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[Cotuit]

PATH Tube Station to Reopen Under WTC Nov. 23
By AMY WESTFELDT
Associated Press Writer 10/31/2003



The first train cars that will return to the rebuilt station under the World Trade Center were the last to leave it, moving terrified passengers as far as possible from the collapsing twin towers. The eight PATH train cars come back Nov. 23 to a station that has the same name as before: "World Trade Center."

The sign, still in bubble wrap, hung Thursday on a platform that will open to the public for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001. On the restored platform for Tracks 3 and 4, Gov. George Pataki stood with trade center leaseholder Larry Silverstein and his architects, Daniel Libeskind and David Childs, and looked at the space where the towers stood. "You have the sense of the tragedy that happened here," Pataki said. "And then," he said, turning to the sign. "you see the World Trade Center. That's what we have to do: move beyond and still remember."

The decision to keep the station's name was as deliberate as every other detail of the restored temporary rail station, which is expected to serve 50,000 daily commuters.

Most important was whether commuters would have views of the trade center site. The only view will be at the platform. On Thursday, those touring the site saw construction trailers, stacks of steel beams, an American flag. At the top of the stairs, screens will shield the site from public view.

Victims' family members requested that passengers coming through the train station have only a limited view of the towers' footprints.

Above ground, passengers will enter the temporary station on Church Street and descend into a stark steel and concrete space. The 16-month $253 million restoration of the temporary station involved gutting the train tunnels down to their iron frames and installing nearly 7,000 feet of track and 50,000 tons of steel.

Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.





Original World Trade Center PATH Station:


World Trade Center PATH Station after the Septemeber 11th attacks:

[tocoto]

This is an intresting story.  NYC has such an extensive subway system.  It is amazing there are so few in the US.  With all the traffic people deal with daily its amazing that city dweller can't get this simple efficient form of transport.

[Cotuit]

The entire PATH system had to be redesigned because of the loss of this station.

The PATH system is the only rapid transit link to New Jersey (The NYC Subway system stays entirely in NYC). It has 6 stations in Manhattan (including The World Trade Center) and 6 in New Jersey that connect to The NJTransit commuter rail system, The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail System, and The Newark City Subway.

The WTC station was the only Manhattan stop at the end of the southern tube that crosses the Hudson. There is another tube that crosses further north and has 5 stops in Manhattan leading up to Herald Square near Penn Station. So the PATH system went from 2 river crossings to 1.

WTC was the only station in Lower Manhattan for PATH riders, the nearest Manhattan stop is at Christopher Street in the West Village. From Christopher Street passengers bound for Lower Manhattan need to walk several blocks to the 1/9 NYC Subway trains. Christopher Street was turned into a one-way station due to the massive surge in passengers. You can only get on at Christopher in the afternoon, and you can only exit at Christopher in the mornings. The Port Authority (which operates the PATH) wants to build a new eastern exit/entrance to Chritopher to facilitate transfers to the 1/9, and also because with a single exit/entrance the station poses a large safety risk, especially in Post-Sept. 11th New York (shortly after the attacks, when the system was still trying to work out how it would operate with one tunnel, there were stories of it taking passengers up to half an hour to get out of the station.) NIMBYs in the neighbourhood are fighting to block the new exit (it's quite shocking what some of these NIMBYs think about people from Jersey).

A lot of passengers that used to use the WTC PATH station have also switched to ferries. There is some concern that there are too many ferries in the Hudson now and the situation may be an accident waiting to happen. There are also a bunch of NIMBYs in Battery Park City (should be called NIMBY Park City) that don't like having the ferries dock in their neighbourhood. I guess they didn't know what a marina was when they signed their leases.  

The best news in this article is that PATH is going to be brought into the MetroCard system. Until now PATH and the NYC Subway had two seperate farecards (the PATH card is actually better). So passengers that came into Manhattan on the PATH and switched to the subway had to carry and keep track of the amount of money they had on 2 farecards, quite annoying.

[kickazzz2000]

Cotuit, on Nov 7 2003, 05:13 PM, said:

The entire PATH system had to be redesigned because of the loss of this station.

The PATH system is the only rapid transit link to New Jersey (The NYC Subway system stays entirely in NYC). It has 6 stations in Manhattan (including The World Trade Center) and 6 in New Jersey that connect to The NJTransit commuter rail system, The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail System, and The Newark City Subway.

The WTC station was the only Manhattan stop at the end of the southern tube that crosses the Hudson. There is another tube that crosses further north and has 5 stops in Manhattan leading up to Herald Square near Penn Station. So the PATH system went from 2 river crossings to 1.

WTC was the only station in Lower Manhattan for PATH riders, the nearest Manhattan stop is at Christopher Street in the West Village. From Christopher Street passengers bound for Lower Manhattan need to walk several blocks to the 1/9 NYC Subway trains. Christopher Street was turned into a one-way station due to the massive surge in passengers. You can only get on at Christopher in the afternoon, and you can only exit at Christopher in the mornings. The Port Authority (which operates the PATH) wants to build a new eastern exit/entrance to Chritopher to facilitate transfers to the 1/9, and also because with a single exit/entrance the station poses a large safety risk, especially in Post-Sept. 11th New York (shortly after the attacks, when the system was still trying to work out how it would operate with one tunnel, there were stories of it taking passengers up to half an hour to get out of the station.) NIMBYs in the neighbourhood are fighting to block the new exit (it's quite shocking what some of these NIMBYs think about people from Jersey).

A lot of passengers that used to use the WTC PATH station have also switched to ferries. There is some concern that there are too many ferries in the Hudson now and the situation may be an accident waiting to happen. There are also a bunch of NIMBYs in Battery Park City (should be called NIMBY Park City) that don't like having the ferries dock in their neighbourhood. I guess they didn't know what a marina was when they signed their leases.  

The best news in this article is that PATH is going to be brought into the MetroCard system. Until now PATH and the NYC Subway had two seperate farecards (the PATH card is actually better). So passengers that came into Manhattan on the PATH and switched to the subway had to carry and keep track of the amount of money they had on 2 farecards, quite annoying.

When are they switching to metrocard?     Probably the day I leave Jersey City  

Is it going to be two separate accounts on the same card, or can you buy a unlimited pass that would work on both (im assuming that would be more than an unlimted pass that works only on the MTA).

[Cotuit]

I found this:

Unlimited Ride MetroCards Not Yet in Business At PATH

The Port Authority said this week that unlimited ride NYC Transit Metrocards would not be compatible with fare collection at stations along the rebuilt downtown PATH line. PATH service to lower Manhattan is scheduled to reopen on November 23th and the MTA and Port Authority have said that the new PATH turnstiles would accept Metrocard fare payment.

About 50% of NYC Transit riders now use unlimited ride cards, and the number is rising. But it may not be terrible if these riders aren’t able to swipe at PATH stations yet — PATH riders are generally NJ residents, and it’s unclear how many of them use weekly or monthly NYC Transit cards. The good news is that the Port Authority and NYC Transit are working on a system to permit the unlimited ride cards to pay PATH fares in the future. The balkanized state of the regional mass transit and transportation system, with many agencies that appear not to like dealing with one another, means any move toward inter-operability and seamlessness is a welcome step. But until further notice, only riders with cash values on their MetroCards can use them on the downtown PATH line. No word yet on when the agencies will begin working on a system providing free transfers…

From Mobilizing The Region

Looks like only riders with cash value MetroCards will be able to use them. But like the article says, many Jersey-ites may not even use the Unlimiteds. I'm not clear if you'd be able to use you MetroCard to get on the PATH in Jersey, or just to transfer from the MTA to the PATH at WTC.

[Cotuit]

World Trade Center PATH Station Reopens
By DAVID W. DUNLAP
November 23, 2003

And today, the people returned.

Not those who were specially sanctioned — impelled to work there, compelled to grieve there — but the many more who have been waiting. People without passes and badges, hard hats and breathing masks and grappling hooks; people with no more credentials than curiosity or longing. Or the simple business of getting into the city on a beautiful Sunday afternoon before Thanksgiving.

For the first time since 8:45 a.m., Sept. 11, 2001, ground zero throbbed with ordinary life and resonated with hundreds of eager voices.

To applause on the platforms and aboard the trains — their ruby-red "WTC" destination signs illuminated once again — the World Trade Center PATH Station reopened today after a $323 million, 16-month reconstruction.

"I'm making part of history right now," Robert Conard of Silver Spring, Md., said into his cell phone just before 2 p.m., as he was swept with the crowd under the winged entrance canopy on Church Street and into the vast, industrial-edged but astonishingly bright cascade of spaces leading to train platforms 70 feet below ground.

The first train rolled into the station shortly after 11 a.m., as Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Gov. James E. McGreevey of New Jersey, Senators Jon Corzine and Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey and members of victims' families made the ceremonial trip aboard the last eight cars to leave the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

At 2 p.m., the link to New Jersey was opened to the public — at no cost until midnight.

From The New York Times

[Cotuit]

Historic Ruins? Well, at what point should we have stopped reclaiming the ruins, should downtown Manhattan have been left as it was on the morning of September 12th, 2001?

It's a giant open wound, leaving it open as 'Historic Ruins' would be like leaving the human victims untreated, and having their open wounds serve as 'historic' reminders. Places need to be healed just as people do.

[Cotuit]

Rush Hour Returns in Force at Trade Center Rail Station
By CHRISTINE HAUSER
November 24, 2003

Hundreds of commuters using the reopened PATH train station restored rush-hour chaos to the site of the former World Trade Center today for the first time since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"Here they come!" said the head of administration for PATH, Linda Vespoli, watching as a crowd of commuters pushed through the turnstiles into the Lower Manhattan station after disembarking from New Jersey trains. "Welcome back everyone."

She greeted the incoming commuters to the station, built in the foundation of the Trade Center, fielding questions about schedules and fares, and handing out free pens and business card holders that said "Remembering, Reconnecting, Rebuilding."

"It's going to be a busy, big station," said one police officer to another as they watched commuters flow through the turnstiles.

The station was officially inaugurated on Sunday with a ceremonial train ride by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York; Gov. James E. McGreevey of New Jersey, and Senators Jon Corzine and Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey. Members of victims' families also made the trip, as the group rode aboard the last eight cars to leave the Trade Center station on Sept. 11, 2001. After the ceremonial ride, the link to New Jersey was opened to the public.

But as the workweek kicked off this morning, the gleaming new PATH trains got down to fulfilling the real business of the $323 million, 16-month restoration — serving as a vital rail link between Lower Manhattan and New Jersey across the Hudson River.

A Port Authority spokesman, Steve Coleman, said traffic flows would take some time to be restored to their pre-Sept. 11 volumes. "We had 67,000 people," he said, referring to daily volume before the attacks. "We are expecting by the end of next year 20,000 to 30,000."

He said it would take time for people to re-adjust their routes, that the economy was still down in the area. Also, most of the PATH commuters had worked in the World Trade Center towers. "There is 10 million square feet of office space not there," Mr. Coleman said.

"It seems like it's pretty heavily loaded," Mr. Coleman said as he watched streams of passengers moving through the station just before 7 a.m.. The trains of eight cars, which can carry up to 1,000 people, were pulling in to the station every five minutes.

Mr. Coleman said the Port Authority would have a full account late on Monday of the number of passengers who rode on the first day.

" Many of the commuters who went through the station today said they had been in the city on the day of the attacks.

"Time has passed quickly," said Gary Johnson, 43, a financial services businessman, after he left the train. A commuter from Colts Neck, N.J., Mr. Johnson said he used the PATH daily before the attacks.

"I came through twice that day, once at 6 and then I went uptown for a meeting at 7:45," he said. "I am glad they have been able to rebuild."

Kathleen Quigley's eyes filled with tears as she recalled how she had arrived by train the morning of the attacks about a half hour before they happened. She said she was later evacuated from her building near the Trade Center.

"Everything is almost the way it used to be," she said, looking around the station. "But it's not. There is a sacredness to it. There is still something."

Downtown businesses saw the reopening as a hopeful sign. Greenwich Jewelers on Trinity Street handed out flyers that read "Welcome Back PATH Train Commuters" and offered a free watch battery.

Across the street from the station, a long line of people waited patiently for free coffee, doughnuts and muffins handed out by the Millenium Hilton Hotel's Church & Dey restaurant to mark the opening of the station. "Welcome Back PATH" a large banner read. PATH refers to the Port Authority Trans-Hudson commuter rail system.

There are still signs that the events of Sept. 11 are fresh. At the nearby post office at Church Street, a dust-covered plastic wreath adorns the door, in remembrance of the 11 members of the postal police who helped evacuate the building after the attacks.

The temporary terminal was designed by Robert I. Davidson, chief architect of the Port Authority, as a stark display of gray steel columns and concrete floors. Blue Signs reading "World Trade Center" are attached to the columns.

The station crosses the trade center site in four levels, from the train platforms about 70 feet below the sidewalk to the winged entrance canopy on Church Street. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which built the terminal, has a preliminary design by the architect Santiago Calatrava for the permanent PATH station.

Parts of the burned structure that formed the parking garage are visible from the turnstiles. The floor, doors and signs linking the PATH station to the E subway train are left over from the original World Trade centre structure.

Just after 9 on the morning of Sept. 11, a PATH train pulled into the World Trade Center, rescued the last people on the platform, and left the station. It was the last train to do so before the south tower collapsed.

Patricia Reilly rode into New York today on the PATH train wearing a yellow ribbon in memory of her sister, Lorraine, who was in the south tower when it was hit by the second airplane.

"I never got my sister's remains back at all," said Ms. Reilly, who is with the Coalition of 9/11 Families, which wants the station to be called World Trade Center Memorial Station. "I feel she's somewhere around here," she said, standing in the terminal. "This is where the largest concentration of remains was found."

Before the attacks, the World Trade Center Station was the busiest in the PATH train system, and it was one of the main access links to downtown Manhattan and to Wall Street, the economic and financial nerve center of the city.

About 210,000 passengers a day were riding the PATH at the time of the attacks, and those displaced from the Trade Center station either found alternate ways to work, or squeezed into the remaining stations.

Extra trains were added at midtown stations to try to ease overcrowding. Extra buses and ferries addressed some of the commuting needs to the downtown area, but overall their capacity was viewed as insufficient.

From The New York Times

[Cotuit]

WTC PATH construction photos:

April 2002, Damaged ductbank/walls removed from PATH tunnels


September 2002, Installation of replacement ductbank/walls begins, south tunnel


September 2002, Foundation laid for track curtain wall


November 2002, Structural framework for temporary station takes shape


December 2002, Thick steel beams provide substation support


May 2003, Progress visible in original PATH platform area


August 2003, Station platform almost ready for riders


November 2003, The nearly completed PATH train tubes, as seen from Liberty Street


November 2003, World Trade Center PATH entrance nearing completion


November 2003, Canopy over station entrance, as seen from Liberty Street