By Isiah Christie
The New Jersey-New York PATH train system will be experiencing a change in its weekend service routes for the remainder of this year, 2025.
New Jersey-bound trains are now required to make a stop at Exchange Place, Jersey City en route affiliated stops at Grove Street and Journal Square, adding seven minutes to commutes between 33rd Street and Journal Square.
This is in spite of train frequency remaining at a twenty-minute interval, which poses a new challenge to passengers looking to travel on weekend dates. Weekday service and non-mentioned routes remain unaffected.
The Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) is a rapid transit system in the northeastern New Jersey cities of Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken, as well as Lower and Midtown Manhattan in New York City, which is operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
PATH claims that the change in its weekend schedule is to support track stabilization and rail replacement work in relevant locations without outright suspension of services. Passenger safety is expected to continue to be top priority, while there will be an increase in crew availability to make up for a surge in transit overpopulation and unaware customers.
Future dates for outages were also pre-emptively provided by the Port Authority, including the following weekends:
- September: 6-7, 13-14, 20-21
- October: 4-5, 11-12, 25-26
This is to accommodate for changes in path tracking, including a new track between Journal Square and Harrison alongside the demolition of an intercepting bridge. Alternative transit options are expected to be released within the next few weeks, as well as an outline of PATH’s schedule in 2026 following the various changes.
Despite PATH’s efforts to provide alternatives, and the notice, many transit regulars are upset with the new development. There is, for instance, much controversy regarding PATH Forward, their two-year initiative program centered around speed, reliability, and experience, and the lack of commitment to its cause.
According to the Port Authority website, “PATH is committed to sharing five months of anticipated weekend work schedules with riders”, a statement that has not been upheld during this advisory’s announcement. This has frustrated customers that expected the promised level of communication.
“So much for 5 months’ advance notice on service changes. Good on PATH for torching what few remaining morsels of credibility they had left,” one frequent user on the Jersey City subreddit stated. “I honestly don’t understand the logic behind this. Adding an extra stop at Exchange Place only in one direction?! Creating a 40 minute trip between 33rd to JSQ for what? What is this solving?”, another passenger complained.
It’s undeniable that change and construction require cooperation from transit clients, but the Port Authority’s method is being aggressively questioned – and it is up to them to maintain image by correcting such concerns, another PATH train user stressed.
