'What exactly was fixed?': PATH riders fume at service meltdown after $31M upgrade

PATH train riders were up in arms at a Port Authority board meeting Thursday, criticizing the agency for a series of track problems that have upended service on the cross-hudson subway system for weeks.

The infrastructure problems forced the agency to halt service in and out of Hoboken earlier this month. Delays have persisted in the area since.

“ The truth is, the PATH system is poorly run,” said William O’Dea, a Hudson county commissioner. “PATH is not an accessory to our region's economy. It's the backbone.”

The track failure took place at a new interlocking PATH installed at the Hoboken station in January for $31 million. At the time, the agency shut down service for a month to complete the work, which promised to speed up and offer a more reliable commute for riders.

Riders and officials were outraged that the new construction had already failed, especially after the agency justified shutting down the station by claiming it allowed crews to complete a year's worth of work in just one month.

The Port Authority added new paint and staircases at the Hoboken station, as well as new switches and an interlocking, where trains cross over.

“Now my community asks what exactly was fixed and why are switch failures still plaguing service? More importantly, why isn't the Port Authority treating this as an emergency?” Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said at the board meeting on Thursday. “These breakdowns are not isolated incidents. They're symptomatic of systemic infrastructure failures that demand urgent action.”

Jim Heitmann, chief operating officer of the Port Authority, said the agency has brought in outside experts and the manufacturer to study the problem.

“ This is a safety item. It's something that, as much as we’d like to fix it overnight, you have to do the proper analysis to get it right, we wish we got it right the first time,” Heitmann said.

The Port Authority said it expects delays to service in and out of Hoboken to continue through Labor Day.

This story has been updated to correct Jim Heitmann's job title.