Train Station Revamp Brings Travel Options
What Katie Horsham called a “ramp to nowhere,” at a Port Jervis train station protest in 2017, has been replaced by a ramp that lets her and others in wheelchairs roll from the parking lot onto the Metro-North train to New York City. Completion of the station renovation recently brought Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi and a crowd of city and county officials to Port Jervis for the ribbon cutting.
“This was a top to bottom transformation,” said Rinaldi.
She pointed out the new parking lot paving and sidewalks leading to the ramp up to the train car-length platform that is now level with train floors. When the train doors open, wheel chairs and baby carriages can simply roll on. At the 2017 demonstration, protesters had brought a ladder to show how high above the platform the train entrance was, a distance that has been eliminated.
While rolling directly from the parking lot onto the train is now possible, the waiting that is typically part of train riding routines also has new accommodations. Rinaldi pointed out that the new benches have USB chargers, and an LCD kiosk and security cameras enhance station security.
“We’re the first station west of the Hudson to have a state of the art train station,” said Mayor Kelly Decker, one of several local and county officials who spoke at the gathering.
In addition to becoming “state of the art,” the station also incorporates art intended to reflect Port Jervis history. A competition to create art for the glass passenger shelter involved 37 artists, according to Sandra Bloodworth, director of MTA Arts and Design. Decker and three Common Council members—Maria Mann, Second Ward; Tim Simmons, Fourth Ward; and Councilwoman-at-Large Lisa Randazzo—were among 13 representatives from the Port Jervis region who worked with an MTA Arts and Design Panel to decide which artist’s design would appear on the glass.
Simmons said their choice of Armando Veve’s work was unanimous. Veve’s fanciful Boat House Buggy design includes scenes reflecting various aspects of Port Jervis history. Decker pointed out a small sketch on the glass of Robert Lewis, recently commemorated as a lynching victim, visible from inside and outside the shelter. Scenery beyond the transparent glass gives the work an added dimension.
Asked whether train rides would become faster and more frequent as more people move to and visit Port Jervis, Rinaldi said that would depend on ridership.
At this point, she said, “The Port Jervis line has been restored to 100% service, while the Hudson line only has 82% of previous service, to accommodate demand.
Service was fully restored in Port Jervis despite steep ridership declines, according to Aaron Donovan, MTA deputy communications director. An infusion of $10.5 billion in federal money will stabilize the MTA budget through 2024, preventing service cuts and fare increases, he said, but noted the Port Jervis line ridership trend. In the first seven months of 2019, the line had 572,845 riders, falling to 227,339 in the same period in 2020, and then to 176,924 in 2021.
To entice a return to the trains, MTA advertised their cleanliness and safety improvements and introduced the Autumn Weekend program. That offers holders of monthly LIRR and Metro-North tickets system-wide access on weekends to all stations and fare zones. But more train service would require more riders.