A PATH train arrives at Harrison PATH Station in a file photo. (Reena Rose Sibayan / NJ.com)
The platform at Journal Square is quiet at 5:30 a.m. on a Tuesday. The fluorescent lights hum against the dark. There’s no rush-hour crowd—just a handful of riders, shoulders hunched, eyes fixed on the departures board, running the same mental math they run every morning; Is the 5:39 train going straight through to 33rd Street in Manhattan, or is it going to Hoboken?
For Gianna Thomas, a New York City restaurant worker who makes this trip twice a day, five days a week, the answer to that question determines everything that comes after it. The PATH train is not the last step in her commute—it is the hinge. Miss the right train, lose the bus connection. Lose the bus connection, and the whole route unravels…