(The Bergen Record posted the following story by Daniel Sforza on its website on April 10.)
HACKENSACK, N.J. — PATH trains will once again rumble into Jersey City’s Exchange Place in June, 21 months after the station was knocked out by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
When the PATH station at the World Trade Center was destroyed, it sent millions of gallons of water through the tubes and flooded Exchange Place.
The station has been rebuilt for $160 million, new tracks have been laid, and a new signal system put in place. It will reopen June 29. The World Trade Center PATH station is expected to open by year-end, said officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates PATH.
“Reopening the Exchange Place station will restore a critical transportation link for New Jersey commuters,” Governor McGreevey said in a statement. “[It] will strengthen our efforts to revitalize the regional economy as we continue to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed in the attacks.”
Before the attacks, the station handled about 16,000 passenger trips each day. When it reopens, it is expected to handle about 8,000. More riders are expected once the entire PATH system resumes operation in December.
The link primarily serves Essex and Hudson counties, allowing passage from Newark and Jersey City to Manhattan.
Restored routes will include Newark to Exchange Place; Journal Square in Jersey City to 33rd Street in Manhattan; and Exchange Place to Hoboken. Newark PATH riders heading to 33rd Street will transfer at Journal Square.
Work on the World Trade Center PATH station is continuing and on schedule, said Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman.
The station’s structure is built and workers are concentrating on finishing the inside. Both PATH stations will undergo up to three months of testing before being used for passenger service, Coleman said.