I live in Matamoras, Pennsylvania. My house is walking distance to the Port Jervis Train Station. I love taking the train into New York City. It's a long trip with many stops. If I had to make the trip everyday for work it would be exhausting. By the time the train gets to Secaucus and Hoboken it's usually pretty full. Over the last several months the economic shutdown has lead to a drastic decrease in commuters using rail services. Which means the M.T.A. has collected a lot less revenue and needs to save money. Last week, one of the suggestions made by M.T.A. Chairman Pat Foye was eliminating the Port Jervis and Pascack Valley Rail lines. The M.T.A. would save about $25 million and would save billions in capital expenses in future years. It would also mean no more rail service for Orange and Rockland Counties. Where residents pay a special tax to help fund the rail service. Foye says about $12 Billion in additional funding from the Federal Government is needed to avoid wage freezes, service cuts and fare increases. That help could come if Congress can agree on another Covid-19 relief package. Shutting down rail service would certainly add plenty of cars to the roads each morning. Which would make everyone's commute more difficult. I hope this does not happen.
Mid Hudson News