“It’s just that this guy had other plans, and he came out earlier,’’ said the woman, speaking from the hospital as she held her infant son in her arms.
The couple declined to give their names because they had not been able to notify their family in India of the birth. They also declined to reveal the boy’s name and due date.
It was on the train ride that the woman started feeling her pains come more quickly, and she told her husband to check what was happening to her. He looked and saw that his son’s head had already started to come out.
The husband said that with guidance from another woman on the train, he was able to deliver the baby around 10 a.m. Fellow riders offered encouragement, and the couple said one little girl offered her jacket to keep the baby warm.
PATH officials turned the train into an express, bypassing most stops so that it would get to its final stop, 33d Street in midtown Manhattan, as soon as possible.
Emergency services personnel met the train and took the family to the hospital.
The responding police officers said it was not unusual for women to give birth in facilities run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the PATH and area transit hubs.
The biggest issue was the winter temperature, around 30 degrees outside, and making sure the baby was warm, Sergeant Mike Barry said.
