(The following story by Judy Rife appeared on the Times Herald-Record website on February 13, 2009.)
NEW YORK — Ridership on Metro-North Railroad rose 3.9 percent last year to set a record of 83.5 million trips.
“These results reflect our belief that if you provide high-quality service, customers will take notice and vote with their feet,” said Elliot Sander, executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Metro-North’s parent agency.
The increase on the railroad’s three east-of-Hudson lines, the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven, averaged 3.8 percent and on its two west-of-Hudson lines, the Port Jervis and Pascack Valley, 9.4 percent.
But the west-of-Hudson lines, operated for Metro-North by NJ Transit, still account for only 2 million of those 83.5 million trips.
The difference in percentage increases between east and west was largely the result of the re-introduction of mid-day and weekend service on the Pascack Valley Line in 2007 after an absence of 40 years. Ridership jumped as soon as expanded service was in place and contributed to a 24.5 percent boost in 2008.
On the Port Jervis Line, ridership increased 4.8 percent — a higher percentage than on any of the east-of-Hudson lines. About 2,300 commuters now board morning rush-hour trains — versus the 17,200 who use the Hudson Line — the smallest of the railroad’s lines on the other side of the river.
‘The railroad is a bargain’
“The reliability of the Port Jervis Line and the ease of using it have led to continuing ridership growth,” said Marjorie Anders, a Metro-North spokeswoman. “The railroad is a bargain compared to the all the costs associated with driving and it is reliably on-time 95.5 percent during the morning peak.”
Metro-North previously reported that customer satisfaction on its west-of-Hudson lines had increased 3 percent to 89 percent in 2008 and that on-time performance had increased 1.3 percent to 96 percent. East-of-Hudson, the customer satisfaction was a record 94 percent and on-time performance continued at 97.5 percent.
Anders said Metro-North expects the economic downturn and the job losses in Manhattan to affect ridership going forward this year.
However, the railroad will open its new station at Yankee Stadium this spring, serving not only the ballpark but also the West Bronx year-round. In the fall, it will partner with NJ Transit to run New Haven Line trains through Pennsylvania Station to the Meadowlands for the professional football season.
NJ Transit’s new rail link to the Meadowlands will be accessible from the Port Jervis Line as well through a transfer at Secaucus Junction.