MTA Metro-North Railroad
A subsidiary of New York State's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Metro-North is recognized as one of the nation's preeminent railroads, winning the coveted American Public Transportation Association's Outstanding Achievement Award in 1993, 1998, and 1999.
In 2011, the railroad received the prestigious Brunel Award for Overall Excellence in Railroad Design. This international award recognizes Metro-North's continuing work as a more efficient operation, our commitment to sustainability, and our focus on providing excellent customer service. Metro-North was the first American railroad to win this coveted award in its 26-year history. The competition is open to all passenger and freight railroads in the world. Forty-three railways from 15 countries on three continents entered 150 projects for consideration.
In 2011, MTA Metro-North Railroad had a system-wide on-time performance of 97.7% and attained a ridership of 82 million.
Founded in 1983 when the MTA assumed control of Conrail commuter operations in the states of New York and Connecticut, Metro-North's roots can be traced back to the New York & Harlem Railroad, which began in 1832 as a horse-car line in lower Manhattan. Today, with 384 route miles and 775 miles of track, Metro-North goes to 121 stations distributed in seven counties in New York State--Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester, Bronx, New York (Manhattan), Rockland, and Orange-and two counties in the state of Connecticut--New Haven and Fairfield.
Three main lines east of the Hudson River--the Hudson, the Harlem, and the New Haven -- operate out of Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Two lines west of the Hudson River--the Port Jervis and the Pascack Valley--operate out of New Jersey Transit's terminal in Hoboken, N.J., and connect with service out of Penn Station, NY via the Secaucus Transfer. The Hudson Line extends 74 miles from Grand Central Terminal to Poughkeepsie; the Harlem, 82 miles to Wassaic; and the New Haven, which also has three branch lines--the New Canaan, Danbury, and Waterbury--72 miles to New Haven. The Port Jervis Line runs 95 miles from Hoboken to Port Jervis, with 30 of those miles in New Jersey; the Pascack Valley Line extends 31 miles from Hoboken to Spring Valley, 25 of those miles being in New Jersey. Total square mileage of the service territory is approximately 2,701 miles.
The railroad also manages The Hudson Rail Link feeder bus service in the Bronx, and The Haverstraw-Ossining and Newburgh-Beacon ferries, all of which connect with the Hudson Line and which generated 570,000 riders in 2009.
The railroad's hours of operation are approximately 4 AM to 3:40 AM. Service intervals vary according to destination and time of day. First trains arrive in Grand Central at 5:30 AM and the last trains leave the terminal at 2 AM. Weekdays, peak-period trains east of the Hudson River run every 20-30 minutes; off-peak trains run every 30-60 minutes; and weekend trains run hourly.