Katie Brennan, the Democratic nominee for state Assembly in the 32nd Legislative District, is reacting strongly to a Jersey City PATH station fire: “We’re lucky nobody was seriously hurt or died this morning.”
Jersey city path at Newport #path #NewJersey @PATHTrain pic.twitter.com/rq9y9sNtIb
— Joseph Nikhil Reddy (@JosephNikhilRe3) August 4, 2025
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“This is completely unacceptable. We’re lucky nobody was seriously hurt or died this morning on the PATH train. Riders are already facing constant delays, overcrowded cars, derailments, and getting stuck under the Hudson River. Now the trains are literally catching on fire with people onboard,” she said in a statement.
“How many incidents like this have to happen before anyone at the Port Authority is held accountable? We can’t wait until someone is killed before we make the PATH work the way it should.”
The blaze broke out at approximately 6:19 a.m. this morning under a PATH train in the Newport Station, with nine commuters hospitalized due to smoke inhalation, according to PATH police.
The incident suspended PATH service for approximately four-and-a-half hours.
“Riders deserve to hear directly from Port Authority leadership. How did this happen? Are the trains safe to ride? What’s being done to fix them? If we don’t get answers to those questions and see a real plan and improvements, we need to clean house and find people who are up to the challenge,” Brennan concluded.
In June, Brennan and Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who running mate in the June 10th Assembly primary who was also victorious, demanded accountability from the PATH for recent breakdowns and last-minute service cuts.
