Port Authority unveils $45 billion capital plan with PATH service improvements

Port Authority officials unveiled an ambitious $45 billion capital plan Thursday that funds expanding Newark Airport, long-sought after PATH rail service increases and construction of a new bus terminal.

But those projects and improvements comes with higher fares and tolls to fund them.

The bi-state agency also introduced a $10.1 billion, 2026 budget that funds the phase in of more frequent PATH service starting in March and includes the groundwork to replace Newark Airport’s Terminal B.

The PATH service improvements to be phased in between March 2026 and 2027 will cost $19 million in the budget. That will require a phased in 25-cent fare increase starting in summer 2026 and annual 25-cent increases each January from 2027 to 2029.

Fares only cover 25% of PATH’s costs, with the Port Authority paying the remainder, since the authority is self-funded and doesn’t receive state or local taxes, said Clarelle DeGraffe, PATH’s general manager.

A fare evasion prevention program will install new “state of the art” fare gates to reduce losses, she said.

The proposed $10.1 billion authority 2026 budget also comes with a 3% toll increase that would take effect on Jan. 4 that is indexed to consumer price index increases, in addition to a 25 cent annual increase approved last year, said Libby McCarthy, the Port Authority’s CFO.

To fund the 2026-2035 capital budget, E-ZPass off-peak discounts for cars and motorcycles would be gradually phased out starting in 2027. That would raise an estimated $75 million in revenue by the time the discounts are eliminated, McCarthy said.

Both the capital plan and budget will be up for a vote at the authority’s Dec. 18, 2025 meeting. Six public hearings, with two virtual options are scheduled between Dec. 2 and Dec. 9 in addition to the ability to comment on the agency’s website.

PATH service improvements received immediate praise from people in a group that lobbyed for more frequent PATH service to meet demands for growing cites of Hoboken, Newark and Jersey City.

“It’s pretty exciting to hear we have expanded service, so thank you for listening to us,” said Beatriz Bofill, a Hudson County Complete Streets trustee.

Increased PATH service will be phased in when the $430 million PATH Forward construction project is scheduled to be completed, said Clarelle DeGraffe, PATH’s general manager.

“We are proposing one of the largest service improvements in PATH history,” she said. “The 2026-2035 capital plan will drive more frequent rush hour, late night, weekend service and, for the first time in 25 years, direct weekend service on all four lines.”

• In March, commuters will see Hoboken-World Trade Center line weekday train frequency improve to every six minutes during morning rush hour, a 33% service increase to 10 trains per hour. 
• Weekend service on the Journal Square-33 St. via Hoboken line will double with trains running every 10 minutes instead of every 20 minutes, between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m.
• In May, direct Hoboken to World Trade Center and to 33 St. resumes on weekends for the first time since 2001, eliminating an extra stop on the Journal Square-33 Street line and reducing crowding.
• Enhanced late-night Friday service starts in May, with trains every 20 minutes instead of every 40 minutes between 11:30 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday on all lines.
• Finally, in March 2027, weekday Newark-World Trade Center line frequency will improve to a train every four minutes during morning and evening rush hours, a 25 percent  service increase to 15 trains per hour.
• Weekend service increases to trains running every 10-15 minutes on the Newark-World Trade Center and Hoboken-World Trade Center lines from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The proposed $45 billion 2026-2035 capital plan completes multiple projects under way and proposes new ones.

Aviation

The highest amount, $20 billion would be spent on the authority’s airports, which includes Newark Liberty International Airport. Proposed projects are:

• Completion of the Newark Airports monorail replacement with a new air train between terminals.
• Completion of the access project between Newark’s south ward and the airport.  
• Replacing the 50-year-old-plus Terminal B
• Renovation of Terminal C and expanding Terminal A

Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals

The second highest amount in the capital budget is $15.4 billion for the authority’s six river crossings and bus terminals

• Replacement of the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan would be completed for $11 billion, funded by increased bus carrier rates and bus tolls, in addition to future development on top of the terminal.
• Continuation of the $2 billion Restore the George project to rehabilitate the George Washington Bridge, which is 60% complete.
• Rehabilitation of the Outerbridge Crossing for $336 million to maintain the bridges structure and strength in the final years ahead before a replacement is constructed.
• Rehabilitation of the curving Helix between the Lincoln Tunnel and Route 495 for $640 million, to keep the bridge structures and roadway structurally sound in the final years before replacement a decade from now.

World Trade Center

• Finishing rebuilding the WTC campus which has a $1.2 billion budget toward construction of Towers 2 and 5.

Authority Vice-chairman Jeffrey H. Lynford summed up the capital plan, echoed a famous architect’s quote, “Make no little plans, make big plans and we certainly have,”