The World Trade Center (WTC) basement held a train station that served as the primary commuter rail link between New Jersey and lower Manhattan. This station also linked the New Jersey PATH train system with the New York MTA Subway system.
The World Trade Center PATH station originally opened on July 19, 1909 as the Hudson Terminal. When the Hudson Terminal was torn down to make way for the World Trade Center, a new station was built, which opened in 1971. This station served as the terminus for the Newark-World Trade Center and Hoboken-World Trade Center routes until it was destroyed during the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The September 11th terrorist attacks completely destroyed the PATH Terminal in the basement level
of the World Trade Center, and water from the site flooded the PATH downtown tubes under the
Hudson River. As part of the initial recovery effort, a concrete plug was inserted at the New Jersey side
of the tubes to prevent flooding of the Exchange Place station. Work began in early 2002 to restore PATH
service to Exchange Place and the World Trade Center site.
A temporary station was built, which opened on November 23, 2003. Following its reopening and the resumption of Newark-World Trade Center and Hoboken-World Trade Center service, the station quickly reclaimed its status as the busiest station in the PATH system.
The station is currently undergoing a major reconstruction project and will become the World Trade Center Transportation Hub after its completion in the second quarter of 2014.