Harrison municipal officials welcomed a new $256 million PATH train station on June 15, after ridership increased by more than 30 percent in the last six years. The station replaces a 76-year-old facility.

Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole, Harrison Mayor James Fife, and PATH Director Clarelle DeGraffe gave reporters a tour of the new station.

“They deserve to have a facility like this, as opposed to the old facility, which must go back to the time of President Taft,” O’Toole said. “While it cost a few shillings and we have two other rebuilds that we are still working on, I want to thank the men and women of the Port Authority, the engineering department, the PATH Department, and the general contractor for coming in 31 days early.”

The new station features glass-and-steel construction including modern elevators, widened stairs and escalator access to both platforms; glass-enclosed and weather-protected station entrances; extended platforms to accommodate 10-car trains; environmentally sustainable enhancements; improved security and communications and open community space, according to the Port Authority.

O’Toole said the new station features a platform that is two feet wider than the previous platform. He noted the “great growth” taking place in Jersey City and Harrison.

“That is why PATH was formed – to accommodate the growth of these cities,” O’Toole said.

About 2 million PATH train riders passed through Harrison in 2013 and the station served about 2.6 million riders in 2018, O’Toole said. The construction of the station began in 2013.

Harrison Mayor Fife said the town will be adding 1,600 housing units around the train station within the next five years. He expects another 600 housing units to be built elsewhere in Harrison.

In addition, the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer play in Harrison at an arena next to the train station.

“With two of the four proposed Harrison station entrances completed, we are optimistic that the Port Authority’s investment into the Harrison PATH station will be a significant factor as we continue to focus on elevating the fan experience at Red Bull Arena,” Marc de Grandpre, general manager of the New York Red Bulls said via email. “For fans coming from New York City, Hoboken, Jersey City and other cities in eastern Hudson County, we look forward to the new station providing added convenience when attending events at our venue.”

The World Trade Center station is the other new facility that has been opened.

PATH Director DeGraffe said the Port Authority board has authorized new train cars with an eye toward building capacity.

She said new train sets should arrive by 2021.

“When I look at our capital portfolio, this is the only station that is in our capital plan,” DeGraffe said. “Anything in addition to that, we would have to do a planning study to see if there is a need in terms of can it handle the capacity it is seeing today.”

O’Toole credited the foresight of Port Authority officials who in 2010 and 2011 evaluated Harrison and saw the need to expand the station.

This story was updated at 11:40 a.m. on July 25, 2019 to clarify a quote from Marc de Grandpre.