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Port authority issues Request for Proposals for Newark Airport PATH extension
So, would this allow PATH trains to run directly to the airport terminal or just to the NJT/Amtrak station already existing?
No brainer, its like 30 yrs ago this idea should of been done.
While Gov. Cuomo is signing off on this, maybe he can sign off on an extension of the NY Subway to La Guardia Airport.
After nearly 30 years as a frequent flyer and M-N commuter, I’m happy to see SOME progress on the rails to air terminal front. Emphasize “some”… ORD, SEA, and others have left NY in their dust ! LGA with subway service ? Ha! Very formidable taxi and bus lobby.
It is about time. I read newspaper editorials suggesting a PATH extension to Newark Airport back in the 80’s. I would have expected it to happen much sooner, especially because this is the rare situation where the transit line and the airport are both operated by the same agency, the Port Authority of NY & NJ.
Not 30 years late in coming…50! Path’s tracks terminate across the highway from the airport property. Putting that station in on the NEC for NWK was ridiculous! Given the P.A. and N.J.'s past performances, I doubt that they will get this one right.
I don’t see what advantage extending PATH to the EWR station on the NEC is. Unless they’re going to run PATH directly to the terminals, the same advantages could be achieved by extending the peoplemover to Newark Penn. PATH users would have to transfer to the peoplemover either way, but I don’t expect the volume of traffic PATH would handle between Newark Penn and the airport station would come anywhere near close to filling even one car of a PATH train. Extending the peoplemover to Newark Penn, on the other hand, provides the same connectivity to PATH but also to every other train on the NEC, both Amtrak and NJTransit, as well as the Newark subway/light rail, and whatever bus lines serve Newark Penn. This all results in fewer connections being required to reach more destinations, to say nothing of the fact that Newark would have a direct connection between it’s airport and its central downtown. Fewer connections improves transit time and reduces confusion, two major factors that impact the attractiveness of transit systems.
Is there anything about this proposal that doesn’t make sense?
Is there plenty of capacity on the peoplemover? With either option the whole load (PATH plus NJT) has to use it to get to the terminals.
The last time (admittedly only time) I rode the peoplemover, it was never overcrowded between terminals, but my family and I were the only ones riding over to the NEC station. When we got there, the NEC station was nearly empty, and a 10 or 12 car CROWDED NJT train stopped to pick us up. There were maybe 2 or 3 others getting on the train. Perhaps this was unusual, as it was about 10:45am, but that leaves plenty of capacity going unused. Maybe it’s gotten more crowded or maybe it’s more crowded at other times of the day? In any case, my guess is that most of the traffic using the peoplemover go between terminals. I’d love to see numbers using it to go to NJT/Amtrak. But even so, eliminating an extra transfer for the benefit of those connecting to a bunch of different options at Newark Penn just seems like a no brainer, as opposed to extending the PATH.