I'm pretty certain I saw one new train set in service and another few more cars sitting in the yard by Harrison the other day, which would imply a few new cars have been delivered.

I keep seeing the new trains running as deadheads, but I've only managed to ride one twice. The PATH twitter feed (which is much more fun if you imagine it being written by an actual train) says there's only one new train in passenger service but they're testing at least two others.

Have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised at how non-intrusive the TV screens are. I was worried they'd be really annoying even without audio, but they're small and hard to see unless you're actively looking for them.

Meanwhile, the three car trains (!) they were running last night were absolutely packed. Never seen that before -- they managed to squeeze my train AND another super-short train going the other direction onto a single track at Hoboken.

I really wish there was slightly more service right around midnight. I often get stuck working late, and having it take forever to get home on top of the extra hours in the office is really no fun at all. Last night I was so sleepy that the tiny train was just about the most disorienting thing ever.

PATH train system welcomes new rail cars

VICTOR EPSTEIN ? Associated Press ? July 10, 2009

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) ? Some commuters are in for a smoother ride Friday, when new rail cars hit the tracks of the PATH train system for the first time in more than 20 years.
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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is spending about $500 million to replace all 340 cars by 2011. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine plans to officially launch the first train comprising them during a ceremony Friday in Jersey City.

The purchase from Kawasaki Rail Car Inc. is part of a $3.3 billion overhaul of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson rail system, which carries about 236,000 commuters a day between Manhattan and northern New Jersey under the Hudson River. The improvements, a nine-year project expected to be finished in 2016, represent the most ambitious upgrade of the 102-year-old system since the Port Authority acquired PATH from the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad in 1962.

"We're going from the oldest heavy-railcar fleet in the nation to the newest," PATH Director Mike DePallo said.

The shiny new cars still have the same capacity ? 129 passengers ? but feature a stainless steel exterior, sophisticated braking system, on-board cameras, computer screens displaying rider information, automated voices that announce upcoming stops, and television monitors carrying news, weather and sports programming. Engineers also have a speedometer for the first time.

The new car was a hit with passengers making their way to Manhattan from Newark in one of them Thursday.

"The changes are good," said Santa Tamburello, 44, of Queens. "I like it. The voice that tells you what stop is coming up is really helpful."

Conductor John Krakowski, 51, of Oak Ridge, said the new electronic monitors help passengers listening to music or and talking on phones. They can't hear the automated voice calling out the stops, but they can still see the screens, he said. The new cars also have three doors, instead of the old two, making it easier for people to enter and exit.

"It's definitely a great train," Krakowski said. "Definitely."

Speed is a common theme in the PATH overhaul, which will eventually lengthen trains to 10 cars from seven along the primary route from Newark to the World Trade Center. PATH is spending $659 million to upgrade its 13 platforms and expand some to accommodate the longer trains.

The Port Authority is spending another $390 million to automate the PATH signal system, which will reduce the amount of time between trains at each station. The improvements are expected to increase system capacity 20 percent.

"These new cars should convince even more people to take advantage of this public transit system, which will unclog our roads and provide much-needed environmental benefits," Corzine said in a statement.

Anthony Coscia, chairman of the Port Authority, said the agency is taking a greater interest in mass transit after years of being a reluctant partner. It's willing to make the long-term investments needed to persuade people to trade in their cars for rail seats.

The Port Authority is contributing $3 billion to construction of a rail tunnel under the Hudson River for NJ Transit, which also carries commuters to Manhattan from New Jersey. Work on the $8.7 billion project began last month and is expected to be completed in eight years.

"You can't ask people to give up their cars unless you give them a reliable and attractive alternative," Coscia said. "By investing in the tunnel and the PATH system, we're doing that."

Bloomberg: NJ PATH Train System Gets First New Cars Since '80s

By Chris Dolmetsch

July 9 (Bloomberg) -- Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials will gather tomorrow to inaugurate the first new cars in two decades on the PATH train system that runs between northern New Jersey and New York City.

The authority has received 20 of the new cars, seven of which have started running over the past few months, said Ron Marsico, a spokesman in New York for the authority, which operates the PATH, or Port Authority Trans-Hudson, system. More than 240,000 riders take the PATH daily. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine will join the officials at the Journal Square station in Jersey City.

The authority in 2003 agreed to spend $809 million to replace the entire fleet of 340 cars, some of which are more than 40 years old, as part of a $3.3 billion plan to overhaul the 100-year-old network and increase capacity by 25 percent. The entire fleet is scheduled to be replaced by 2011. The authority acquired the PATH system from the private Hudson and Manhattan railroad in 1962.

The plan includes a $390 million replacement of the 38- year-old signal system, which will help reduce the time between trains, and $695 million in upgrades to all 13 PATH stations.

The new PA-5 cars are being built by Kobe, Japan-based Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. at its plant in Yonkers, New York. They feature more doors than older cars to allow for faster loading and unloading; onboard video displays that can broadcast news, weather and sports information from WNBC-TV; and onboard closed-circuit security cameras.

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Good God, does that mean they will hike their fares again citing a "capital improvement?"

PATH is on Twitter now: http://twitter.com/PATHtweet

Has anyone noticed that path changed their website? http://www.panynj.gov/path/

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It may not be the same train each time however. They are testing cars so they could be rotating trains or even mixing and matching new cars.

They did the same thing when they rolled out the new cars on the NYC Subway.

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One train at last count, and most importantly, it must run as a set because the new cars are incompatible with the old cars.

I rode one a few weeks ago, but apart from different colors and better in train signs, it felt the same as other PATH trains.

I was on one this morning to Newark... but it had been a while since I had caught one. I wonder how many are in rotation...

Where the hell did the new Path trains go? They ran for 1 week and then POOF gone. I was so excited when the ran.

Oh the plan is for people to be so tightly packed into the trains that they will be able to stand up without center poles.

I rode on a new one twice yesterday. My only negative comment is that there is no center pole, so I'm wondering what the huddled masses will hold on to during rush hour. The jury is out on that one.

it was in full operation, with for real passengers and everything.

oh, and it's got an automated lady-voice.

new car smell is already gone, naturally.

^ Was it actually in operation (passengers riding on it?) or was it just passing through on a "test run" again?

saw a new train in operation today! Newark - to - WTC.

it's shiny.

How is it possible for something so simple (a signaling system) to cost 500 million dollars?

That seems like at least 2 orders of magnitude too much money.

I agree if heights worked for PATH (As Admin), he wouldn't be able to read and therefore wouldn't be able to participate in this forum. Not to mention the smell of BO that would begin to emanate from my computer.

I don't think so.

If Heights *did* work for the Port Authority, it would've taken him/her longer to type the post (it took them like 9 months to renovate *each* of the 2 staircases at Grove St...)

Heights, do you work for PATH????

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http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009 ... sets_record_wit.html#more

PATH ridership sets record with 75 million people in 2008
Posted by mdowling January 27, 2009 12:49PM
Record numbers of riders took PATH trains between New York and northern New Jersey last year.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says ridership hit about 75 million in 2008, an increase of more than three million over 2007. That's the highest number since the Port Authority took over the transit system in 1962. Daily ridership averaged a little over 250,000.
The previous record for ridership was 74 million in 2000.
Last year's increase coincided with a toll hike at bridges and tunnels and record high gas prices.
The Port Authority is spending $3 billion over the next 10 years to replace its entire fleet of PATH trains, upgrade stations and replace mechanical signals with computerized ones.
According to the article and link above there are a million more people living in Jersey City since 9 11...Just a hunch.

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"by definition"? I do not think that word means what you think it means

http://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/mmm_images/June6_2005MMM.jpg

These new cars, the same length determined by the same platforms and running on the same tracks are by definition, LIPSTICK ON A PIG!
People will STILL be crammed into the same space, still be forced to stand most of the time, STILL be waiting on 100 degree platforms. Who cares whether the outside is shiny?


Faster service? Why?
If PATH wanted faster service they would run rush hour service at all times instead of filling cattle-cars to the brim the 20 non-rush hours of the day.
Shiny new trains will only go as fast as PATH wants to run them.

Do you think maybe the new cars will be able to transmit the near- continuous "Welcome to the PATH system..." blather even IN the trains...maybe even in 10 alternating languages?

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Sounds like a good plan with such a short distance and the new 3 door cars the complaints would diminish once passengers are placed in a vertical position during their journey.

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The size cars have to be the same. How much different can you make the cars look, what more can you do to them ??

With platforms being at a fixed length limiting the amount of carriages, the only solution I see is the removal of all seats to squeeze in more commuters.

I've seen the new cars at the JSQ station during the day. Hurry up PATH!

Somewhat underwhelming - look very similar to the current ones. Hopefully they'll be smoother, quieter and easier to enter/exit.

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If you feel you want your voice to be heard then click on either link below:

http://www.panynj.gov/feedback.php

http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/path/html/patron.php