Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad seeing increase in on-time performance, ridership gains
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad (Metro-North) trains have reached high on-time performance goals and seen strong ridership gains since the start of 2025. MTA notes Metro-North saw a 100 percent on-time performance day across all three train lines on March 9, marking the 21st time the railroad has reported 100 percent on-time performance since 2023. The authority says LIRR customers have also seen record levels of on-time performance, with a 2025 year-to-date on-time performance of almost 97 percent, which is three percent above the established monthly goal and almost two percent over 2024’s record of 95.7 percent outside of COVID-19 years.
“We are delivering a faster and consistently reliable mode of public transportation to riders with each milestone the commuter railroads achieve,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “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.”
On-time performance data
Metro-North
MTA notes on-time performance for the week of Feb. 24 through March 2 was 99 percent, marking an improvement across all three lines and meaning that almost every single train was on time. According to the authority, the milestone was the ninth time since 2023 that all three of the Metro-North lines operated at 99 percent or better on-time performance in the same week:
- Hudson Line 99.4 percent
- Harlem Line 99.2 percent
- New Haven Line 99 percent
MTA says Metro-North also saw an average daily ridership of 176,414 passengers the week of Feb. 24 through March 2 — an increase of 13.8 percent from the previous week.
LIRR
According to the authority, the 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
MTA notes 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 2024. MTA says LIRR is now carrying 85 percent of 2019 ridership, with average Monday to Friday weekday ridership at 247,708. According to the authority, more than 1.4 million people rode the LIRR the week of Feb. 24 through March 2.
Ridership achievements on the commuter rails
MTA says there was a strong rebound across several ridership categories, as 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. The authority notes that 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.
“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 percent 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,” said Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi.
LIRR 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.”
