Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the past and present operations of the NYC Subway, PATH, and Staten Island Railway (SIRT).

Moderator: GirlOnTheTrain

 #1376265  by TDowling
 
Amazing how the port authority couldn't find an american architect to do this
 #1376303  by Allan
 
Because an American artist would not have charged as much (thus not allowing the suits at the PA to overspend).
 #1386907  by Hawaiitiki
 
The remaining portion of the Occulus floor opened late last week; the most notable improvement being a full underground climate controlled connection to the Fulton Center (2,3,4,5,A,C,J,Z,N,R trains) complex on the East side of Broadway. Also, still no retail open in the WTC portion of the complex but many stores seem to be within a month or two of opening their doors. Some pictures:

View of new access point:
http://i.imgur.com/W6fVIBT.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

View from Dey Street Passageway:
http://i.imgur.com/7zBIxm8.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

View from inside Occulus facing PATH Hall:
http://i.imgur.com/iulyUsG.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1386914  by Gilbert B Norman
 
From your photos, Mr. Tiki; uh, somehow, I don't think some of the shops visible are "about to" open up in the Times Square station.
 #1386925  by Hawaiitiki
 
You're correct. None in the Occulus seem close to opening, but there are several retail spaces in the corridors that take you to Zuccotti Park that have nearly finished interiors.
 #1386937  by Gilbert B Norman
 
More to the point, Mr. Tiki, could it be imaginable that a retailer selling Patek Phillippe "timepieces" open up shop in the Times Square station?

Related, I understand that there is to be "commercialization" of a passageway that traverses the Memorial that was intended to be ad free so that walkers could reflect how they are in proximity of sacred ground.
 #1387031  by Hawaiitiki
 
Mr. Norman, I understand your point. I just think a very reasonably large portion (real estate and dollar-wise) of the former WTC site has been already dedicated and reserved to the memory of those lost on 9/11.

The whole point of the new WTC station and its exuberance, all of which I don't agree with, was supposed to represent a return to normalcy and prosperity, which some might say unfortunately, does go hand in hand with commercialism in this country. I think that as long as the stores and adverts don't affect the aesthetics of the occulus, its not all bad. Plus I think even the PA knew they couldn't get away with building a $4billion mausoleum with no ROI.
 #1387480  by Head-end View
 
I visited the new terminal this week. What a white elephant! It's ugly and a horrendous waste of money. The PA raised bridge and tunnel tolls to their current astronomical levels to pay for this monstrosity? Give us a break! They should have built something more like the NYCTA/MTA's adjacent Fulton Transit Center which is both functional and reasonably aesthetically pleasing and looks and feels like a New York train station.

Not only that but with all the surfaces of the Occulus being white including the floors, I can imagine how horrid it's going to look in ten years. Best of luck.......
 #1387829  by Hawaiitiki
 
Does anyone know if the Path station will be equipped with WIFI or 4G? Right now, there's spotty cell service in some spots on the platform but most places, no bars. There is also no public WIFI. Any new station in this day and age, I can't fathom how this isn't standard.

For a system with only 10 truly underground stations, PATH's lack of WIFI or 4G cell phone service in any of those stations seems like some truly low hanging fruit (and an embarrassment it hasn't happned yet) to make everyone's increasing crowded trip a little more manageable and useful.
 #1387918  by Head-end View
 
I somehow get the feeling that PATH is not especially in tune with the public nowadays. Like they're in their own little world.
 #1387926  by Ken W2KB
 
Hawaiitiki wrote:Does anyone know if the Path station will be equipped with WIFI or 4G? Right now, there's spotty cell service in some spots on the platform but most places, no bars. There is also no public WIFI. Any new station in this day and age, I can't fathom how this isn't standard.

For a system with only 10 truly underground stations, PATH's lack of WIFI or 4G cell phone service in any of those stations seems like some truly low hanging fruit (and an embarrassment it hasn't happned yet) to make everyone's increasing crowded trip a little more manageable and useful.
NJ Transit has wifi at many of its stations. Except for those who are Optimum cable customers, the price to use it is $4.99 per day.
 #1388001  by Hawaiitiki
 
Yep. I'm aware of that. Unfortunately the Port Authority is a completely separate organization. The NYC subway has also been rolling out wifi to every underground station. The Blue Line in Chicago just finished a project to have 4G working even between stations in the tunnels. The fact that even at NEW stations this isn't standard for the Port Authority shows a true disconnect from today's realities.
Last edited by Jeff Smith on Sun Jul 31, 2016 3:13 pm, edited 1 time in total. Reason: Remove immediately preceding/nesting quotes
 #1388032  by Ken W2KB
 
Times have changed. When in college, I had a summer engineering intern job with the PA in 1970 and 1971, and recall that the PA around that time installed an AM broadcast station translater transmitter and antenna the length of the Holland Tunnel tubes so drivers could continue to listen to their favorite AM stations in the tunnel. I think the PA police could also pre-empt it to send instructions to drivers in an emergency. Most(?) smart phones can get emergency alerts with tone and text; that alone is reason to install cell/wifi on PATH.
Last edited by Jeff Smith on Sun Jul 31, 2016 3:14 pm, edited 1 time in total. Reason: Remove immediately preceding/nesting quotes
 #1394944  by trainbrain
 
So the new PATH station will have 6 tracks when fully complete, but only 3 are used now, and it appears that the system is running fine with those 3 tracks. Hoboken trains use track 1 and Newark trains use 2 and 3. When complete, what trains will use tracks 4, 5, and 6? Are they just to increase terminal capacity to run more trains to the existing destinations?