PATH Service Restored Between Newark And Journal Square

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- PATH service is now fully restored to customers between Newark Penn Station and Journal Square, three days after a blizzard dumped two feet of snow on parts of New Jersey.

Port Authority officials said service between Newark and Journal Square was restored at 2 p.m. on Tuesday after test trains earlier in the day certified the track's readiness.

The Port Authority was forced to shut down the above ground portion of the transit system on Saturday during the blizzard.

According to the Port Authority, the blizzard blanketed the rail line with snowdrifts that ranged from 4 to 16 feet high.

It took round-the-clock efforts by roughly 650 PATH employees to clear tracks, third-rail equipment, signals and switches to get train service back up and running, officials said.

"Our PATH crews and contractors are to be commended for their commitment to getting this done in the face of freezing temperatures, significant manual labor and staggering snowdrifts,'' said PATH Director and General Manager Mike Marino. "We thank them and also NJ TRANSIT for cross-honoring PATH tickets on their trains and buses, and for providing extra bus shuttle service between Newark, Harrison, and Journal Square this morning to help ease the inconvenience for our riders."

NJ TRANSIT will cross-honor tickets for PATH until 3 p.m. Tuesday.