Huge Expansion Coming For PATH: More Trains, Less Delays

Within three years, there will be a lot more elbow room when you take the PATH train, officials say.

On Thursday, the Port Authority of NY/NJ announced that a huge expansion is in the works for the PATH system, which serves nearly 300,000 riders every day. One official called the plan “game-changing.”

Read the PATH full improvement plan.

According to the Port Authority, several lines will see more trains – and a big bump to their overall capacity – by 2022:

• NWK-WTC – 40% capacity increase
• HOB-WTC – 20% capacity increase
• JSQ-33 – 20% capacity increase
• HOB-33 – 20% capacity increase

Officials said the huge increase in capacity will come partly from an “ongoing” $750 million investment in a new signal system, which enables the PATH to run more trains per hour. The plan also includes $215.7 million worth of new rail cars, as well as an $80 million effort to enable nine-car trains on the Newark-WTC line.

According to the Port Authority, the PATH has already begun work to add two more rush hour train sets on the NWK-WTC and Journal Square-33rd Street lines, optimizing between-train headways of 3 to 4 minutes on the busiest lines at the busiest times of day. This shift will increase capacity by 10% on these lines by September 2019.

“By adding cars and trains, hitting back at the root cause of delays, and focusing on the customer experience, PATH will make monumental changes that affect the lives of the nearly 300,000 customers who rely on [it] each day,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said.

“We want this plan to be game-changing,” Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said. “Increasing the carrying capacity of a legacy rail system by 20 to 40% in a three-year period is almost unheard of, but PATH is making that commitment.”

OTHER PATH CHANGES COMING

According to the Port Authority, officials are committing $50 million to help alleviate what Cotton called a plague of “excessive delays,” as well as to help improve customer service for PATH riders.

Port Authority officials said the plan will attack six major causes of delays on the PATH:

• track conditions
• switch failures
• car equipment failures
• signal equipment issues
• sick passengers
• unattended bags

Customer service improvements will include:

• a new fare payment system integrated with the MTA’s new OMNY system
• improving rider alerts and announcements “to provide more information in a timely and transparent way”
• addressing platform crowding

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