PANYNJ Approves $45 Billion Capital Plan with Rail Investments Through 2035

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has approved a 45 billion USD capital plan for the period 2026–2035, setting out a decade of investment across rail, transit and supporting infrastructure.

For the rail sector, the plan confirms significant funding for expanded PATH services, asset renewals, and contributions to nationally significant rail programmes.

The plan builds on the 2017–2025 capital programme, under which the Port Authority invested approximately 3 billion USD in modernising the 117-year-old PATH system, including new signalling, rolling stock, station upgrades and flood resilience works. The newly approved plan continues this focus, with service expansion and state-of-good-repair projects forming a central component.

PATH Rail System

The capital plan enables one of the largest service expansions in the history of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson. From 2026, all four PATH lines will operate seven days a week for the first time in 25 years. The programme includes increased frequency during peak periods, additional late-night and weekend services, and the reinstatement of direct weekend routes between key corridors, including Journal Square–33 Street and Hoboken–World Trade Center.

Infrastructure funding is allocated for new uptown tracks and supporting systems to improve reliability and operational flexibility. The plan also includes the installation of new fare gates and supporting technology to address fare evasion, alongside expanded use of CCTV and data analysis tools to support enforcement and system management.

Asset Renewal and Resilience

The rail programme continues investment in core assets, including track, power, stations and switches, to address long-term reliability and resilience. Works initiated under the PATH Forward programme (covering stations, tunnels and interlockings) will be completed, while additional renewals are planned to manage ageing infrastructure and prepare the system for higher service levels.

Climate resilience remains a stated priority, with funding to protect tunnels and stations against flooding and extreme weather events. These measures build on post-Superstorm Sandy works delivered in the previous capital period.

Gateway Programme Contribution

The capital plan confirms the Port Authority’s 2.7 billion USD contribution to the Gateway Program, a major interstate rail initiative to expand capacity and improve reliability on the Northeast Corridor. The funding supports critical elements of the programme, including new Hudson River tunnels and related infrastructure, which are intended to address capacity constraints on one of the busiest passenger rail corridors in the United States.

Funding and Fares

PATH operations continue to be subsidised by the Port Authority, as fares cover only a portion of operating costs and the system does not receive dedicated state or federal operating funding. To support service increases and capital investment, the plan includes a 0.25 USD fare increase from summer 2026, followed by further incremental increases through 2029.

These measures are designed to balance affordability with the need to fund expanded services and long-term infrastructure renewal.