Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Announces Benefits to Metro-North Railroad from MTA Capital Program

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced accomplishments achieved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for Metro-North Railroad riders in 2024 and gave a glimpse of major upcoming improvements allowed by the MTA Capital Plan, including strengthening ridership, accessibility projects, service increases, an enhanced passenger experience and an overall more sustainable, reliable transit system.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good morning and thank you all for joining us here at the Garrison Metro North Station. This station, which was built in 1892, has - actually people from this area have been commuting into the city since the 1850s. So, we are in a place that's steeped in history and the beauty of the Hudson River is right there, and just wanted to take this opportunity as we're looking at some of the upgrades along our entire system, I said, "I actually want to get a visual. I want to come out and see how we're changing the customer experience for our commuters, but people who just use it casually; those who come into the city for entertainment and shows."

And there has not been a major capital upgrade to this particular station since the late 1990s. So, we just completed a nearly $3 million investment, and this is how we demonstrate our commitment to every single community along our rail lines and doubling down on our efforts to make sure that the hard working people right here in the Hudson Valley have an exceptional experience.

I want to acknowledge those who've joined me here today. We have Janno Lieber, the Chair and CEO of the MTA, you'll be hearing from him; Cathy Rinaldi, our President from the MTA; Neal Zuckerman, Finance Chair of the MTA who lives right here; John Van Tassel, our Philipstown Supervisor; Kathleen Foley, our Mayor of the Village of Cold Spring; Chris Winward, the Village of Nelsonville Mayor; Lee Kyriacou, Mayor of Beacon; and Nancy Montgomery, Putnam County Legislator. So, we have our local leaders here as well.

But you think about the fact that so many people take these lines, the numbers keep going up and up. I looked at the numbers for October alone, 6.5 million people took Metro North in October alone, and that's a 16 percent increase from one year ago. So, people want to be back. This is their preferred mode of transportation. And you think about the 90 percent of the commuters who take regional transit, and let's break down, we're here in Putnam County, they have about 2,400 people who take the train into the Central Business District, more than 50 percent more than those who take cars. It's extraordinary, the number of people who have opted into taking this public transportation.

Now, what do they see when they come to a place like this? You may not notice it, but I'll tell you, you would notice if you saw it all crumbling down. These are improvements. Significant repairs: safety upgrades across every single platform, new railing, new strips, crucial concrete repairs. Now, I will tell you, these are not glamorous, but they must be done and they cost money, and this is how we keep the system safe for millions of our commuters every single day.

Now, we're not done. We're continuing with our improvements here at Garrison as well, and whether you're commuting in from Putnam County or the Bronx, everybody deserves a world-class experience.

And one more thing that's important - and I have a husband who commutes into the city from Albany every week and takes Amtrak - on-time performance is everything. We need that reliability to make sure that our commuters know they're not going to be late for work. So, we have maintained a 98-99 percent extraordinary on time performance and that is amazing. That is amazing and I'm so proud of that. And that's just not a number, that's countless commuters getting where they have to in a reliable way that's on time.

Now, I will also say this, there are some people, elected officials, who do not believe in investing in public transit. Yes, sad but true. We're, right now, investing $1.5 billion as a result of our congestion plan into Metro North. $1.5 billion just into this rail line from that one source alone, but then also our next Capital Plan.

Our next Capital Plan, which we are very supportive of, it will be the largest Capital Plan in our State's history, in MTA's history. I'm committed to supporting this. Together, that'll result in almost $9 billion of investments to the Metro North system. And that work has already begun.

We have the Penn Access commute, improvements to help travelers from the Bronx, Westchester and Connecticut, they'll soon have direct access to Penn Station. Massive renovation of the Park Avenue Viaduct, this is a 130-year-old structure that carries 98 percent of Metro North trains. Failure is not an option. It'll paralyze our whole region if these investments are not made, and again, they have to be paid for. So, the reality is very simple - our suburbs and our cities all must succeed together, and I'll never stop fighting to make sure that our commuters, every commuter, every New Yorker who relies on this system, has what they need.

And so, those who want to play political games with our transportation future, instead of ensuring that we have reliable service, I have a simple message: look at the facts, look at the investments, look at the results. And I assure you that the people you claim to represent have a very different opinion of what they're looking for in their transportation system.

So, now we have an opportunity to focus on what unites us, not what divides us. And what should unite all of us, is our ambition and our objective and our ultimate goal to have a world-class transportation system that works for every single New Yorker, and that's what we're talking about here today.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you Janno Lieber, the Chair and CEO of the MTA.

Contact the Governor's Press Office