The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center flooded the two PATH train tunnels between the WTC and New Jersey, destroying signals, tracks and other equipment. About 67,000 riders used that route every day.

New fare gates accepting MetroCards at the rebuilt PATH WTC station will be in use Nov. 23, according to a Transit Authority document. That will allow PATH riders to transfer to subways using the same fare card. Other stations along the PATH line will begin accepting MetroCards next year. Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman would not confirm or deny the Nov. 23 opening date. But he noted the resumption of service to the WTC site will benefit tens of thousands from New Jersey who work in lower Manhattan.

Riders will step onto a platform, walk up to the mezzanine level and then take an escalator up toward a Church St. exit. There will be no permanent building at street level - only a bare-bones facility with no heat, air conditioning or retail stores other than a newsstand, Coleman said. "It's a way of getting service resumed as quickly as possible," he said.