LIRR September Ridership Tops the 2019 Mark
Published: November 1, 2026
By: Adam Burns
ALBANY, N.Y. — Governor Kathy Hochul said on October 28 that Long Island Rail Road ridership in September reached 102 percent of September 2019. It is the second month this year the railroad has passed the matching month from before the pandemic. June also reached 102 percent of June 2019.
The September count
On Wednesday, September 9, the Long Island Rail Road carried 321,497 riders. The governor’s office said that was the railroad’s second-busiest weekday of 2026. The busiest was June 18, the day of the Knicks championship parade in New York, at 369,482 riders. For three weeks in a row in September, Tuesday through Thursday ridership stayed above 300,000. The release calls that the first such stretch since the pandemic.
The same announcement credits Grand Central Madison, the Main Line Third Track, and the Double Track project with a 41 percent increase in Long Island Rail Road service. Hochul said many people had expected pre-pandemic ridership to stay out of reach, and she named Grand Central Madison among the projects she pointed to. MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber tied the gains to work already done and to the authority’s $68 billion capital plan.
A Metro-North weekend record
Metro-North ridership in September reached 90 percent of September 2019. The release says June was the stronger recovery month on that railroad, at 93.2 percent of June 2019. From Monday, September 21, through Friday, September 25, Metro-North carried 1,294,011 weekday riders, which the announcement calls its highest Monday-through-Friday total.
On the weekend of October 24 and 25, Metro-North carried 323,423 riders. That passed the previous weekend record of 302,610, set June 13 and 14, and it was 25.5 percent above the October 2019 weekend. The release points to Hudson Valley foliage trips and to Tarrytown’s Halloween parade.
Weekend travel has been the faster recovery on both railroads. Through October 2026, Saturday ridership was up 66 percent from the same months of 2022, and Sunday ridership was up 64 percent. The Long Island Rail Road’s busiest weekend of the year was September 5 and 6, at 353,308 riders, 62 percent above its average September weekend in 2019.
Extra trains for the foliage
Metro-North began its Leaf Peeper service on October 3 with five additional outbound trains and three additional inbound trains on the Upper Hudson Line. On October 17 it added six more outbound trains and six more inbound trains. The announcement says the railroad is running 40 extra weekend trains on Saturdays and Sundays, and that fall ridership this season is twice the 2019 fall. The added Hudson Line weekend service runs through Sunday, November 8.
The release compares the outbound schedule with 2019, when Metro-North ran three Saturday outbound trains and one Sunday outbound. This fall it is running 11 outbound trains each weekend day. It says that added service comes to about 6,930 outbound trips, against 2,040 in 2019.
Cars on order
The announcement also looks ahead to the fleet. In June 2025 the MTA approved the purchase of 316 M-9A railcars, 160 of them for the Long Island Rail Road and 156 for Metro-North. In May 2026 it asked builders for proposals on 252 new single-level coaches for Metro-North. The release says the 2025-2029 capital plan includes $6 billion for Metro-North cars and infrastructure.
Related reading on American-Rails.com
Sources
- Governor Kathy Hochul, press release, Albany, October 28, 2026. Long Island Rail Road September ridership reached 102 percent of September 2019, the second such month this year after June. September 9 ridership was 321,497. June 18 ridership was 369,482. Grand Central Madison, the Main Line Third Track, and Double Track are credited with a 41 percent service increase. Metro-North reached 90 percent of September 2019 ridership. June was 93.2 percent of June 2019. The September 21-25 weekday total was 1,294,011. The October 24-25 weekend was 323,423 riders, above 302,610 on June 13-14 and 25.5 percent above the October 2019 weekend. Saturday ridership through October was up 66 percent from 2022, and Sunday ridership was up 64 percent. The Long Island Rail Road weekend of September 5-6 was 353,308 riders. Leaf Peeper additions began October 3 and grew on October 17. Forty extra weekend trains are running, and the added Hudson Line weekend service continues through November 8. This fall the railroad is running 11 outbound trains each weekend day, against three Saturday outbounds and one Sunday outbound in 2019. Janno Lieber’s remarks name a $68 billion capital plan. The M-9A order is 316 cars, approved in June 2025. The May 2026 request covers 252 single-level Metro-North coaches. The capital plan figure for Metro-North in the release is $6 billion.
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