Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

By Patrick Villanova | The Jersey Journal

Don’t look now, PATH riders: more weekend station closures are on the way.

The Port Authority announced today a series of 17-weekend tunnel and station closures, beginning with the weekends of May 19 and July 7, and continuing through the end of October. The service interruptions are needed for the completion of federally-mandated upgrades to the PATH system, the bi-state agency said.

Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming changes:

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Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

When and where?

The Exchange Place and World Trade Center stations will be closed during the weekends of May 19 and July 7, while all New York stations on the Hoboken-33rd Street line will be closed on the weekends from July 14 to Oct. 28.

The Hoboken station will remain open during this period and provide riders access to the World Trade Center and Journal Square on Saturdays. However, there won't be any direct service to World Trade Center on Sundays, a Port Authority official said. Riders who wish to get to World Trade Center from Hoboken on Sundays will need to take the train to Journal Square and transfer at Grove Street.

Meanwhile, the Hoboken station will be completely closed on three Sundays: Sept. 16, Sept. 23, and Oct. 14. Those closures will commence at 11:59 p.m. the night before.

The closures will run each weekend from 11:59 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. the following Monday. They will not be in effect on Labor Day.

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MTA cards

To ease rider impact, PATH is working with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to provide free two-trip MetroCards for travelers affected by the closures. Customers will be able to pick up the two-trip cards at designated points from PATH ambassadors.

The special MetroCards, which can be used only during the weekend they were issued, will replace the shuttle buses PATH operated during a similar set of closures in 2016.

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Why?

Port Authority said the closures will allow PATH to continue to install Positive Train Control (PTC) equipment and software, and perform rigorous tests of the system. PTC technology, which controls train speed and movement in the event of an emergency, is a critical cog of PATH's comprehensive Automatic Train Control (ATC) program.

ATC is designed not only to improve safety but bolster communication and allow trains to run more frequently and closer together, officials said.

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Jersey Journal file photo

PATH conducted a similar weekend closure program in 2016 during the first phase of PTC implementation, primarily for initial equipment and signal installation. The railroad is on track to meet the federal PTC implementation deadline of Dec. 31, the bi-state agency said.

"What this will mean in the long term is a far safer, more convenient and highly efficient system for all of our customers,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton.

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Patrick Villanova may be reached at pvillanova@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @pvilla_nova. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.