As the State and the MTA Invests in Infrastructure, Reliability and Ridership Reach Records
Garrison Station Receives Upgrades to Platforms, Staircases, Railings, Tactile Strips, Expansion Joints and Foundations
New Locomotives, Station Accessibility Upgrades, Grand Central Artery Renewal Accompany Hudson Line Infrastructure Hardening for Climate Resiliency
Announcement Comes as Congestion Pricing Set to Underpin MTA Capital Program Finances
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View Broll of Garrison Station
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced accomplishments achieved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for Metro-North Railroad riders in 2024 and gave a glimpse of major upcoming improvements allowed by the MTA Capital Plan, including strengthening ridership, accessibility projects, service increases, an enhanced passenger experience and an overall more sustainable, reliable transit system.
“Metro-North is part of the heart of the Hudson Valley.” Governor Hochul said. “We will continue to invest in both its present and future by modernizing infrastructure and promoting safety. A modern railroad will provide an excellent customer experience every trip with modern amenities at stations that are fully accessible, safe and protected from climate change.”
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “The MTA is proud of the amazing strides that Metro-North has made in 2024 — surging ridership and record on-time performance exceeding 98 percent. And we're equally excited about what’s coming: Accessible stations, a new Park Avenue Viaduct and the Penn Access Project. All of these projects open the system to thousands more people, delivering access to jobs, education and everything New York has to offer.”
MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer said, “The MTA is building better, faster, and cheaper all across Metro-North. From rebuilding the Park Avenue Viaduct to rehabilitating stations like Garrison to expanding service with Penn Station Access, the MTA is delivering on a generational investment for Metro-North riders.”
Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi said, “Major capital investments across Metro-North will give our customers the safe, green and reliable railroad that they deserve. New locomotives will reduce air pollutants, and the replacement of the Park Avenue Viaduct, Grand Central Train Shed, major investments in Harlem Line stations and Hudson Line resiliency will ensure that the Metro-North network will continue to drive the regional economy for years to come.”
Senator Jeremy Cooney said, “From making stations more accessible to enhancing the passenger experience, these improvements represent a strong commitment from Governor Hochul and the state legislature to prioritize public transit. As Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, I look forward to continuing this work with the Governor and continuing to deliver the public transit New Yorkers deserve.”
Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli said, “I am pleased to see these investments in the Metro-North’s infrastructure. New York’s transportation system is interconnected and residents from across the State use the Metro-North to travel to and from New York City. These improvements will add to the reliability and resiliency of the Metro-North going forward.”
Assemblymember Dana Levenberg said, "The Hudson Line is incredibly important to the economy of my district, supporting commutes to New York City and tourism in the opposite direction. The risk posed to this rail line by rising waters cannot be overstated. Metro-North's repairs at the Garrison station and investments in the resiliency along the entire line are greatly appreciated. Once again, I extend my thanks to Metro-North and the Governor's office for their continued attention to the infrastructure needs in my district."
Westchester Putnam Building & Construction Trades Council President Jeff Loughlin said, “We applaud Governor Hochul’s investment in the Garrison Station and Metro-North Railroad. This project is an extremely smart rehabilitation, delivering significant economic benefits to the local communities this station serves, while prioritizing union trades and apprenticeship programs throughout the area. We look forward to continuing to work with the Governor on other infrastructure projects throughout Westchester & Putnam Counties.”
There is major capital work underway to fortify and improve the Metro-North network. MTA Construction & Development is replacing and rehabilitating major segments of the 130-year-old Park Avenue Viaduct, which carries 98 percent of all Metro-North trains traveling along the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines serving the Harlem-125th Street Station and Grand Central Terminal. The first segment of the viaduct was replaced in June using innovative building techniques that will help deliver the project on time with minimal disruption to Metro-North service.
Work began to replace deteriorating sections of the roof of Metro-North’s deteriorating train shed underneath Park Avenue at 48 and 47 Streets in Manhattan. The 2025-29 Capital Plan heavily focuses investment for continued replacement of the Train Shed roof and fortification of Grand Central Terminal for the future.
Work on Metro-North stations was in full force in 2024 with work at Garrison that included: replacement of 3’ wide portions of all the platforms, new railing, tactile strips, expansion joints and miscellaneous concrete repairs with new staircases. A future project will install PODs (Police Observational Devices) which include security cameras.
Three stations were made fully ADA accessible in 2024: Hartsdale on January 5, Scarsdale on January 11 and Purdy’s on February 22, bringing the total of accessible Metro-North stations to 124: 112 east of the Hudson River and 12 west of the Hudson.
The MTA is also making targeted investments to improve the resiliency of the Metro-North network. More than half of the 74-mile-long Hudson Line is vulnerable to coastal surge risk and Garrison Train station sits just feet from the Hudson River. The proposed 2025-29 MTA Capital Plan focuses on addressing erosion hot spots, stabilizing upland slopes, and upgrading drainage in the most vulnerable and highest-ridership segments of the line, protecting more than 20 miles of the Hudson Line.
Investments in rolling stock will also support the reliability of Metro-North’s service. Metro-North recently took delivery of the first two of 33 new state-of-the-art 4,200-horsepower locomotives that will replace the existing fleet of locomotives used for trains serving Poughkeepsie, Southeast, Danbury and Waterbury. Manufactured by Siemens Mobility and known by the model number SC42-DM, the new locomotives will provide customers with more reliable service and will be friendlier to the environment. The new locomotives are expected to operate in electric mode the entire 102 miles of Metro-North’s third rail territory, which extends to Croton-Harmon, Southeast and Pelham. The new locomotives are rated Tier IV compliant, slashing airborne pollutants by more than 85 percent.
A new 400,000 square foot facility, known as the Harmon Shop, opened in May. The opening of this vital maintenance and operations hub for the electric fleet serving Metro-North’s Harlem and Hudson lines marks the completion of the five-phase capital project that began in 2001 to replace the outdated facilities in the Croton-Harmon Yard in Croton-on-Hudson, NY.
All of these capital investments are occurring at the same time as Metro-North is delivering outstanding service and experiencing strong ridership. Metro-North service is strong with On Time Performance (OTP) at 99 percent and the Mean Distance Between Failures (MDBF) consistently running above its 2024 target of 200,000 miles. Metro-North continues to shatter pre-COVID ridership records carrying 6.5 million riders in October, an increase of 13 percent from September and a 16.2 percent increase from October 2023. Metro-North’s average weekday ridership of 230,449 is a post-pandemic record, at 79.2 percent of pre-COVID levels in October 2019, reflecting robust return-to-work ridership; average weekend ridership of 131,666 is 2.2 percent higher than pre-COVID levels in October 2019.