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CityTicket for travel within NYC on Metro-North and LIRR

Updated Jan 19, 2024
If you’re traveling on the Long Island Rail Road or Metro-North Railroad within New York City, you can get a CityTicket for $5 during off-peak hours or $7 during peak hours.

CityTickets cost $5 during off-peak hours and $7 during peak hours. They are good for one-way travel that begins and ends within New York City. (LIRR riders can change trains at Jamaica as long as they continue their trips in the same direction.)

On LIRR, you can use CityTicket for trips within Zone 1 or between Zones 1 and 3. (See station list below for details.) On Metro-North, you can use CityTicket for trips between the Bronx and Manhattan.

A special Far Rockaway Ticket can be purchased at Far Rockaway station for travel between Far Rockaway and LIRR stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn for the same cost as a CityTicket.

These other low fare programs remain in effect:

  • LIRR’s $4.25 off-peak fare for travel within Zone 3
  • Metro-North's $3.25 intermediate fare for travel within the Bronx
  • Reduced-fare programs for senior citizens and people with disabilities
  • Family Fare

How to buy a CityTicket

You can buy a CityTicket at a ticket office, a ticket machine, or on the TrainTime app on your phone. Not all stations have ticket offices. All stations in New York City except for Mets-Willets Point have ticket machines.

You cannot buy a CityTicket onboard a train, unless you are boarding at Mets-Willets Point, or are a senior citizen or a person with a disability.

When purchasing your tickets at a ticket window or ticket machine, you will be asked for your starting point and destination. If your trip falls within the CityTicket area, you will have the option to purchase CityTicket.

Far Rockaway Ticket can be purchased at Far Rockaway Station or in TrainTime if you share your location with the app to confirm you are near the station.

  • CityTickets must be used on the day of purchase.
  • You have a grace period that allows you to travel until 4 a.m. the next morning for tickets purchased the previous day. 

CityTicket restrictions

  • You can’t use a CityTicket for travel to or from Belmont Park, Elmont-UBS Arena, or Far Rockaway stations (because these trips travel through Nassau County). However, Far Rockaway Ticket can be purchased at Far Rockaway station for travel between Far Rockaway and other stations in New York City for the same cost as a CityTicket.
  • You can’t transfer between trains going in opposite directions, or between LIRR and Metro-North trains.
  • Refunds on CityTickets require a $10 fee per refund transaction.
  • CityTicket is valid for travel that begins and ends within New York City only. It can’t be used as a ride extension.

Stations you can travel between

LIRR stations

Zone 1:

  • Penn Station
  • Grand Central
  • Woodside
  • Forest Hills
  • Kew Gardens
  • Atlantic Terminal
  • Nostrand Avenue
  • East New York
  • Long Island City
  • Hunterspoint Avenue
  • Mets-Willets Point

Zone 3:

  • Jamaica
  • Hollis
  • Queens Village
  • St. Albans
  • Locust Manor
  • Laurelton
  • Rosedale
  • Flushing-Main Street
  • Murray Hill
  • Broadway
  • Auburndale
  • Bayside
  • Douglaston
  • Little Neck

Metro-North stations

All lines:

  • Grand Central
  • Harlem-125th Street

Hudson Line:

  • Yankees-E. 153rd Street
  • Morris Heights
  • University Heights
  • Marble Hill
  • Spuyten Duyvil
  • Riverdale

Harlem Line:

  • Melrose
  • Tremont
  • Fordham
  • Botanical Garden
  • Williams Bridge
  • Woodlawn
  • Wakefield

New Haven Line:

  • Fordham

Far Rockaway Ticket restrictions

The Far Rockaway Ticket can only be purchased at Far Rockaway station. It can be used for travel between Far Rockaway and stations in LIRR Zone 1, with some exceptions. 

  • Far Rockaway Ticket cannot be purchased at other LIRR stations. 
  • It can only be purchased in the TrainTime app if you share your location with the app to confirm you are near the station. 
  • It can be purchased onboard a train only if you are a senior citizen or a person with a disability.

These stations are valid destinations with the Far Rockaway Ticket: 

  • Penn Station
  • Grand Central
  • Woodside
  • Forest Hills
  • Kew Gardens
  • Atlantic Terminal
  • Nostrand Avenue
  • East New York
  • Long Island City
  • Hunterspoint Avenue
  • Mets-Willets Point

Far Rockaway Ticket can also be used for travel to Rosedale, Laurelton, Locust Manor, and Jamaica. You must buy the ticket with a destination within Zone 1 (any of the above stations).

Questions? Problems?

    If the ticket window at a station is closed and the ticket machine isn’t working, pay the full fare when you board and get a receipt.

    You can then apply by mail for a refund for the difference. Service charges will not apply.

    Mail your ticket receipt and request to:

    LIRR Ticket Refunds Department
    Jamaica Station – MC 1410
    Jamaica, New York 11435

    or

    Metro-North Railroad, Ticket Redemption
    P.O. Box 4117
    New York, NY 10017

    Need help?

    • Call 511.
    • Call Long Island Rail Road customer service at 718-217-5477.
    • Call Metro-North Railroad customer service at 212-532-4900.