“Major investment” in Hudson Valley, N.Y., to increase capacity, reduce delays, improve safety, and cut travel times for MTA Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak–NYSDOT (New York State Department of Transportation) Empire Service will be proposed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Jan. 14 as part of her 2025 State of the State address.
The proposal includes planning, evaluation, and design for a set of rail infrastructure capital improvements between New York City and Poughkeepsie, including projects such as a second track at Spuyten Duyvil; interlocking, signaling and trackwork at Croton Harmon; and capacity improvements at Poughkeepsie Yard, the Governor’s Office reported Jan. 5. Additionally, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will execute a signaling redesign near Yonkers and climate resilience investments “in the most vulnerable and highest ridership segments” of the Hudson Line, it said. Cost and timing details were not disclosed.
“Over the coming years, these much-needed infrastructure improvements will allow us to modernize our rail system, increase connectivity, reduce travel time and strengthen economic connections across the region,” Gov. Hochul said. “With these proposals, we are laying the groundwork to deliver faster and more reliable rail service for suburban and rural commuters across the Hudson Valley and beyond.”
According to Hochul’s Office, the plan would cut potential travel times by up to 15 minutes each way for certain trips and reduce what it called Metro-North’s “Super-Express” peak-hour service between New York City and Poughkeepsie to less than 90 minutes.
The Governor’s Office also reported that “as part of an allocation anticipated to be available for regional investments in its 2025-29 capital plan, the MTA will evaluate and design other potential rail improvements, such as adding a third track to the Metro-North Harlem Line or connecting Hudson Line service to Penn Station for a one-seat commute to Manhattan’s West Side.” Additionally, in partnership with NYSDOT, the MTA will establish a regional rail working group with New Jersey, Connecticut and rail partners “to promote better coordination on interoperability, ticketing, schedules and customer interfaces,” the according to the Office. This group, it reported, would also “develop plans to make travel by Metro-North or [MTA] Long Island Railroad to MetLife Stadium as seamless as possible for the 2026 World Cup and explore future opportunities to further integrate regional travel.”
Finally, building off a pilot program “to enhance the reach of Metro-North west of the Hudson River with ticketing, ferry, and parking incentives,” New York will also conduct a transit analysis with expert advisors “to propose and evaluate additional recommendations to expand and maximize the impact of rail service and look at opportunities for other types of commuter transit for New Yorkers living west of the river and working in New York City,” according to Governor Hochul’s Office. That analysis, it noted, will include “a major employer and destination review in Orange County, exploring options like shuttle bus service timed with Port Jervis Line trains to attractions like Woodbury Commons, Legoland, Storm King, Renaissance Fair, and Stewart Airport.”
“NYSDOT is proud to help spearhead these investments on our state-supported Amtrak services, and we look forward to partnering with the MTA on separate enhancements to Metro-North services along the Hudson Line rail corridor,” State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said. “New Yorkers deserve nothing less.”
“Metro-North is the economic backbone of the lower Hudson Valley, and these are smart targeted investments to protect its future and record-setting 98%-plus on-time performance,” commented MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.
“Weather-related events in recent years have shown the importance of climate resiliency on the Hudson Line, and we are thrilled by these upgrades which will enable continuing reliability of Metro-North service for the Hudson Valley,” MTA Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi said.
Further Reading: Nineteenth in a Series: Tolls Will Start Jan. 5
