The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that seven Long Island Rail Road stations and four Metro-North Railroad stations that will be made ADA-accessible under the proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan.

 

Long Island Rail Road will make the following seven stations wheelchair accessible, bringing accessibility to 93% of stations, that serve 97% of ridership. They are the following:

Metro-North Railroad will make the Ludlow station on the Hudson Line as well as three stations on the Harlem Line in the Bronx that will be determined in the course of the 2020-2024 Capital Plan. Four new stations that will be built in the Bronx as part of Metro-North Railroad's Penn Station Acccess Project will be fully accessible. These are Parkchester, Morris Park, Hunts Point and Co-Op City.

 

ADA accessibility has been a priority at the commuter railroads, which has focused first – as required by the law when it was passed in 1990 - on providing access at its busiest stations. Of the LIRR’s 124 stations, 105 are currently accessible under the American with Disabilities Act. An additional three stations, at Nostrand Avenue, Murray Hill and Floral Park are undergoing construction that will make them ADA accessible. 

 

Of Metro-North Railroad’s 85 stations in New York State (which includes Grand Central Terminal), 60 are currently accessible. As a result of investments to be made in the forthcoming Capital Plan, 78% of Metro-North stations serving 93% of customers will be accessible. 

“We’re focused on making sure all customers are able to navigate the LIRR system – including through ADA improvements and programs like LIRR Care – to better provide a robust commuter rail system for all,” LIRR President Phillip Eng said. “By challenging the industry, and ourselves, we continue to strive to get more done with the money we have so we can continue to deliver modernizations across our system.”

 

“Metro-North is committed to making the railroad as accessible as possible to all of our customers,” said Catherine Rinaldi, President of Metro-North. “We’ve made great strides forward in improving station access for customers who use mobility aids, and thanks to funding from the 2020-2024 Capital Plan, we’ll be bringing these improvements to 93% of our riders.”

 

On September 16, the MTA released the proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan to invest $51.5 billion into the region’s subways, buses and railroads over the next five years. This historic plan – which represents the largest amount of investment in MTA history – includes $5.7 billion dollars in priority initiatives for Long Island Rail Road and $4.7 billion for Metro-North Railroad priority initiatives.

 

These goals were made with input from elected officials throughout the service region, and details of the project in the proposed capital plan are available here: https://New.mta.info/2020CapitalProgram.

 

The proposed plan will be reviewed by the MTA Board at its meeting on September 25 and, if approved, would be submitted by October 1 to the MTA Capital Program Review Board for consideration and approval. The review board is composed of representatives from the Governor, the New York State Senate and Assembly, and the Mayor of New York City.