Harlem Line

Harlem Line
Train No. 645 leaves the White Plains station, northbound to Southeast.
Overview
StatusOperating
OwnerMetropolitan Transportation Authority[1]
LocaleNew York City, Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess counties
Termini
Stations38
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemMetro-North Railroad
Operator(s)Metro-North Railroad
Daily ridership45,350 (2022)
Ridership18,320,140 (annual ridership, 2023)[2]
Technical
Track length82 mi (132 km)
Number of tracks1–4
CharacterCommuter rail
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationThird rail750 V DC (south of Southeast)
Route map
Map
82.0 mi
132 km
NYC Harlem Branch
82.0 mi
132 km
Wassaic Yard
82.0 mi
132 km
Wassaic
80.0 mi
128.7 km
Tenmile River
Zone 10
Zone 9
76.5 mi
123.1 km
Dover Plains
69.0 mi
111 km
Harlem Valley–Wingdale
Zone 9
Zone 8
65.9 mi
106.1 km
Appalachian Trail
63.7 mi
102.5 km
Pawling
60.2 mi
96.9 km
Patterson
Towner's (closed)
Dykeman's (closed)
Zone 8
Zone 7
53.2 mi
85.6 km
Southeast
Brewster Yard
Putnam Junction
51.9 mi
83.5 km
Brewster
47.7 mi
76.8 km
Croton Falls
46.0 mi
74 km
Purdy's
Zone 7
Zone 6
43.7 mi
70.3 km
Goldens Bridge
Tilly Foster (closed)
Carmel (closed)
Crafts (closed)
Mahopac (closed)
Lake Mahopac (closed)
Lincolndale (closed)
Mahopac Branch
41.2 mi
66.3 km
Katonah
39.2 mi
63.1 km
Bedford Hills
36.5 mi
58.7 km
Mount Kisco
Zone 6
Zone 5
32.4 mi
52.1 km
Chappaqua
30.5 mi
49.1 km
Pleasantville
Thornwood (closed)
28.2 mi
45.4 km
Hawthorne
27.2 mi
43.8 km
Mount Pleasant
25.5 mi
41 km
Valhalla
Zone 5
Zone 4
North White Plains Yard
23.8 mi
38.3 km
North White Plains
22.3 mi
35.9 km
White Plains
20.6 mi
33.2 km
Hartsdale
19.0 mi
30.6 km
Scarsdale
Zone 4
Zone 3
16.7 mi
26.9 km
Crestwood
16.0 mi
25.7 km
Tuckahoe
15.3 mi
24.6 km
Bronxville
14.3 mi
23 km
Fleetwood
13.1 mi
21.1 km
Mount Vernon West
Zone 3
Zone 2
12.6 mi
20.3 km
Wakefield
11.8 mi
19 km
Woodlawn
10.5 mi
16.9 km
Williams Bridge
9.5 mi
15.3 km
Botanical Garden
8.9 mi
14.3 km
Fordham
183rd Street (closed)
7.9 mi
12.7 km
Tremont
Morrisania (closed)
6.1 mi
9.8 km
Melrose
6.0 mi
9.7 km
Mott Haven Junction
138th Street (closed)
Zone 2
Zone 1
4.2 mi
6.8 km
Harlem–125th Street "4" train"5" train"6" train"6" express train
0.0 mi
0 km
0.0 mi
0 km
110th Street
86th Street
72nd Street
59th Street
0.0 mi
0 km
Grand Central Terminal
"4" train"5" train"6" train"6" express train"7" train"7" express train​​42nd Street Shuttle

The Harlem Line is an 82-mile (132 km) commuter rail line owned and operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. state of New York. It runs north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower 53 miles (85 km) from Grand Central Terminal to Southeast, in Putnam County, is electrified with a third rail and has at least two tracks. The section north of Southeast is a non-electrified single-track line served by diesel locomotives. Before the renaming of the line in 1983, it eventually became the Harlem Division of the New York Central Railroad. The diesel trains usually run as a shuttle on the northern end of the line, except for rush-hour express trains in the peak direction (two to Grand Central in the morning, two from Grand Central in the evening).

With 38 stations, the Harlem Line has the most of any Metro-North main line. Its northern terminal, Wassaic, is the northernmost station in the system. It is the only Metro-North line used exclusively by that carrier (no use by Amtrak, though CSX services freight customers as far north as Mount Vernon) and the only one that uses the entirety of existing track. It is colored blue on Metro-North timetables and system maps, and stations on the line have blue trim. The blue color-coding appears to have started with timetables issued by predecessor New York Central for the then-Harlem Division as far back as 1965.[3]

The Harlem Line was originally chartered in 1831 as the New York and Harlem Railroad (NY&H) and was leased to the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company in 1871. The line became part of the Metro-North Railroad in 1983. While the line has traditionally served to bring commuters from Westchester County to jobs in the city, since the 2000s it has begun to see more "reverse commuting" from the Bronx into Westchester and points north. The northern reaches of the line are also close enough to Western Massachusetts that residents in parts of that region are also able to commute to jobs in New York City.[4]: 1 [5][6]

  1. ^ "MTA to Purchase Grand Central Terminal, Harlem Line and Hudson Line for $35 Million" (Press release). New York: Metropolitan Transportation Authority. MTA Headquarters. November 13, 2018. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  2. ^ "2023 ANNUAL RIDERSHIP REPORT". mta.info. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  3. ^ Moser, Emily (September 21, 2012). "The Harlem Line, and the color blue". I Ride The Harlem Line... Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).