Skoufis Says Increased Ridership Highlights Need For Metro-North Upgrades

CLARKSTOWN, N.Y. -- With more than 700,000 riders on the Pascack Valley line in Rockland County, and another one million riders on the Port Jervis line in Orange County, State Assemblyman James Skoufis (D-Woodbury) is calling for expediting plans to upgrade Metro-North's infrastructure in both counties.

Assemblyman James Skoufis
Photo Credit: *www.nylcv.org*

K Reakes

02/26/2016 1:30 p.m.

“Every day, more and more residents and tourists in the Hudson Valley look to Metro-North to carry them safely to their destinations, and it’s important to ensure our railways are up to the challenge,” said Skoufis. “I’m fighting for much-needed upgrades to west-of-Hudson MTA lines to give local commuters and visitors the quality service they deserve.”

The MTA’s single-rail service between Port Jervis and Suffern can accommodate only one train at a time, slowing service for thousands of riders who rely on Metro-North to provide safe and efficient travel every day, he added.

To help make traveling through the Hudson Valley easier, Skoufis successfully fought for the inclusion of a new midway rail yard and installation of passing sidings that would enable two-way train travel in the MTA’s 2015-19 Capital Program.

With the MTA recently releasing its ridership statistics for 2015 showing a sharp increase of 3.6 percent in the number of Metro-North riders in Orange and Rockland counties, upgrades are needed now and cannot wait, noted Skoufis.

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