Hudson County elected officials and commuters decried PATH train delays at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Board of Commissioners meeting in Manhattan yesterday.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
During the meeting, Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton acknowledged the Hoboken train derailment on July 12th.
“I want to apologize to PATH riders who have been inconvenienced by disruptions to service. The agency is working as hard as possible to get service restored to its original levels. We have made great progress on that front,” he asserted.
“We’re working around the clock to find out what went wrong and put the proper fix in place to get back to a safe, normal operating service,” added Port Authority Chief Operating Officer (COO) James Heitmann said, adding that some service has already resumed.
During public comment, state Senator Raj Mukherji (D-32) gave the bi-state agency their due for some infrastructure upgrades before criticizing them on their shortcomings.
“Many of my constituents have been writing to me about PATH frequency and reliability. I understand that the headways right now are temporary while these critical infrastructure improvements are made,” he said.
“ … I’d love to see increased coordination [with NJ Transit] as a stopgap measure so that our riders have something available to them as an option while they’re suffering the recovery from the incident.”
Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2), a candidate for Jersey City mayor who recently released a plan to improve PATH service, also expressed the need for better service.
“Riders aren’t demanding luxuries. They’re demanding a baseline level of service that respects their time as essential. The PATH system is poorly run,” he declared.
O’Dea wanted them to improve weekday off-peak service and for them to run more weekend trains between Newark and the World Trade Center.
“If those can’t happen immediately, explain why … No more treating the public as a nuisance. What is the actual timeline for PATH forward? What will improved service look like next year? What upgrades are happening, and will riders see the difference?” he asked.
Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, the Democratic nominee for state Assembly in the 32nd Legislative District, also weighed in.
“This month, the PATH has undergone virtually daily disruptions and I want to voice my frustration on behalf of thousands of Hoboken residents,” he explaining, noting that Mile Square City commuters are fed up with constant delays.
“These breakdowns are not isolated incidents. They’re symptomatic of systemic infrastructure failures that demand urgent action,” he declared.
Bhalla noted their PATH station closed in February for about a month, adding that he doesn’t feel much, if any, progress has been made.
“ … What exactly was fixed? Why are switch failures still plaguing service? Why isn’t Port Authority treating this as an emergency?”
Bhalla wanted a commitment that improvements would be complete by Labor Day.
Conversely, Hoboken Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour, a mayoral candidate, said that the February PATH closure was actually handled quite well.
“It prepared our residents to know what to expect … I appreciate all the PATH alerts. All of us need to be part of the solution together,” she stated.
Jersey City Ward E Councilman James Solomon, who is running for mayor,
“ … I ask today, to ask you as the commissioners, to partner with the PATH leadership and all of us in elected office, to deliver that service on weekdays, off-peak hours and headways are too long,” he said.
“On weekends, when the PATH Forward work completes, we need firm commitments for more frequent headways: 12 minutes, 10 minutes, 10-minute headways on weekends to ensure that employees can get to their jobs and that people can access the businesses in both New York and New Jersey. Those public commitments will go an extraordinarily long way.”
Solomon also called for more transparency, citing a recent fire in the Lincoln Tunnel that was not publicized by the Port Authority.
“Thank you, you’ll hear from us soon,” replied Port Authority Board Chair Kevin O’Toole.
Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) member and Jersey City Ward D council candidate Jake Ephros also wanted increased PATH efficiency.
“Many Heights residents … have the Hoboken PATH stop as their closest stop,” he noted.
Another DSA member, Jersey City Ward B council candidate Joel Brooks said his wife has many issues commuting due to poor PATH train service.
“Please make many moms commutes a little easier,” he requested.
Hudson County Complete Streets Co-founder Emmanuelle Morgan also specifically called for PATH trains going to Newark Airport, as well as functioning elevators at PATH stations.
“Dare I say plan for a third tube?” she also questioned.
A press conference was held afterward, during which Heitmann explained that PATH spent $31 million on the Hoboken renovation and bought defective equipment.
“We’re looking into that. The manufacturer has been working with us … We’ve brought in external experts …We’re going to get it back on track,” he declared.
“We’re really upset by it and apologize. We took a lot of pride putting the Hoboken package together. We’re going to get to the bottom of it,” O’Toole stated.
“We are treating this switch failure as an emergency. We’ve been working around the clock. The manufacturer was on site,” Heitmann added.
He said a timeline for Hoboken fixes is to be finished is still to be determined, while PATH Forward station improvements are expected to finished by the second quarter of 2026, he added.
The PATH system has always been a hot mess.
Don’t expect the same incompetent clown crew to ever make it any better.
Hoboken terminal plans will never live up to the hype .
If it doesn’t end up falling into the Hudson the day after the ribbon cutting ceremoney they will call it a victory.
Have to disagree. I moved to Hoboken in 1985 and used it 5-6 days a week, it was very reliable up until the last few years.