Full Service Resumes On Repaired Port Jervis Line

January 15, 2011, Harriman, NY - Full service has resumed months earlier and at a substantially lower cost than originally expected, the repaired Port Jervis line rail service resumed to the accolades of riders and MTA officials. It took about 3 months to repair the devastation of Hurricane Irene. Metro-North trains return to a full schedule of 26 daily trains and 14 trains each weekend day.

At an organized 'meet and greet' event on November 28, 2011 in Harriman New York, MTA Chairman and  CEO Joseph Lhota said, "We're very happy to provide for commuters to be taking the train again. I'm proud of Metro-North that it was able to get service back ahead of schedule and under budget."

Metro-North President Howard Permut proudly boasted, "It's great when I see people coming back to take the train, I am pleased to see it back as quickly as we could get it done."

Just as importantly, those praises were also sung by the riders. Frank Cervera of Westtown NY said, "I feel very optimistic, very happy, pleasantly surprised and very relieved to be able to travel to New York City and back. Myself and others rely on the line to earn a living. Without the train service, the commute was tedious, difficult and frustrating. I use the park and drive to commute to my job in mid-town Manhattan." Rebeca Diaz of Chester NY echoed a similar sentiment with, "I'm excited because its done ahead of time. It's a big deal, I work in New York City."

It should be noted that the situation hasn't been completely resolved as some work still needs to be done but a new top-service schedule has been put into effect. The Sloatsburg-Suffern trackage is still in need of repair. The original estimate for completion of all Port Jervis Line repairs was moved forward from fall 2012 to June 2012 with the hard work of Metro-North's employees and contractors.