by Otto M. Vondrak/photos as noted

Five years after global pandemic restrictions decimated ridership for transit agencies across the country, MTA Metro-North Railroad is experiencing many positive signs of ridership recovery while new locomotives and rolling stock are arriving to help refresh the fleet and meet the demands of a new economy. Commuter agencies across the country are seeing signs of improvement, with Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority coming closest to pre-pandemic ridership levels, consistently exceeding 90 percent in 2024. This past summer, Florida’s Tri-Rail reported 4.5 million riders, surpassing 2019’s record ridership of 4.4 million. Others like Metrolink in California report only 65 percent recovery as Los Angelinos are slower to return to the office full-time.

A subsidiary of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority established in 1983, Metro-North is the nation’s second-busiest passenger carrier by volume, reporting more than 60 million riders in 2024. While this amounts to a roughly 22 percent shortfall against 2019 totals of 86.6 million riders, trends in 2025 point to steady climbs in ridership totals. Some single-day and monthly records in 2025 are hitting new post-pandemic highs, showing strong momentum.

In the midst of this positive growth, MTA leadership selected Justin Vonashek to become Metro-North’s seventh president, taking office this past April. He came to Metro-North in 2016 as Vice President of System Safety, and was later promoted to Senior Vice President of Operations in 2020. In 2023, he was named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, where he managed all aspects of the railroad’s operations.

Vonashek is no stranger to trains and transit. Growing up in Chicago and graduating from Illinois Institute of Technology, he joined Metra in 2005 as a Transportation Specialist. He quickly rose through the ranks in a variety of roles at the nation’s third-busiest carrier as transportation specialist, corporate trainmaster and manager of schedules and service. During his time at Metra, he served as the liaison with Union Pacific and BNSF Railway, developed a schedule of Saturday service for the Southwest Service (former Wabash route between Chicago and Manhattan, Ill.), and also set up special event service for White Sox home games at 35th Street “Lou” Jones Station on the Rock Island District. He also represented Metra on the FRA Rail Safety Advisory Committee, the Association of American Railroads’ Locomotive Committee, as well as the American Public Transportation Association’s Passenger Rail Equipment Safety Standards Committee. It’s no wonder that Don Orseno, then Metra’s Interim Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, nominated Vonashek as one of Progressive Railroading’s “Rising Stars” in 2013. “When I think of future leaders in the industry, I think of Justin Vonashek,” he said.

Vonashek moved over to Keolis in 2014, where he was named Chief Safety, Security, Emergency Preparedness and Regulatory Compliance Officer as the contractor prepared to take over operation of MBTA’s commuter rail operations that year. It was there that he continued his safety campaigns, including promoting the use of the Confidential Close-Call Reporting System (C3RS), which allows employees to anonymously report a safety problem or close-call event to a third party. It was this focus on safety and regulatory compliance that he brought to Metro-North when he first came on board in 2016. In an exclusive sit-down with the new Metro-North president, Railfan & Railroad asked Vonashek observed from his time at Metra, MBTA, and Metro-North, “While each railroad had its own specific challenges, the common thread is each one is focused on safety.”

Of course, the railroad’s most visible metric is daily ridership, which has trended upward in recent years as workers return to the office and discretionary travel picks up for entertainment and events. “This past week [last week of September], we broke records for best daily ridership,” while the railroad currently reports they are at 87 percent of pre-pandemic ridership levels. Of note, stations in The Bronx have seen growth of 150 percent over last year. Special event service to Yankee Stadium has been growing, too. “We saw our highest ridership to Yankee Stadium this past week [last week of September], with 16 percent of attendees traveling to the game by train.” In addition, the railroad is looking forward to its first service expansion in more than 25 years with the extension of New Haven Line service to New York Penn Station in 2027. “Enhanced East Bronx service and Penn Station Access will be a game changer,” Vonashek said. Four new stations will be added in the East Bronx: Hunts Point, Parkchester/Van Nest, Morris Park, and Co-Op City, providing direct rail access to Penn Station for Bronx residents.

ABOVE: Metro-North president Justin Vonashek disembarks from a New Haven Line “Super Express” at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. —Courtesy MTA

Asking if there are other possible territory expansions in the future, Vonashek said, “We’re focusing on improving the existing service we have and making sure the customers have the best possible experience.” More trains are being added to the upper Hudson Line to address crowding, including two new “Super Express” runs to be introduced in October that offer 90-minute service from Poughkeepsie. This follows on the heels of the new “Super Express” service introduced on the New Haven Line back in March, saving up to 25 minutes of travel time for commuters coming from Connecticut. “We saw a 10% increase in ridership after we added the Super Expresses on the New Haven Line.” These gradual improvements to schedules are the result of increased demand as more workers are traveling to New York City.

This past February, officials across the Hudson River in Orange and Rockland counties were demanding better service on the Port Jervis and Pascack Valley lines. According to a report in the Journal News, Rockland County Executive Ed Day argued that west-of-Hudson (WOH) commuters do not receive the same level of service as those on the east side of the river, and that fare hikes and increased subsidies are not justified until improvements are made. Vonashek said the challenges to expanding WOH service are directly related to the overall system capacity of partner New Jersey Transit. “There’s a practical issue of the miles of single-track main line, a lack of siding capacity, plus yard capacity in Suffern, N.Y., and Hoboken, N.J.” According to Vonashek, WOH service posted a 94 percent on-time performance rating, compared to NJT’s average 90 percent system-wide OTP. “We recently named a new superintendent of WOH just to focus on that territory, and it’s made a huge difference in terms of managing the customer experience.”

ABOVE: Metro-North GE P32AC-DM 208 wearing the 40th anniversary tribute to the original Metro-North “beachball” design of the 1980s leads a Hudson Line train at Marble Hill, N.Y., on August 30, 2025. Locomotive 208 was selected because FL9 2008 was the last of the iconic cab units to be retired from regular service in April 2007. While new Siemens Chargers are arriving to replace the P32s, 15 rehabbed units will remain on the roster through at least 2032. —Otto M. Vondrak photo

When asked how overall system velocity can be increased, Vonashek said that improvements to the signal systems in certain areas have allowed for increased speed. Plus, the introduction of the new Siemens Chargers helps reduce station dwell time. In 2021, Metro-North placed an order for 27 Siemens Charger SC42-DM dual-mode locomotives that can operate off third rail or diesel power to gradually phase out the aging General Electric P32AC-DM units delivered 30 years ago. Vonashek was excited about the new Chargers entering revenue service ahead of schedule and under budget. “No. 301 entered revenue service last week, and 302 entered service this week.” While most of the P32s will be retired, the railroad will retain 15 units and rehab them in-house to maintain them as part of the fleet through 2032. “The Heritage Unit program is part of that, as some locomotives come through for rehab.” Extensive body work is part of the program to keep these units in a good state of repair, and so far, Metro-North has released seven heritage units honoring predecessor railroads.

Vonashek is also looking forward to the arrival of new Siemens Charger dual-mode battery power/AC locomotives that will be dedicated to Penn Station Access service. These new locomotives can draw power off AC overhead catenary on the New Haven Line, or use internal battery power.

In MTA’s recent $68 billion capital plan (2025-2029), Metro-North received $6 billion that will be applied to maintaining the “core service,” which includes $1 billion dedicated to the Grand Central Terminal “artery” that funnels the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Lines into the busy terminal. “This is more than double past appropriations,” said Vonashek. These funds will be applied to the GCT “trainshed” (platform area) and ongoing Park Avenue Viaduct repairs, fortifying the Hudson Line against coastal surges and landslides, bringing stations to a good state of repair, upgrading electrical substations, purchasing new rolling stock to replace the last of the Budd M-3s, and improving overall system accessibility.

What’s it like to be the president of Metro-North? “I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity that I never expected, but that I also never take for granted,” Vonashek said. “Walking through Grand Central each day and taking in its beauty, a testament to the work of our skilled employees, not just in GCT, but throughout the whole system,” he said, “We are the premier commuter agency.”