JUNE 29 saw the reopening of PATH station at Exchange Place on the New Jersey waterfront, as the first step in restoring services on the cross-river line to lower Manhattan, which was flooded and heavily damaged on September 11 2001 following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

The tunnels and station have been rebuilt with new track, signalling, communications and electrical systems. The platforms have been lengthened from seven to 10 cars, with new crossover tunnels cut through solid rock to allow reversal of terminating trains. The station rebuild cost $160m, and a similar amount is being spent on refurbishing the trans-Hudson tunnels. Another $224m has been allocated for a temporary terminal in Manhattan which is expected to open by the end of this year.

The FTA is working with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey on plans for a permanent PATH station in conjunction with redevelopment of the WTC site. On June 20 the Department of Transportation approved a $50m grant towards environmental work and preliminary engineering design of the Fulton Street Transit Center, which will provide better links between the PATH terminus and nearby subway lines. It is the first tranche of $4·5bn in federal funding promised for rebuilding and upgrading subway facilities in the area.

H On June 20 the NJ Transit board awarded a $4·9m contract to the Transit Link joint venture of Parsons Brinckerhoff and Systra Engineering, for environmental impact studies into a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River. Scheduled for construction in 2010-15, the $5bn project would double capacity between Secaucus and Manhattan’s Penn Station for NJT commuter trains and Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor services.

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