NJ residents angry over losing rail link to NYC

HOBOKEN -- Brian McCarthy moved here from Manhattan last year and came to love his huge apartment and short train ride into New York. His boyfriend planned to move in this month. But now, the couple can't get out of Hoboken fast enough.

Superstorm Sandy crippled the Port Authority Trans-Hudson line, a 24-hour subway that last year ferried 76.6 million passengers between Manhattan and New Jersey.

The entire system was out for two weeks after the superstorm. A link to the World Trade Center was out for four weeks, and the Hoboken line just restored service last week.

All trains are running from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. while repairs are being done, a project whose costs are expected to ultimately exceed $700 million.

Some users of the PATH, as the train is known, are fed up.

Used to a 24-hour schedule, they say the lack of service is making it difficult to get into New York for work and social functions.

Many are equally troubled that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the system, has been, in their view, less than transparent in letting riders know when service will be repaired or when system changes are made.

Others are upset that shuttle buses don't run during the week.

Some have concluded it's just not worth relying on PATH service, in the short or long term, and are leaving New Jersey, or seriously considering it.

"It's totally and completely because of the PATH," McCarthy, who works in Manhattan, said of his move. "I'm really heartbroken. I liked the place."

PATH officials have defended their efforts, citing the unprecedented scope of the damage to the system, but have also acknowledged they need to continue improving their communications.

Clay Cane, a freelance journalist who lives in Jersey City, one of four cities serviced by the PATH, started a Facebook page and Twitter account called "Restore PATH Now," and a petition calling on the Port Authority to restore the system after 10 p.m. It has 854 supporters.

Cane hosts a radio show Thursdays at 11 p.m. in New York City and has events to attend there at night.

He has been crashing with friends or doing whatever he can to get home. He is considering leaving Jersey City, which he loves and where he has lived for 10 years, for New York City.

"It's like playing a game of 'The Amazing Race,' " Cane said. "You're trying to run for a bus, run for a cab, stay at a friend's house."

PATH has said limited 24-hour service could be restored by New Year's Eve. Officials announced Monday that the system will run overnight Dec. 31-Jan. 1. After that the 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. schedule will continue. Cane and others are skeptical about more limited overnight service coming soon.