be unconfirmed speculation.”

“However, as the Governor clearly stated at an earlier press conference this morning with NJ Transit, the cost for the eight matches will not be borne by our regular commuters.”

In the news conference on Monday, Governor Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey said that since she entered office early this year, she has sought to reduce the burden of World Cup costs away from taxpayers in her state.

She said: “One of the key things I wanted to make sure is that we are not going to be paying for moving the people who are viewing the World Cup on the back of New Jersey taxpayers and New Jersey commuters. And so we worked together closely to make sure that that cost will not be borne by New Jerseyans.”

Sources at NJ Transit told The Athletic that the overall cost to the agency to put on services for the eight games, and account for disruption, will cost as much as $48 million. They say that FIFA’s security requirements are such that the games constitute the highest level security perimeter of any events hosted in New Jersey.

As such, it leaves them in the position of needing to transfer the vast costs either to New Jersey taxpayers or those attending World Cup games, with Gov. Sherrill making clear that she does not want New Jersey taxpayers to carry the burden. Sources familiar with the plans at NJ Transit denied that their increased prices will be about profiteering, instead arguing that they need to raise the prices in order to prevent losses or excessive costs to local taxpayers.

Neither the New York/New Jersey host committee nor NJ Transit commented when asked if there will be any alternative reduced pricing for World Cup trains for children, seniors or accessibility passengers, all of which are ordinarily provided for tickets to MetLife Stadium from New York Penn.

Rail services are crucial for fans traveling to games at MetLife, as parking at the stadium will be vastly reduced compared to when the New York Giants and Jets play there. The tens of thousands of fans expected to use the rail network for travel to eight World Cup games, including the final, also means that NJ Transit have drawn up unusual plans. This will also mean that ordinary New Jersey-bound commuters are not able to use Penn Station in Manhattan for four hours prior to the start of each of the matches at MetLife, as first reported by NorthJersey.com.

Only World Cup ticket holders will be permitted to enter the NJ Transit part of Penn Station, with fans shepherded into the station according to the time slot provided by their train ticket.

New Jersey is the latest U.S. state or city to vastly mark up the travel pricing for World Cup ticket holders during this summer’s tournament in North America. Last month, The Athletic revealed that the Massachusetts MBTA was planning to raise its pricing for travel from Boston to Foxboro’s Gillette Stadium up from $20 return for an NFL game to more than $75 for World Cup matches. This was confirmed when the MBTA revealed prices of $80 return last week. This morning, it was also confirmed that Boston’s alternative bus service to the stadiums would cost $95 per seat.

For soccer fans attending the World Cup this is yet another cost for supporters, compounding the highly expensive World Cup tickets and hotels this summer.

During the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar, official ticket-holders received free access to Doha’s metro system throughout the tournament. Similarly, at the 2024 European Championship in Germany, match ticket holders also had access to free public transport on game day in host cities.

The U.S. was never likely to follow the lead on this, with cities and states seeking to recover huge investments into the World Cup via the proposed economic impact of the tournament, while the Qatar central government poured vast sums into its competition as a part of a broad state-building project.

Yet the scale of the price rises will stun many locals and visitors. For local organizers and legislators, the decisions over World Cup pricing have not been straightforward.

Under FIFA’s original hosting agreements with U.S. cities, world soccer’s governing body banks the income from tickets, broadcast, concessions, sponsorship and official parking fees. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said his organization will earn around $11bn in revenue from the World Cup in North America, while its budget is around $3.5bn.

Cities carry the cost burden for “safety, security and protection”, as well as stadium adjustments, which has cost many cities huge sums of money, and public transportation expenses.

In return, FIFA and the cities have often talked up claims of the World Cup’s huge economic impact, with Infantino citing a report that claimed the U.S. economy would gain $30bn by hosting the tournament, but several city executives have cast doubt on whether those figures will be hit as the tournament approaches, with agencies now seeking to claw back revenue where they can.

Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, pleaded with FIFA to intervene and help cities to reduce costs for fans.

He told The Athletic: “These prices are completely unprecedented and will significantly increase the financial burden on visiting fans. This series of last-minute announcements only adds insult to injury, at a time when the vast majority of fans have already made their travel arrangements and are left with no choice but to pay more.

“We understand that many costs are being transferred by FIFA to local authorities, but this should not fall on fans who are already paying a fortune to attend the tournament. These issues should have been addressed years ago, but it is not too late for FIFA to fulfil its role as tournament organiser and ensure that fans can travel to matches at a fair price.”