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Commuters who rely on the PATH this weekend will need to add “shuttle bus shuffle” to their travel plans. Starting at 11:59pm on Friday, September 12, and lasting until 5am on Monday, September 15, service will be suspended in both directions between Harrison and Journal Square stations.
The pause is no small hiccup—it’s the first of six planned weekend outages this fall. The Port Authority says crews will be busy installing and testing four new switches designed to improve train speed and flexibility, while also demolishing and rebuilding a Conrail freight bridge that looms over the PATH tracks. It might be painful in the short term, but it means smoother rides (and fewer bottlenecks) in the long run.
Riders won’t be left stranded, though. Free shuttle buses will replace train service between Harrison and Journal Square, as well as between Newark Penn Station and Journal Square. They’ll run every seven to 12 minutes during the day, stretching to every 15 to 20 minutes overnight between 3am and 8am. Accessibility won’t be an afterthought either—the buses are wheelchair-friendly.
For those boarding at Harrison, take note: Pickups will normally happen on Guyon Drive near Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard. But on Sunday, September 14, the stop will shift to Essex Street between 9:30 am and 5:30 pm to accommodate a men’s lacrosse event at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Nothing like transit detours colliding with game-day traffic.
The outages follow closely on the heels of the Hoboken station’s rocky reopening. That stop had been closed through Labor Day after shiny new equipment repeatedly failed—and even caused a derailment. So, if PATH feels like it’s constantly “under construction,” you’re not imagining things.
This weekend’s suspension is just the beginning. PATH has already circled September 20–21, October 4–5, October 11–12, October 25–26 and November 1–2 for additional closures, most starting Friday night and stretching through Monday morning, though the October 11 and November 1 suspensions will kick in at 2:30 am on Saturday instead. Weekday service will remain unaffected, but for weekend warriors, expect bus rides, longer trips and maybe a fresh podcast download or two to pass the time.
Because in New York and New Jersey, even the trains need their weekends off.