All aboard! The new Metro-North Railroad station is open, giving fans a direct route to see the Bronx Bombers and local residents a new travel option.
On Thursday, May 21, Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined representatives from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to celebrate the opening of the Yankees-E. 153rd Street Station.
“For decades, residents of the South Bronx have sought rail service to increase their transportation options and limit the number of people who drive to Yankee’s games,” said Bloomberg. “Today, it has finally arrived. The new Yankee-E. 153rd Street MTA Metro-North Railroad station is the first railroad station open anywhere in the Bronx in decades.”
The new addition to the Hudson Line, a $ 91 million dollar project, began service to the public on Saturday, May 23, and will remain in operation 365 days a year.
A 450-foot-long, 25-foot-wide bridge will connect Bronxites and visitors to the new Yankee Stadium and parks currently under construction along the waterfront, being built as part of the City’s Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan.
“The opening of this station is part of a broader effort to ignite a new spark of commerce in the South Bronx,” said Governor David Paterson. “By encouraging people to use mass transit instead of driving, the station will also be a boon to the environment and to the health of all New Yorkers suffering from respiratory ailments.”
Special accommodations will be made to account for the estimated 10,000 passengers on game days, but the station will remain a regular local stop with 27 northbound and 23 southbound trains each weekday.
The station includes four staircases and two elevators, with a 10,000 square foot mezzanine featuring a translucent barrel roof. In June a glass mosaic mural will be added as well.
“This beautiful station will benefit the neighborhood and the entire region for years to come,” said Elliot Sander, MTA Executive Director.
