Metra
The 87th St./Woodruff Station on the Metra Electric Line, which has been closed since December 2024 for a complete rehabilitation, will reopen on Oct. 6, Metra reported Sept. 23. It is the last of three Metra Electric (ME) stations renovated under one $33.9 million contract with IHC Construction of Elgin, Ill. (see map below). The project was funded through the Rebuild Illinois capital program.
According to the Chicago-based commuter railroad, the new station now has an enclosed, ADA-accessible street-level entrance and lobby with an elevator; new stairs and headhouse; new composite deck platform; and new lighting and signage. Similar work was completed at the 79th St./Chatham Station, which reopened in December 2024, and the 103rd St./Rosemoor Station, which reopened in March 2025.
Metra reported that the IHC Construction contract was awarded for all three stations in an aim to “carry out the work more efficiently,” and the work was staged so that no more than two of the stations were closed at a time.
The work was part of a multiyear, multimillion-dollar plan to reconstruct numerous stations on the line, including making them accessible to persons with disabilities, according to the railroad. Similar work was already completed at the 147th St./Sibley Blvd. and Homewood stations in 2024, and is under way at the 95th St./Chicago State University Station.
Although the 87th Street Station was built to be fully ADA accessible, the station may not always be accessible initially, Metra noted, because construction work at 95th Street “may require periodic track shifts and temporary, inaccessible boarding procedures during the midday Monday through Friday (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).” Riders, it said, are advised to check the Service Alerts to verify that the station is accessible prior to travel.
“We want to thank the riders at all three of these stations for their patience and understanding as we worked to make them more welcoming, comfortable and accessible facilities,” Metra Executive Director/CEO Jim Derwinski said. “We are happy that our efforts to invest in our stations and promote transit ridership are starting to pay off.”
Separately, earlier this month and just days after the Surface Transportation Board granted Metra’s application for terminal trackage rights to continue commuter rail service over three Union Pacific-owned lines in Chicagoland, UP filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking compensation from Metra. Also, Siemens Mobility late last year announced that it will continue its efforts to “future-proof legacy rail networks across the country” by partnering with mission-critical wireless data network developer Ondas Networks to upgrade Metra’s legacy 900 MHz communications network with Siemens Mobility’s Airlink wireless networking equipment.
MTA Metro-North Railroad
MTA Metro-North Railroad on Oct. 6 will launch what it is calling faster “super-express” trains on the Hudson Line between Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and New York City (download map below). The service introduction is part of the new railroad schedule that takes effect Oct. 5. These new trips were announced in New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2025 State of the State address. Initially projected to launch in 2026, Metro-North announced on Sept. 23 that work was completed ahead of schedule, allowing service to begin in October (watch announcement video above).
Metro-North is shortening five trips between Poughkeepsie and Grand Central to less than 90 minutes and one trip down to 95 minutes, which it said will deliver “the fastest trips ever between the two cities.”
The travel time for a non-express trip between Poughkeepsie and Grand Central can be up to 115 minutes, depending on the number of stops. The run time improvements cut travel times by as much as seven minutes one way compared with the current super-express train schedules, and by as much as 20 minutes one way compared with non-express trains. Click here for a schedule of “super-express” Hudson Line trains.
Adjustments to dozens of other trains, along with schedule optimization, resulted in clear paths for these Hudson Line Super Express trains to operate more efficiently, according to Metro-North. The commuter railroad’s team was said to have used specialized train-simulation software and in-depth analyses of GPS and signal data to create new timetables that shave up to seven minutes from some Hudson Line trains both into and out of New York. Additionally, improvements to Metro-North’s signaling infrastructure have allowed the railroad to increase train speeds and reduce the effect of speed restrictions along the Hudson Line, resulting in improved run times for some trains.
“Thanks to these schedule improvements, riders can get where they need to go faster, while continuing to enjoy the safe, reliable service they expect from Metro-North,” Metro-North Railroad President Justin Vonashek said during the service announcement on Sept. 23. “These enhancements build on the railroad’s record-setting reliability with a systemwide on-time performance of 98%—and with more improvement work under way, this is only the beginning.”
Separately, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) this month announced that new 4,200-horsepower Siemens Charger locomotives received last year for testing have begun passenger service on Metro-North’s Hudson Line, “providing riders with even more reliable service while reducing airborne pollutants by 85%, all while producing 1,000 more horsepower than the current fleet.”
PANY/NJ
“Hurricane Sandy [in 2012] wasn’t as much of a wake-up call for the Port Authority as it was a reminder,” PANY/NJ reported Sept. 23 in a special website article. “Three years before the storm hit, the agency started incorporating sea level rise into its design and engineering plans. In 2009, it was a rudimentary approach, adding a foot across the board into blueprints, plans and calculations. By 2015, the Port Authority committed to a deeper understanding of the impacts of sea level rise at each of its facilities by weaving more customized, site-specific challenges into its plans.”
Now, on the 10th anniversary of those climate resilience design guidelines, the agency is looking back on new construction that it said has “quietly reshaped how its airports, seaport, bridges, tunnels, and transit system are built to withstand the future.” Railway Age reproduces the rest of the article below.
“Building codes are typically backwards looking, tending to protect against extreme weather conditions as they have historically occurred,” said Sarah Colasurdo, the Port Authority’s Climate Resilience Program Manager. “The challenge with climate change is that conditions aren’t static. They’re changing. And if we’re going to invest in assets that are meant to last decades, we have to design them for the conditions we expect in the future, not just the present.”
Those conditions have been changing for longer than many may realize. According to the New York City Panel on Climate Change, sea levels in and around New York have risen over 14 inches since 1900, about an average of 1.2 inches per decade. After the storm surge from Hurricane Sandy devastated the region in October 2012, the need for a more tailored approach became clear. Local scholars on that climate change panel developed more detailed and localized projections of sea level rise and storm surge. That gave the Port Authority the ability to customize solutions for its own facilities, many of which are located close to or directly on the water.
From the beginning, Colasurdo said, the idea was to weave resilience into any plans the agency had to update or upgrade its infrastructure. That meant building floodwalls, raising electrical systems, or installing pumps, barriers, or reinforced glass. Additionally, the projected sea level rise around a facility is adjusted for its expected service life. A building that could be decommissioned by 2030 may not be built to the same standards as one that’s expected to last another several decades.
“It’s an incremental approach. Every time we upgrade or repair something, we look at whether we can elevate it, protect it, or cost-effectively reduce future downtime from flooding. Over the course of decades, you end up touching every part of a facility. And every time you do, you make it stronger.” —Sarah Colasurdo, the Port Authority’s climate resilience program manager
That approach is visible across the region—though not always noticeable, by design. At PATH stations in Hoboken and Jersey City, flood barriers can be rolled out, sealed watertight, and then stowed away to keep trains moving after a storm, with headhouses and entrances featuring reinforced aquarium glass. At LaGuardia Airport, electrical infrastructure has been raised, and airfield pumps are in place to remove water quickly. Even in airport terminals the Port Authority did not build or does not operate, its guidelines have been incorporated, making them more protected than they would have been under standard building codes alone.
The work doesn’t always look dramatic, and that’s by design, Colasurdo said.
“If it’s done well, these measures blend into the urban fabric,” she said. “Most people won’t even realize they’re there.”
Some facilities, she added, are designed to live with water, built to accept that certain areas may flood without significantly disrupting operations. That includes parts of the agency’s seaport complexes, which rely on their proximity to the water to function.
The guidelines also connect to the Port Authority’s broader climate commitments. In 2018, the agency became the first U.S. transportation agency to adopt the Paris climate agreement, and three years later pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Since then, the agency has launched a multitude of programs to electrify its vehicle fleet, invest in renewable energy, and work with its partners to cut emissions across the region.
The resilience guidelines form another arm of the Port Authority’s climate strategy. Reducing emissions may slow climate change, but preparing for the impacts already locked in is essential as well, Colasurdo said.
“It might look like a big price tag, but the cost of inaction is usually much higher,” Colasurdo said.
The 10th anniversary of the guidelines arrives with the Port Authority far better prepared for the storms ahead, Colasurdo said, thanks to the proverbial blueprint laid out 10 years ago and the mindset of proactive readiness that they’ve inspired.
“We are much more able today to withstand extreme storm surge events and get back up and running quickly,” Colasurdo said. “Our goal working in resilience and sustainable design is not just to reduce our own carbon footprint, but to ensure our facilities can keep running safely and smoothly following the next big weather event.”
Further Reading:
- Hurricane Sandy, Ten Years Later
- PANY/NJ: Prep for Hurricane Season Is Year-Round Effort
- Arcadis lands NYCT post-Sandy work
- NJ Transit gets disaster relief funds
- Guest Editorial: Flood-proofing; coal’s future
- Hurricane’s impact dampens U.S. freight traffic
- PATH again links Hoboken and Manhattan
- Hurricane Sandy devastates NY/NJ-area passenger rail systems
