A PATH train was so crowded Wednesday morning that when a man passed out, he didn't fall down because he was wedged in with other passengers.

Gary Toriello of Jersey City said that he felt someone pushing against him on the 8:45 a.m. train as it traveled between Exchange Place in Jersey City and World Trade Center.

"I looked behind me, and the man's head is drooping to the side and his eyes are closed. He fainted," Toriello said. "The train is so crowded, he couldn't even drop to the ground. He was being propped up by other commuters, including myself."

The incident is the symptom of a bigger problem, chronic overcrowding on PATH, he said.

Passengers on the packed train managed to create a space and the unconscious man "fell into my arms," he said.

Toriello said he lowered the man to the ground and asked another passenger to use the emergency communication intercom to alert the conductor. She did but the conductor "couldn't make it through the crowded train," he said.

After a couple of minutes the man regained consciousness and sat up. Other passengers give him water and a banana, thinking he might be diabetic, and he appeared to recover, Toriello said.

A Tweet from PATH customer service said a passenger pulled the emergency alarm, but the conductor found no medical emergency after responding.

This incident was actually the result of a passenger pulling the emergency alarm, Gary. The conductor responded and was advised there was no medical emergency. If you would like to discuss further, please contact Customer Service: 800-234-7284 / PATHCommunity@panynj.gov. — PATH Train (@PATHTrain) September 26, 2018

"Our understanding is that the emergency alert mechanism went off on that train, the conductor did respond, but when he got there, he was told there was no medical emergency and he did not witness one himself," said Scott Ladd, a PATH spokesman. "That's the information we have."

Toriello said the conductor didn't get to the scene until after the train stopped and the doors were opened. The man recovered and walked out of the car by the time the conductor arrived, he said.

"Maybe someone else pulled the emergency alarm. The woman I saw just pressed the red call button and told the conductor someone fainted," he said. "The train did not screech to a halt. It kept going and pulled into the station normally."

But the larger problem is the daily overcrowding on PATH that has the system and riders is at the breaking point, he said.

"I have been riding PATH for 13 years. It has always been crowded from the start," he said.

Overcrowding has been a constant complaint of PATH riders and the system is being overwhelmed with record numbers of riders. More riders are being added from new developments in Hudson County, that advertise proximity to PATH and New York as a selling point.

The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad built the transit system that became PATH for a capacity of 250,000 in 1908. Ridership hit a peak of 310,000 people on Monday June 11, PATH officials said.

PATH trains have become highly unreliable these days. There is extreme over crowding and delays are the norm. Even a 3 min delay at NWK can cause overcrowding because of NJ Transit passengers transferring to PATH. It’s is sad they can’t even run a small transit system. — Bennison (@Bennison) May 16, 2018

PATH officials hope that installing Computer Based Train Control signal systems will allow trains to be run closer together, meaning a few more trains can be run on each line. PATH also is buying 22 new rail cars for $66 million to add a car to eight-car-trains to move more people. But some stations don't have platforms long enough to handle longer trains.

On Wednesday, Toriello said he had to wait for three full trains to go through Grove Stret Station before he could "squeeze on" to the fourth.

"How many times have I gotten a seat during morning rush hour in the past decade? Not once," he said.

"It is this crowded every day, and has been for years," he said.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.