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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s (PANYNJ) board has approved plans to conduct a study on extending the Port Authority Trans-Hudson's (PATH) World Trade Center-Newark Port Authority rail line to Newark Liberty International Airport.

The study will explore the extension of the current terminus of the PATH line at Newark’s Penn Station to the existing Northeast Corridor's Rail Link Station, where travelers could access AirTrain Newark for connection to the airport’s terminals and parking lots, PANYNJ officials said in a prepared statement.

About 75 percent of the Newark airport users come from New Jersey, with another 15 percent coming from Manhattan. Residents from New York City’s other boroughs and other parts of New York state represent about 9 percent of users.

If pursued, the project's benefits to the region would include more than $600 million in design and construction work, in addition to permanent jobs for the link's operation, PANYNJ officials said.

In addition, extending PATH to Newark Liberty would bring another cross-Hudson rail option to commuters, they said. New Jersey residents who work in Lower Manhattan would be able to access a one-seat ride to the World Trade Center by potentially parking at the airport, which also will be part of the study.

The PATH extension also would serve as an option for visitors to Lower Manhattan and the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

"By boarding PATH at Newark Liberty, they would be only one ride away from their destination," PANYNJ officials said.