Port Authority Taking New Look At PATH To Newark Liberty Airport

A train (or subway) to the plane has been a catchy idea for decades in the New York City metro region. Only with the construction of the JFK AirTrain and a connector between the Northeast Corridor and the AirTrain at Newark Liberty airports is there any semblance of a mass transit option at those airports.

It isn't the easiest connection to make, and it would require someone in Manhattan to make multiple transfers to get to Newark Airport in particular.

That's why a direct PATH to Newark Liberty holds such allure.


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The Port Authority is proposing to extend PATH from Newark Penn Station to the AirTrain stop on the Northeast Corridor.

The bistate agency is launching a study to assess the possibility of extending the World Trade Center-Newark PATH rail line from Newark Penn Station to the existing Northeast Corridor Rail Link, allowing access to Newark Liberty's AirTrain for terminal access.

"Extending PATH to Newark Liberty International Airport has been discussed for a generation," said Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni. "We are now moving this process forward quickly to bring together our PATH system, Newark Liberty International Airport, and Lower Manhattan. It is a regional win for all."
The project would generate more than $600 million in design and construction work while adding permanent jobs for the link's operation, according to a press release.

This would be an internally conducted feasibility study and it will likely find a need and reason to go ahead with the environmental studies and approvals necessary for construction.

The result of that project would not only add capacity to the airport, but it would mean a one-seat ride from Lower Manhattan to the airport's doorstep. It would significantly cut travel times and improve the competitiveness of Lower Manhattan office space to international businesses. Giving a quick and easy connection to the airport would benefit those businesses and improve rental opportunities at the World Trade Center and other downtown rental opportunities.

This jibes with yesterday's study results that indicate that the Port Authority generates most of its revenues from passengers at its area airports. It would also support the reason behind a proposal for the Port Authority to take over the Atlantic City airport operations. Generating revenues would help support other core missions for the agency although the Atlantic City airport isn't exactly tied to the agency's core mission within the New York City metro area. It would likely be used to generate revenues for other projects within the Port Authority's jurisdiction.

Mass Casualties Reported In Syrian Airstrike on Gas Station

Reports are filtering in, but it appears that the Syrian air force carried out an airstrike against a gas station in Northern Syria, and at least 30 and perhaps 100 or more people were killed. That follows reports from the Syrian media a Syrian helicopter apparently clipping an airliner flying into Damascus with 200 people on board. The plane landed safely, but the helicopter crashed.

One activist near the scene of the attack said bombs struck a gas station in the town of Ayn Issa, near a border post that Syrian opposition fighters had captured two days ago. The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights, a group based in Britain with a network of contacts in Syria, said that 110 people were either killed or wounded.

If verified, the bombing would be one of the worst casualty tolls from the Syrian military’s use of aircraft in its effort to crush the armed insurgency.

Also on Thursday, Syrian officials said that a helicopter had crashed near the capital, Damascus, close to a suburb where insurgents and government forces have battled for dominance.

The official Syrian news agency said the helicopter’s rotors had clipped the tail of a Syrian Arab airlines passenger jet with 200 people aboard. It said the jet had landed safely at the Damascus airport and no one had been injured. But an activist in Damascus said that a rebel battalion shot down the helicopter, which crashed near a salt factory near the town of Douma.

The circumstances surrounding both incidents are still from certain, and Assad's official propagandists are offering a different version of events from those of the rebel forces. The rebels claim that they shot down the helicopter, while Assad's propagandists claim it clipped a passenger plane. I find the latter to be unlikely, and if there were proof that there was a collision that it would be proffered.

The Syrian civil continues dragging on, and more than 18 months after it began, more than 22,000 have been killed across the country. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and refugees have spilled over into Turkey, Lebanon, and Iraq.

Bashar al-Assad's responsible for the slaughter and the mayhem that has swept the country, but he continues to fight to maintain his grip on power. However, significant portions of the country have fallen into rebel hands and the fighting has centered on those areas where rebels have maintained control. Fighting continues in Aleppo and Damascus, as well as along border posts with Turkey that have been alternatively captured by rebel forces and Assad's loyalists.

Governor's Demanded Audit of Port Authority Finds Need For Toll Hikes

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently underwent an outside audit as required by Governors Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo. They did so because of the fallout over a major toll and fare increase that went into effect earlier this year and follow-on hikes set for the next three Decembers as well as complaints that the agency was diverting funds for transportation projects to finish the World Trade Center project.

The audit report, prepared by the consulting firms Navigant Consulting Inc. and Rothschild Inc., finds that the Port Authority must raise tolls in order to maintain its credit rating and carry out infrastructure maintenance and upgrades over the next decade.

The report, prepared by the consulting firms Navigant Consulting Inc. and Rothschild Inc., lays out $26.9 billion in projects the Port Authority is poised to undertake through 2020 — everything from replacing the suspender ropes on the George Washington Bridge to raising the Bayonne Bridge and completing the World Trade Center. But it also identified about $44 billion in needs, including fixing aging terminals at Newark Liberty International and La Guardia airports.

To generate enough revenue to finance those projects, the report recommended that the agency attract private corporations to invest in joint projects and pursue aggressive cost-control measures, some of which Port Authority officials said they recently put in place. Port Authority officials said they would also pursue advertising revenue at its facilities to bring in more non-toll and fare money and would also continue to collect money owed by other government agencies and toll cheats.

The report mounted a strong defense of last year’s toll hikes at the agency’s bridges and tunnels, to $9.50 from $8 during peak travel times. They are scheduled to rise an additional 75 cents each December through 2015. Without those increases, the Port Authority would have had to cut $6 billion from its capital plan over the next decade, imperiling critical projects and its credit rating, the report said. Even with the toll hikes, the report said, the agency is losing money on its bridges, tunnels, trains and bus terminals. The report also encouraged the Port Authority to “educate the public” about tolls on some of the New York City-owned bridges linking Manhattan and its boroughs.

The Port Authority is responsible for infrastructure that is in many places approaching 80 years of age or more.

Bridges such as the Goethals and Outerbridge crossing need replacement due to their being functionally obsolete. The Bayonne Bridge must be raised to permit Super Panamax shipping to port facilities.

The George Washington Bridge needs upkeep, including replacing the suspenders that carry the bridge deck weight.

Airport terminals at JFK, LGA, and EWR are 52 years old and contribute to delays and bad customer experiences. The average age for PATH facilities is 72 years, and Port commerce facilities are 57 years old. The increasing age of the facilities means more must be spent to maintain a state of good repair, and that facilities need to be replaced or modernized to maintain competitive advantages over other facilities nationally and around the world.

The full report indicates $3.2 billion in capital construction for airport rehabilitation and improvement projects, focused on Newark Liberty's Terminal A, JFK's Terminal 4 and 5, and LaGuardia's entire terminal infrastructure.

Further, PATH would see another $2 billion in infrastructure projects, including extending rail platforms to accommodate 10-car trains, signal work, and tunnel modernization.

More than $4 billion would be spent on bridge-related projects, though the figure for raising the Bayonne Bridge appears to be 20% higher than the $1 billion costs previously acknowledged for that project. Also, the Goethals Bridge replacement span costs don't appear to show the full cost for that project - which are expected to be financed in a public-private partnership.

The report also indicates a negative free cash flow largely as a result of WTC construction, PATH, Ferry and Port facilities. This situation needs to be addressed all while maintaining the current level of service. At the same time, the bulk of the negative cash flow is the result of WTC construction, which means that the sooner the construction is completed, the sooner that the Port Authority will obtain revenues from WTC related facilities - the office tower rents, retail spaces, and taking construction costs off the books. The ongoing delays in construction have only made the Port Authority's financial situation worse, but it isn't sole reason. The Port's operations incur losses of $28 per container because the revenue stream from tenant rentals is insufficient to cover recurring capital costs, such as dredging and system upgrades. PATH loses about $3 per passenger, which is comparable to other mass transit systems although PATH doesn't get federal subsidies as seen in other mass transit systems.

Aviation facilities are the key generator of Port Authority revenues, with more than $20 in revenue per passenger, while bridges and tunnels generate $7.50 per vehicle.