Changes Coming Around The Corner. On Monday, October 20, 2025, MTA Metro-North Railroad 849 was led by Siemens SC42-DM MNCW 303, seen here heading north in Irvington, New York, with the Freedom Tower and the rest of the New York City skyline in the background. Four announcements were made at the Albany-Rensselaer, New York Amtrak facility by Governor Kathy Hochul, Amtrak President Roger Harris and MTA Metro-North President Justin Vonashek earlier in the day (in chronological order):
1 - Amtrak coach tickets will be capped at $99 on Empire Service trains throughout the service reductions associated with East River Tunnel construction.
2 - December 1, 2025 - Amtrak will restore one round trip to the schedule (Trains 235-238). This will leave two round trips missing.
3 - December 1, 2025 - Amtrak will reopen the Post Road Branch in order to restore service between Albany-Rensselaer, New York and Boston, Massachusetts on the Lake Shore Limited (Trains 448/449). This service has been suspended since June, 2025.
4 - March, 2026 - MTA Metro-North Railroad will extend a "Super Express" Poughkeepsie Train to operate from Albany-Rensselaer, New York to Grand Central Terminal one round-trip per day. This will be done with Metro-North equipment and crews, also throughout the duration of the East River Tunnel Construction.
More from the MTA: https://www.mta.info/press-release/icymi-governor-hochul-restores-service-and-announces-further-improvements-rail
With three lines radiating north out of Grand Central Terminal plus service to Port Jervis on the former Erie, Metro North covers a wide swatch of New York's northern suburbs with varying terrains.
