Busy N.J. PATH station will close for 25 days for renovations

The Hoboken PATH station will close for almost the entire month of February 2025 to allow for continuous work on the rail system to be completed in a more efficient manner, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced Thursday.
The station will close at 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 30, 2025 and is expected to reopen at 5 a.m. on Feb. 25, 2025, officials said.
The closure will allow for important safety repairs, improvements and an upgrades to the rail system under the $430 million PATH Forward program, officials said.
“The full station closure enables the agency to complete track and station work on an expedited basis that would otherwise necessitate severe schedule reductions and service suspensions repetitively over a prolonged period,” officials said in a Thursday statement announcing the closure.
Some of the work will include replacing in-station track, replacing the track switching network outside the station and repairing 4,500 linear feet of track leading to the station, officials said.
Other improvements to the station include refurbishing the concrete platform surface at the station and replacing four stairways between the mezzanine and platform levels, officials said.
“We recognize that a full station closure is disruptive, but it allows us to fast-track extensive repair work within the station and critical infrastructure around it that otherwise would have involved years of intermittent closures if we performed it piecemeal,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton.
While the station is closed, alternative transit options will included expanded ferry service, frequent shuttle buses to other Path stations, and additional Path, light rail and NJ Transit bus service between Hoboken and Manhattan, officials said.
Had the agency decided to complete the projects without the extended closure, weekend train service would have been completely shut down for at least four weekends to complete interlocking and track replacements, another 50 consecutive days of limited capacity at the station due to reduced track capacity, and additional disruptions to weekend service for almost a year was expected, officials said.
The PATH Forward program is expected to modernize the 116-year-old rail line between New Jersey and Manhattan and create a more reliable form of mass transit.
Over two years the $430 million program is expected to address track stabilization, railcar rehabilitation, improve facilities at Hoboken, Exchange Place, Newport and Grove Street stations, officials said in February when they revealed the program.
Work will also be completed on the Hackensack Bridge that will address the control system for lifting the movable bridge and improve reliability at point of major failure that impacts the entire rail system, officials said.
“No one likes service disruptions, which is why we’re committed to transparency and direct communication with riders throughout this initiative,” Clarelle DeGraffe, PATH’s general manager said in a statement earlier this year. “At the end, it will mean a much improved, reliable, and resilient PATH system.”
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Matthew Enuco may be reached at [email protected]. Follow Matt on X