Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad trains are achieving significant milestones so far in 2025, with high on-time performance records and strong ridership gains, building on record service reliability documented in 2024. The first two months of 2025 have seen exceptional service for Metro-North Railroad with an upward trajectory in both ridership and on-time performance, including a 100 percent on-time performance day across all three train lines on Sunday, March 9 — the 21st time the railroad has reported 100 percent on-time performance since 2023. Long Island Rail Road customers have seen record levels of on-time performance, with a 2025 year-to-date on-time performance of almost 97 percent — three percent above the established monthly goal and almost two percent over 2024’s record of 95.65 percent outside of COVID years.
“We are delivering a faster and consistently reliable mode of public transportation to riders with each milestone the commuter railroads achieve,” Governor Hochul said. “New Yorkers know that they can depend on the Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road trains every single day — whether it’s for their daily commute to work, or for a trip to a different part of New York State.”
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “Even with surging ridership and hundreds of trains running every day, MTA’s commuter railroads keep delivering better and better service. LIRR and Metro-North continue to set the national standard for safe and reliable mass transit.”
Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi said, “The best way to keep people coming back to public transportation is to provide safe, clean and reliable service every single day and that’s what Metro-North does. Last week more than 99% of Metro-North trains operated on time. That means when our customers arrive at their station their train will be there making it easier to plan their activities for the day.”
Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free said, “Record levels of on-time performance, delivering safe service, and a great customer experience increases ridership and that’s exactly what the LIRR provides. The LIRR is helping ensure Long Island remains a place where people want to live and work by providing excellent service.”
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said, "Today’s announcement by Governor Kathy Hochul is a testament to the incredible progress we are making in improving transit access. The Long Island Railroad and Metro-North Railroad are not only meeting but exceeding expectations, providing reliable service and enhancing ridership. These milestones are particularly exciting for the Bronx as our community continues to benefit from greater connectivity and more dependable transit options. As we move forward, I am committed to ensuring that our borough remains a priority in these transportation improvements and that we continue to see these positive changes for all Bronxites."
On-Time Performance Data
Metro-North Railroad
On-time performance (OTP) for the week of February 24 through March 2 was 99 percent — marking an improvement across all three lines and meaning that almost every single train was on time. This was the ninth time since 2023 that all three of the Metro-North Railroad (Metro-North) lines operated at 99 percent or better OTP in the same week.
- Hudson Line 99.4 percent
- Harlem Line 99.2 percent
- New Haven Line 99 percent
These incredible numbers from the first two months of 2025 follow a remarkable year for the railroad in 2024 — a year that saw Metro-North’s OTP hit an all-time high, exceeding 98 percent. The Metro-North also saw an average daily ridership of 176,414 passengers the week of February 24 through March 2 — an increase of 13.8 percent from the previous week.
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) set an all-time record in February of 96.4 percent. The top three branches year-to-date are:
- Port Washington 98.7 percent
- West Hempstead 97.6 percent
- Babylon 97.0 percent
In January, 6.1 million people rode the LIRR — an increase of 617,096 customers, 11.2 percent, compared to January 2024 with commutation ridership up 8.4 percent and non-commutation ridership up 13.3 percent compared to last year. The LIRR is now carrying 85 percent of 2019 ridership with average Monday to Friday weekday ridership at 247,708. More than 1.4 million people rode the LIRR the week of February 24 through March 2.
Ridership Achievements on the Commuter Rails
There was a strong rebound across several ridership categories. Commutation ridership was up 17.1 percent, including a 17.1 percent increase for monthly ticket ridership and a 17.8 percent increase for weekly ticket ridership. Single trip ticket ridership was up 8.7 percent overall, including a 24 percent increase in peak single ticket ridership. Although off-peak single ticket ridership was down 3.4 percent, CityTicket — tickets good for one-way travel that begins and ends within New York City — ridership increased 15.8 percent.