PATH (rail system)

The Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) is a 13.8-mile (22.2 km) rapid transit system in the northeastern United States. It serves the northeastern New Jersey cities of Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken, as well as Lower and Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The PATH is operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Trains run around the clock year-round; four routes serving 13 stations operate during the daytime on weekdays, while two routes operate during weekends, late nights, and holidays. The PATH crosses the Hudson River through cast iron tunnels that rest on a bed of silt on the river bottom. It operates as a deep-level subway in Manhattan and the Jersey City/Hoboken riverfront; from Grove Street in Jersey City to Newark, trains run in open cuts, at grade level, and on elevated track. In 2025, the system saw 64,318,300 rides, or about 213,100 per weekday in the fourth quarter of 2025, making it the fifth-busiest rapid transit system in the United States.

The routes of the PATH system were originally operated by the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad (H&M), built to link New Jersey's Hudson Waterfront with New York City. The system began operations in 1908 and was fully completed in 1911. Three stations have since closed; two others were relocated after a re-alignment of the western terminus. From the 1920s, the rise of automobile travel and the concurrent construction of bridges and tunnels across the river sent the H&M into a financial decline during the Great Depression, from which it never recovered, and it was forced into bankruptcy in 1954. As part of the deal that cleared the way for the construction of the original World Trade Center, the Port Authority bought the H&M out of receivership in 1962 and renamed it PATH. In the 2000s and 2010s, the system suffered longstanding interruptions from disasters that affected the New York metropolitan area, most notably the September 11 attacks and Hurricane Sandy. Both private and public stakeholders have proposed expanding PATH service in New Jersey, though none have been funded as of 2025.

Although PATH has long operated as a rapid transit system, it is legally a commuter railroad under the jurisdiction of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Its right-of-way between Jersey City and Newark is located in close proximity to Conrail, NJ Transit, and Amtrak trackage, and it shares the Dock Bridge with intercity and commuter trains. All PATH train operators must therefore be licensed railroad engineers, and extra inspections are required. As of 2023, PATH uses one class of rolling stock, the PA5.