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PANYNJ Plans to Conduct Major Overhaul of Hoboken, N.J.'s Rapid Transit Station in 25 Days

PANYNJ's PATH Hoboken station will undergo a 25-day closure for critical infrastructure repairs & improvements. The ambitious project includes track, station, and signal system upgrades, with meticulous planning to minimize disruptions and ensure service efficiency.

Tue January 28, 2025 - Northeast Edition
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey


As soon as the last passenger train rumbles out of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson's (PATH's) Hoboken, N.J., station just after 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 30, PATH workers will jump into action.

"We know the clock is ticking from the very beginning," said Tom Crowell, PATH's deputy director of infrastructure and rolling stock.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) said on Jan. 23 that PATH, the rapid transit system that runs 24/7 between New Jersey and Manhattan, would shutter its Hoboken station for 25 days from the end of January to 5 a.m. on Feb. 25 in order to execute critical infrastructure repairs and station work.

The service will take full advantage of the closure with comprehensive track, infrastructure and station rehabilitations, work that otherwise would have taken at least a year to complete if performed piecemeal, along with a constantly shifting mix of schedule adjustments and station detours.

During the closure, the Port Authority will offer a multitude of travel alternatives, including expanded, cross-honored ferry service, frequent free shuttle buses to other PATH stations and supplemental PATH, light rail and NJ TRANSIT bus service between Hoboken and Manhattan.

The project's planners chose February for the closure given its traditionally lower ridership numbers compared to other times of year.

PATH's plans for the closure have been meticulous, almost down to the minute, according to a PANYNJ news release.

The work will take place around the clock every day of the week during the closure, totaling 600 work hours. For the first 36 hours following the station's closing, PATH workers will be scouring the cramped train tunnel, dismantling signals and other wall-mounted equipment to give crews as much space as possible.

"The most critical part of this project is the commitment we made to the public that at 5 a.m. on February 25, we will pull a train into that station and load it with passengers again," Crowell explained.

PATH Project Is Rarity for Port Authority

The decision to get work done through an extended closure is a first in modern PATH history, one that garnered intense scrutiny among the Port Authority and its partners given the disruption. The agency typically opts to continue operating service during construction, having done so through the redevelopments of LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International airports, the ongoing $2 billion rehabilitation of the George Washington Bridge, the raising of the Bayonne Bridge's roadway, and the upcoming replacement of the Midtown Bus Terminal.

In short, to fully suspend service at any Port Authority facility is rare.

"We had to demonstrate that we thought about every way to do this, and this was the least painful," noted Sanchita Banerjee-Jimenez, PATH's deputy director of operations and customer experience. "There are a lot of moving parts and projects that we're bringing together under the umbrella of this closure."

For Crowell, the centerpiece of the effort is replacing the complex and intricate track switch just outside the Hoboken station. Known as a double crossover slip switch, it allows arriving trains to access each of the station's three tracks. Replacing the current 35-year-old switch on its own would have necessitated a weeklong closure, he explained. A new switch, though, will mean fewer delays and more reliable service.

"Those tunnels have only inches of clearance," he said. "You can't put this switch anywhere else in the world. It'll only fit right there."

Crews also will remove the existing tracks, as well as the ballast — the rocks underneath tracks meant to keep them in place and drain any moisture that would deteriorate the structure and equipment. Over more than a century, those rocks have been pulverized by 230 trains a day that turns them into a fine powder that clogs the track bed rather than draining it.

After the ballast is replaced, more than 4,500 linear ft. of new tracks will be placed on top. The third rail, which feeds power to the trains, also will be replaced in the same area with a new composite material that conducts electricity more efficiently.

"You don't just want to put a Band-Aid on the problem," Crowell said. "You want to dig as deep as you can, get down to the ballast and drainage, and do this right so you're good for another generation."

Hoboken Station Improvements Described as "Aggressive"

The station itself also will get a comprehensive makeover with structural repairs and fresh tiles on platforms, bright lighting, new signage and four new staircases to replace its original steep steps.

The current blue and white color scheme in PATH's Hoboken station will be restored to white and Lackawanna Green following consultation with the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office and the Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission. Doing so is a nod to the original railroad that ran out of Hoboken Terminal.

Delivering materials to the work site will be a job in itself, according to Crowell.

Much of the track-related infrastructure will be trucked to the system's rail yards in Harrison and Jersey City, then transferred to a flatbed railcar and brought to Hoboken, all while allowing passenger trains to continue running through other parts of the system.

Crowell likened it to steering a major construction project "through a straw."

While the magnitude of this work is a first for PATH, it is not uncharted territory for Crowell or Banerjee-Jimenez, who have previously led major rail projects on the regional, national, and international stages.

"A full or partial closure is common at other railroads, but it's the first time PATH has been this aggressive," Banerjee-Jimenez said. "For this railroad, this is a special, historic moment. The level of partnership, the level of support that we're getting to make this happen [is] a big deal."




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