PATH Forward: November 2013 Update

World Trade Center & Exchange Place Stations

Over the weekends of November 9-10, 16-17, and 23-24, service in and out of Exchange Place and World Trade Center stations was suspended to allow for post-Sandy restoration and resiliency work. These three weekend outages provided workers with 48-hour blocks of time to complete a significant amount of work that cannot be accomplished when passenger service is operating at these stations.

Much of the work conducted over these weekends occurred in Tunnels E and F, which connect the PATH system to Lower Manhattan. These tunnels provide passage for over 100,000 trips each weekday on the Hoboken-World Trade Center (HOB-WTC) and Newark-World Trade Center (NWK-WTC) lines. During Superstorm Sandy, Tunnels E and F were flooded with millions of gallons of salt water. The tunnels were drained and cleaned to get service back up and running again. However, residual salt left behind must be removed during continued post-Sandy restoration and resiliency work to ensure the long-term safety and reliability of the entire system.

Power washing equipment

Power washing equipment staged on a work flat at Exchange Place Station.

A worker power washing walls

A worker power washing walls to remove corrosive salt in Tunnel E.

Replacing rail chips

A worker guides machinery over a rail to replace rail clips.
12,000 were replaced over three weekends.

New rail clips in Tunnel F

New rail clips in Tunnel F.

WEEKEND WORK ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Power washing of 750 feet of Tunnel E (one-quarter of the tunnel)
Salt surveying and complete cleanup of drains and sump pumps in Tunnel F
Replacement of over 12,000 corroded, broken, or damaged rail clips in Tunnel F
Connection of power equipment for the new World Trade Center Station to existing tunnel infrastructure
Testing of utilities and power lines in both tunnels

LOOKING AHEAD

Work will continue on non-holiday weekends in alternating tunnels by utilizing a single-track operation. Though single-tracking requires passenger trains to be run farther apart, it allows one tunnel to be closed for intensive repairs and construction work.

In order to complete the restoration and resiliency work supported by the Federal Transit Administration, we expect additional closures in 2014. Our proposed schedule of closures will be shared in early 2014.

Thank you for your patience while we continue these very important projects that will reduce train delays and improve service.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at PATHCommunity@panynj.gov. You can also sign up for PATHAlerts or follow us on Twitter.