By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The first nine-car train in the PATH’s 100-year history will start rolling on the busy Newark-World Trade Center line Thursday morning, Gov. Phil Murphy and Port Authority officials announced Wednesday.
Murphy and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials made the announcement Wednesday at the Harrison station that spells relief for commuters who’ve coped with crowded trains and platforms. The longer trains will be phased in gradually during the next 12 months, with a goal for nearly all trains on the NWK-WTC line at peak times to be nine-car trains by the beginning of 2024, officials said.
Harrison Council Jame Doran recalled the situation that PATH’s $1 billion expansion program and nine-car trains are addressing.
“It was a little like getting in a sardine can it was so crowded,” he said. “I thank the Port Authority for recognizing it with the extended trains and building a new (Harrison) station.”
Nine-car trains start a gradual roll-out starting with the Thursday morning rush and afternoon, which will increase over time.
The longer trains are being made possible by two separate projects – one completed last year to lengthen five New Jersey station platforms to accommodate nine cars, and the other which began last September when the first of 72 new PATH PA-5 railcars started arriving in Port Newark.
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