NJ Transit has delayed the start of regular weekday operations at Secaucus until the end of the year, after the PATH system reopens its station in Lower Manhattan. Transit officials fear that until the PATH station reopens, their New York-bound commuter trains would be too crowded.

Eventually, officials and rail advocates expect the Secaucus Transfer to transform rail travel in the state by creating numerous new links. For example, riders for the first time will be able to go from Trenton to Morristown by train -- by making a connection in Secaucus.

"It's the beauty of the first time being able to tie in and unify this fragmented rail network we inherited 20 years ago," said Rob Edwards, NJ Transit's senior program manager.

A couple of years ago, transportation officials said 30,000 people a day would use the Secaucus Transfer, making it New Jersey's busiest rail station.

But after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks changed commuting patterns, officials have backed off those bold predictions. Now, they say, the station will have 7,500 weekday customers and 2,700 on weekends within six months.

Perhaps the biggest beneficiaries will be New York-bound commuters from Passaic and Bergen counties. Officials say the new station will cut as much as 20 minutes from their trips by letting riders switch in Secaucus to transit trains headed to Midtown Manhattan.

In the past, those folks had to go to Hoboken, then catch PATH trains that make multiple stops on the way to Midtown.

Some riders on NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor, Midtown Direct and North Jersey Coast line trains already are worried the new station will make their commutes even more grueling by adding an extra stop to their route and stuffing more passengers onto crowded trains. Transit officials say the extra stop will add about two minutes to the commute.

Even rail watchdog groups that are big advocates of the new station warn that it could cause problems for an intricate rail system already stretched to its limits.

"The bottom line is that only time will tell whether Secaucus will put too much of a strain on the system," said Janine Bauer, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. "Once you keep adding capacity to the system, sooner or later the weakest link is going to break."

"There are always going to be problems when you add to the infrastructure, but in our view, the pros will outweigh the cons," said Doug Bowen, vice president of the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers.

Bowen and Bauer said they think the new transfer station eventually will enable more people to use trains for trips within New Jersey.

For example, Bauer said, Bergen and Passaic county residents who work in Newark no longer will have to make the grueling drive to work. Instead, they will be able to take Bergen, Main or Pascack Valley trains to Secaucus, then transfer to other trains into Newark Penn Station.

"This has benefits that go beyond transportation," Bauer said.

NJ Transit has tried to do everything possible to make the transfers as smooth as possible. The four sets of Bergen and Main Line tracks are about 22 feet below the Northeast Corridor, Midtown Direct and North Jersey Coast line tracks. So passengers face about a five-minute trip to get from one set of train platforms to the other.

To help people navigate the station, NJ Transit has installed 12 elevators, 31 escalators and 36 stairwells. The station also has 220 closed-circuit televisions, 2,000 speakers for track announcements, 140 electronic message signs and 1,000 directional signs on how to get from one platform to another.

Riders will pass through an atrium with large glass windows and a 75-foot-high peak while making their transfers.

A few hundred yards from the station, the New Jersey Turnpike is building an interchange that is to serve Secaucus' warehouse and outlet district.

Developers have proposed building four office towers above the station, and NJ Transit spent tens of millions of dollars to make the support beams strong enough to handle the proposed buildings. But the development project remains stalled.

The station does not include parking for commuters and is primarily designed for people to come and go by train. Three bus routes in the area are changing their schedules to include stops at the station.

"The benefits from all this are enormous," Bauer said. "They go way beyond basic transportation."