1971, to allow a three-day maintenance period to divert service to the World Trade Center PATH station. The new PATH station opened on July 6, 1971, west of the original terminal. Larger balloon loops in the PATH station platform allowed 10-car trains; the previous station with its tight loops could only handle trains of up to 6 cars. When the station opened, it had nine high-speed escalators between the platform level and the mezzanine level. The WTC PATH station was served by Newark–World Trade Center and Hoboken–World Trade Center trains. The station was connected to the World Trade Center towers via an underground concourse and a shopping center. There were also underground connections to the New York City Subway ( at World Trade Center, and at Cortlandt Street–Church Street). By 2001, the volume of passengers using the WTC PATH station was approximately 25,000 daily. While the construction of the World Trade Center neared completion, a temporary corridor was provided to take passengers between the station and a temporary entrance on Church Street. The station sustained minor damage during the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; a section of ceiling in the station collapsed and trapped dozens. Within a week, the Port Authority was able to resume PATH service to the World Trade Center. The station was closed on September 11, 2001, after American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m.. In the minutes afterward, three PATH trains pulled into the station. One had arrived from Newark and two others from Hoboken. The first Hoboken train turned around without stopping, not letting off passengers or opening any doors. The second Hoboken train arrived on track 3 at 8:52 a.m. and was ordered to be evacuated, employees included; the train never left the World Trade Center complex and was found during the 9/11 recovery process. Two lightly damaged cars from that train were subsequently sent to museums. A train from Newark came into the terminal at 8:55 a.m. and stopped only to pick up passengers. After United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower at 9:03 a.m., dispatchers ordered the closure of the Exchange Place and World Trade Center stations; the former was closed due to severe water damage. A fourth train was sent to the station at 9:10 a.m. to pick up a dozen PATH employees and a homeless individual, leaving the station empty.