ALBANY – State legislators from Orange County and a handful of
county lawmakers have written to MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast urging
him to include two Metro-North Railroad projects in the county in the
MTA’s next five-year capital program.
On Saturday, Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
and Prendergast announced agreement on funding for the capital program
to include $8.3 billion from the state and $2.5 billion from New York
City.
Specifics of the plan were not released on Saturday.
The day before the agreement, four state Assembly members from Orange
County and six county legislators signed a letter urging Prendergast to
include two Metro-North projects in the plan – a midway yard along
the Port Jervis line and passing sidings between the new yard and Suffern.
“The large majority of Orange County train ridership resides in
the eastern half of Orange County, thus making a midway yard near the
Campbell Hall or Salisbury Mills-Cornwall stations ideals,” the
local officials wrote. “This will allow Metro-North the opportunity
and capability to initiate and receive more frequent rides to passengers
at the aforementioned two stations in addition to Harriman, Tuxedo, Sloatsburg
and Suffern. Furthermore, the establishment of passing sidings along the
Port Jervis line will allow trains to travel both to and from Orange County
simultaneously; currently, a single rail on the Port Jervis line prohibits
schedules from offering rides if a train is traveling in the opposite
direction.”
The letter was signed by Assembly Members James Skoufis, Karl Brabenec,
Aileen Gunther, and Frank Skartados, and Orange County legislators Myrna
Kemnitz, John Vero, Matthew Turnbull, Kevin Hines, Christopher Eachus
and Shannon Wong.
