Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) achieved several significant milestones following a surge in railroad ridership, with the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the second time this year, and Metro-North Railroad setting new weekend ridership records, driven by fall travel, including foliage trains serving the Hudson Valley. Ridership on both railroads is at or near historic highs for both weekday and weekend travel, with LIRR monthly ridership in September now exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
“When I became Governor, I committed to bring riders back to mass transit from Poughkeepsie to Patchogue, because a strong rail system is vital to our entire state’s economy,” Governor Hochul said. “Many said we would never see pre-pandemic ridership again, but I doubled down on our railroads with investments in safety, increased and faster service, and completing historic projects like Grand Central Madison. Now, New York’s transit renaissance has seen ridership climb to record highs as New Yorkers take full advantage of the speed, affordability and convenience of riding the rails for work, school, and to experience the unmatched beauty of a New York fall.”
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “Turns out if you build it — or in this case, invest in transit — New Yorkers will come. Commuter rail ridership is surging because we invested in expanding service, expanded our customer base, and kept fares affordable. More to come as we deliver on the $68 billion Capital Plan championed by Governor Hochul.”…