The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the PATH train, hosted a public meeting at the Hoboken station last night to discuss their upcoming nearly month-long closure set for early next year.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
Representatives from PATH discussed the situation with any of the few dozen people who passed through the station, with no formal program or presentation instead opting for a more relaxed setting.
“We have to shut down Hoboken’s PATH station for 25 days from Thursday, January 30th, late at night until 5 AM on Tuesday, February 25th,” Assistant Director of PATH Passenger Services and Customer Experience Rebecca Riehl told HCV.
She added that a 24/7 free shuttle service will be offered from the Hoboken station to the Newport station in Jersey City during the closure, which will run every 10 minutes during rush hour and every 20 minutes during normal hours.
Riel further stated that the PATH is working with NJ Transit and NY Waterway to accomodate commuters.
For example, NJ Transit will run a special bus from Hoboken to midtown Manhattan during this time, along with extra PATH trains from Newport to 33rd Street in anticipation of crowds. NJ Transit will also add additional Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service.
Riehl continued that the PATH is currently in the middle of a two-year, $330 million PATH forward program updating that includes a significant investment in infrastructure.
This involves replacing sections of track across the system and modernizing the train stations.
“We’ll be working around the clock in the station that will be closed to customers, the PATH portion … A lot of this work is still Sandy recovery,” she noted.
Riehl explained that the station and system are 116 years old, which means it often needs a lot of maintenance, some of which is long overdue.
“At PATH, our number 1 job is to move people and we need stabilized tracks to do that. We’re putting in the work now. We understand the 25 days is quite the big ask for our customers and it’s a lot of work for us. But we’re committed to modernizing the operation,” she noted.
“It’s all about making the system more reliable and a smoother ride for customers long-term.”
She also explained that the Station rehabilitation will be extensive and include a new paint job, new tiling, new lighting, new stairwells, and new platforms, admitting that a closure of this magnitude has never been needed before.
“Our challenge is getting the word out so people can plan better,” Riehl declared.
She noted that maintenance is ongoing during the 2-year PATH forward* program.
Hoboken Councilman-at-Large Joe Quintero was in attendance and assessed the situation during a short interview.
“Although it’s going to be a painful month, it is the second least used month from a rider perspective. They’re going to be able to get done in a month. If they did a traditional schedule of nights, weekends, it would take five years,” he asserted.
Quintero noted they will also be doing repairs inside the train to staircases to ensure handicapped access.
“Hopefully, they’ll do it as quickly as possible, and we can go back to normal. During Sandy and before that, 9/11, the PATH shut down. I was a PATH user during Sandy. We got used to riding the ferry for a few months. The ferry was super packed,” the councilman continued.
“It’s like being happy you’re going to finally fix that broken arm you have. It’s going to be painful. But I think, based on our options, it’s the best one and will cause the least disruption over time. We’ll have a more modern facility over time.”
While most commuters said they did not want to speak publicly on the situation, those who engaged with officials seemed relatively satisfied with what they heard.
“It’s annoying but could be worse, I guess,” commuter Dave Josephson said.
