New York's World Trade Center station reopens
( 2003-11-24 11:15) (Xinhua)
The commuter train station at the World Trade Center (WTC) site is opened to
traffic Sunday afternoon after more than two years of closure following the
Sept. 11 terror attacks on the WTC twin towers.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, took
a ceremonial first ride into the station. The train that made the short trip
from Jersey City to the temporary station at the WTC site was the last train to
leave the WTC site before the twin towers collapsed.
"Today, we're proud and we're pleased to bring back to the people of this
region something that was taken from us on Sept. 11, " said Anthony Coscia,
chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the WTC
site.
"What we do here today is critically important," said governor McGreevy. "We
have not yielded to the terrorists. We've invested in our infrastructure,
rebuilding our commerce, but also building a stronger community."
As it did before the Sept. 11 attacks, the station at the WTC site will
connect to nearby subway lines. Since the station is only temporary, no heat,
air conditioning, concessions or advertising are to be seen. The station is
expected to be replaced by a 2-billion-dollar permanent downtown transit hub,
scheduled to open in 2006.
Some 67,000 riders boarded the train at the WTC station every day before two
hijacked jets destroyed the twin towers. The new station is expected to handle
up to 50,000 passengers a day.
Not everyone is pleased with the changes. Groups of victims' families and
friends gathered at the station with yellow placards that read "Governor Pataki,
you let us down." Some protesters criticized the city and state officials for
failing to keep their promise to leave as intact as possible the twin towers
footprints.
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