Upper Harlem Line Train Service Still Out After Isaias

While Metro-North crews continue cleaning up the damage done to the Harlem Line by Tropical Storm Isaias, State Senator Pete Harckham called on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to expedite the work.

Weekday service on the Harlem Line this week now includes regular trains between Grand Central Terminal and Goldens Bridge; substitute buses between Goldens Bridge, Purdys, Brewste and Southeast, and limited train service between Southeast and Wassaic.

The MTA's plan is to have rail service between Goldens Bridge and Southeast back to normal by Monday.

"As we recover from the health emergency, we need normal train service throughout the line to help fuel economic activity," Harckham wrote in a letter to Catherine Rinaldi, president of MTA Metro-North Railroad, "and help ensure that those who protect us get to their jobs."

Metro-North Railroad cut back on its service in late March as the Covid-19 pandemic worsened. With New York City and the metropolitan region slowly re-opening, Metro-North was beginning to resume normal service when Tropical Storm Isaias hit and service was suspended because of high winds and debris on the tracks.

Even with trains running on normal schedules on the Hudson and New Haven lines, Harlem line service remains limited, however.

“I do not understand why Metro-North would leave three villages—Purdys, Croton Falls and Brewster—without any train service, especially when all of the other station stops on the line are being covered,” said Town of North Salem Supervisor Warren Lucas, who noted also that Metro-North was not providing the bus service to the Southeast station on the weekends, further inconveniencing residents.