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If you’ve ever stared out the window somewhere north of Yonkers and thought, “There has to be a faster way,” good news: Starting October 6, Metro-North is shaving serious minutes off your Hudson Line commute. For the first time ever, riders will be able to zip between Poughkeepsie and Grand Central in under 90 minutes—without a jetpack or a traffic nightmare on the Taconic.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced the arrival of new “super-express” trains ahead of schedule, a project originally pegged for 2026 but now debuting this fall. “Delivering better, faster Metro-North service to Hudson Valley commuters will propel economic growth across our state and improve quality of life,” Hochul said. “These new super-express trains will save commuters nearly 15 minutes of travel time every day, giving riders back over an hour a week of their precious time.”
So, what does that look like in practice? The new schedule trims five Hudson Line express trips down to 88 or 89 minutes, with one more clocking in at 95 minutes—still a record-setter compared to the usual 115-minute slog of a non-express run. Morning peak trains out of Poughkeepsie and evening peak trains out of Grand Central are the big winners, stopping only at a handful of stations like Beacon, New Hamburg and Harlem-125th Street before barreling straight into Manhattan.
It’s not just faster math on a timetable, either. Behind the scenes, Metro-North used GPS and signal data to rework schedules and squeeze every last minute out of the ride. Infrastructure upgrades and shiny new Siemens Charger locomotives are also helping trains run faster, greener and more reliably. “Thanks to these schedule improvements, riders can get where they need to go faster, while continuing to enjoy the safe, reliable service they expect,” said Metro-North Railroad president Justin Vonashek.
The timing couldn’t be better. Alongside the new express service, Metro-North is bringing back its seasonal “Leaf Peeper” trains to shuttle day-trippers up the valley during peak foliage weekends. (Yes, you can gawk at fiery fall trees, sip a cider in Beacon and still make it back to the city in time for dinner.)
Bottom line: Starting in just a couple of weeks, Hudson Valley riders can finally brag that their train is faster than rush-hour traffic on the West Side Highway—and that’s worth raising a Metro-North paper coffee cup to.