Commuters wait for a New York City bound train at the Harrison Metro-North station April 19, 2024 in Harrison.
© Tania Savayan/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK
(New York, NY) – The numbers are in, and it looks like New York City’s commuter rail lines are making a COVID-19 comeback. In fact, Metro-North and LIRR are reporting record ridership, at least dating back to the pre-pandemic period.
For the LIRR, close to 261,000 riders rode the rails this past Tuesday — the highest such single-day ridership since March 2020 when the pandemic first hit US shores. At the new Grand Central Madison, providing LIRR commuters with East Side access, a record was set that same day. Of the LIRR’s riders bound for Manhattan, 41% went to Grand Central — a high water mark.
On Monday, May 13, Metro-North saw its best post-pandemic day. More than 209,000 riders used the commuter rail line that day. And last week, Metro-North posted its best weekday average since COVID.
