Exchange Place (PATH station)

Infobox Station
name=Exchange Place

The station provides service to Hoboken and Pennsylvania Station, in Newark, New Jersey. The station also provides direct access to Lower Manhattan, with connections to the New York City Subway at the World Trade Center PATH station. PATH service to 33rd Street in Midtown Manhattan is also available, via transfer at Pavonia/Newport.

The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail has a stop outside the Exchange Place PATH station, providing service to Hoboken, Liberty State Park, and Bayonne, New Jersey.

History

Original station

The original Exchange Place station opened on July 19, 1909, but was replaced in the late 1960s / early 1970s after the Port Authority took over operations of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad.

In the early years of the H&M Railroad, there were a number of incidents, including a derailment on April 26, 1942 that resulted in five deaths and over 200 injuries. In that incident, the train operator Louis Vierbucken was charged with manslaughter, as he was under the influence of liquor. Court records recount that he "began to go faster and faster, disregarding warning signals and curves" and then the train derailed at the station. [cite news |title=Motorman on Trial in Fatal Tube Crash |date=December 15, 1942 |publisher=The New York Times]

Present day

The present-day station entrance pavilion at Exchange Place was constructed at a cost of $66 million cite news|title=NEWS ADVISORY |publisher=PR Newswire |date=1989, September 8 |author=Port Authority of New York and New Jersey] , and was dedicated on September 13, 1989. At this time, the surrounding Paulus Hook area was beginning to undergo revitalization with new office building construction. The station entrance is located approximately convert|100|ft|m west of the former, original station entrance. The station features three convert|150|ft|m|sing=on-long escalators that provide access to the platform level, located convert|75|ft|m beneath street level. In 1991, an elevator was installed to make the station accessible for the disabled, in accordance to the Americans with Disabilities Act. [cite news|title=Access for the disabled; Port Authority of New York and New Jersey policy for disabled passengers |publisher=Mass Transit |author=Ross, Bruce |date=1991, May |page=Vol. 18 ; No. 4-5 ; Pg. 40] The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail began service in April 2000, initially providing connections to Bayonne.

The Exchange Place station was closed as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks, due to water damage. Before the attacks, the station served 16,000 passengers daily cite news |title=Closed since 9/11, a PATH station is set to reopen today |publisher=The New York Times |author=Weiser, Benjamin |date=2003, June 29 |page=N30] . The World Trade Center station was also crucial, with a loop that enabled trains to turn around and reverse direction. New trackwork was installed at a cost of $160 million cite news |title=Closed since 9/11, a PATH station is set to reopen today |publisher=The New York Times |author=Weiser, Benjamin |date=2003, June 29 |page=N30] , which included interlocking to allow the trains to switch tracks. On June 29, 2003, the Exchange Place PATH station reopened, restoring services to Newark, Hoboken, and 33rd Street. On November 23, 2003, service was restored to the World Trade Center site, with the reopening of the World Trade Center (PATH) station. [cite web|url=http://www.panynj.gov/pathrestoration/epi/epi.php?page=../epi/epi_faq.php |title=PATH Service Restoration FAQ]

In February 2006, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) established a pilot project to test airport-style security screening at the Exchange Place station. [cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/07/AR2006020701816.html |title=Rail Passengers Screened In Test of Tighter Security |author=Garcia, Michelle |date=2006, February 8 |publisher=The Washington Post]

Nearby attractions

* Colgate Clock
* Goldman Sachs Tower
* Harborside Financial Center
* Liberty State Park
* Paulus Hook

References

External links