New PATH Train Cars Are Now Rolling Into Stations

The 300 plus rolling stock of The Port Authority Trans Hudson Railway is being replaced. These new modern cars are being built by Kawasaki the famous company that developed the Shinkansen "Bullet" trains of Japan. The entire fleet is scheduled to be replaced by with Kawasaki PA-5 series subway cars by 2011. Kawasaki also built the PATH system's PA-4 series which debuted in the late 1980s.


New PATH Train Cars

The PATH system's average train cars age is currently over 40's years, meaning the PATH system currently runs on some of the oldest train cars in America. The new trains feature three doors on both sides of the car. The new cars are powered on AC and will eventually allow the already overloaded PATH system to increase its service by around 20%. This increase in service will also be made possible by a new signal system and longer platforms. This entire overhaul of the ancient PATH system will cost the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey upwards of 3 billion dollars. Around 500 million of this 3 billion is dedicated to procuring the new fleet of Kawasaki cars.


New Onboard TV Displays

The first of the next generation of PA-5 cars debuted on July 10th and are currently running on the Newark to World Trade Center Line. I recently had the pleasure of riding one these new cars. The new cars are fairly well done. It will take some getting used to the bright blue interiors of the new cars. I must admit the new cars fell a bit smaller on the interior of the car, due to the addition of some of the new electronic equipment located at the top of the car's interior.

These new train cars feature onboard TV screens featuring news, weather and sports. This type TV information is appearing almost everywhere in New York from elevators to taxi cabs and now PATH trains. While at times this information can be helpful, it does tend to become overbearing annoying. Everyone has this information available of mobile phones now. However in the end, this investment in the PATH system is worthwhile and overdue. These new cars will help improve capacity, reliability and help bring the venerable PATh system into the 21st Century.


New Path Train Car's Interior