All aboard the New Haven line on the Metro-North — unless you live in the Bronx.
Thanks to a century-old quirk of history, uptown New Yorkers can’t catch a quick ride to Manhattan on the New Haven line that originates in Connecticut — and City Controller Scott Stringer wants it fixed.
Passengers waiting for a train at the Fordham station in the Bronx aren’t allowed to step into the New Haven trains when they stop at the platform. Instead of jumping in for a fast trip to Grand Central Terminal, they have to stand and watch as passengers get off. The same situation is true at the Harlem 125th St. station — although the subway’s proximity means most locals take city transit.
The “exclusionary policy” that prevents New Yorkers from boarding the Connecticut-based trains is rooted in a 19th century deal between two private rail companies, according to Stringer, who says it should be sent to the dustbin of history.
“It is government-sanctioned discrimination at its worst and it must stop,” Stringer said. “While New York City’s transit system is in crisis, the MTA and Connecticut DOT have chosen to bar communities of color from trains that connect them with their jobs, schools, and loved ones.”
The service set up can be confusing and frustrating for Bronx riders.
“It’s asinine — just something that makes absolutely no sense,” Jamal Harris, 42, a physician. “I board the train and I’ve paid for the train but you won’t let me on.”
Fordham student Christopher Johnson, 19, said he’s asked train conductors why he can’t take the New Haven line — instead of having to wait for a train coming on a different line — but never gets a response.
“I don’t get it. I’ve asked and they just brush me off,” Johnson said. “They don’t give me a definitive answer.”
The New Haven line set up goes back to 1848, when the New York & Harlem and the New Haven railroad companies met at a junction in what is now Woodlawn.
The New Haven trains would pull into the station and let passengers off — but wouldn’t pick up any new riders.
By 1920, the Connecticut trains no longer stopped in the Bronx. But by the 1970s, a few New Haven trains began to stop at Fordham — but only to drop off riders.
When the rail lines became Metro-North in 1983, more trains were scheduled to stop at Fordham, along with the Harlem line trains. But the policy of excluding city riders at the Fordham and 125th St. stops.
“A lot of people wonder why you can’t get on the New Haven train in Fordham if you’re going to Grand Central,” Tom Meehan, New York Chapter, chairman, the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. “It’s an anachronism.”
Metro-North and Connecticut Department of Transportation split the costs of running the New Haven line, with the Nutmeg State putting up two-thirds of the bill, totaling $130 million last year, after fares are collected.
MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said that the agency will review the policy and discuss the arrangement with Connecticut.
“It is essential to ensure that we’re providing the best service possible to all of our customers,” Donovan said.
Connecticut DOT spokesman Judd Everhart said that allowing uptown New Yorkers to board New Haven trains would mean a crowded ride for his state’s commuters.
It’s the busiest line at Metro-North, carrying more than 3.4 million riders in July.
“The long standing practice by Metro-North is to provide access for all customers traveling between Harlem 125th Street or Fordham and Grand Central Terminal (on) a Harlem or Hudson Line train. All revenue would go to Metro-North,” Everhart said. “This method also avoids additional standees, overcrowding, adding additional cars, and added ticket collecting on New Haven line trains.”
