Following Historic Flooding, Governor Hochul Celebrates Full Reopening of Metro-North Railroad and Announces Amtrak Service Will Resume Between New York City and Albany

 

Metro-North Crews Restored Service on the Upper Hudson Line and Upper Harlem Line Less Than Two Days After Hudson Valley Hit with Severe Storms

Amtrak Service Between Penn Station and Albany-Rensselaer Resumed Today

 Governor Kathy Hochul today celebrated the full reopening of the Metro-North Railroad and announced Amtrak service will resume between New York City and Albany after the historic rainfall and flooding that hit the region on July 9. Governor Hochul, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chair and CEO Janno Lieber and Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi made the announcement after welcoming some of the first Metro-North commuters to arrive at Grand Central Terminal after service was restored on the Hudson Line.

“Experts said it could take more than a week to restore full Metro-North service, but thanks to the hard work and talent of MTA union workers we have restored service to every Metro-North station,” Governor Hochul said. “Because of the climate crisis, these weather emergencies are quickly becoming our new normal – and I’m committed to doing everything in my power to strengthen our infrastructure so it’s resilient for generations to come.”

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, Metro-North service was suspended north of Croton-Harmon on the Hudson Line and north of Southeast station on the Harlem Line. Less than two days after the storm hit, Metro-North was able to return service to the Hudson Line, beginning with Poughkeepsie-bound trains operating on Tuesday evening. Service was also restored on the Upper Harlem Line Wednesday morning.

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “We’ve been weathering big storms together – Hurricane Ida rocked the Hudson Valley in 2021, hitting the Metro North operations especially hard, and now here we are in the aftermath of another once-in-a-generation storm. The MTA team stepped up once again to get the railroad back on track. I have to thank the hundreds of crew members who worked around the clock to make this happen.”

Service was suspended on the Hudson Line north of Croton-Harmon on Sunday afternoon and on the Harlem Line north of Southeast on Monday morning, due to severe storm damage. The suspensions of service on the Hudson and Harlem lines were impacting nearly 14,000 riders per day, and nearly 105,000 riders rely on these lines every week.

The removal of fallen trees, water, mud and boulders engaged hundreds of MTA workers and contractors, with more team members tracking outages, moving equipment and managing substitute bus service. These teams included members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Association of Commuter Rail Employees, and the Railway and Airway Supervisor Association. Crews will continue clean up along the Hudson Line as the railroad works to restore full regularly scheduled service on the line.