Metro-North Railroad announced the Haverstraw-Ossining and Newburgh-Beacon ferry services will resume Aug. 30.
The changes will coincide with Metro-North's upcoming service increase, to take effect with the Aug. 29 timetables, which will increase train service to 83 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
“We are so excited to see the region continue to recover, and our weekday ridership has increased steadily all spring and into the summer,” Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi said. “Our late August service increase will provide even more travel options for people ready to return to the office after Labor Day. Restoring ferry service during weekday peak periods will give our Rockland and Orange County customers returning to work additional options for getting to and from the city and other destinations along Metro-North’s Hudson Line.”
"People are coming back to work and NY Waterway ferries are here to give them a safe, fast and convenient commute. We’re thrilled to restart the Haverstraw-Ossining and Newburgh-Beacon service with Metro-North, and we look forward seeing all our past riders, and many more new ones, back aboard in August," said Armand Pohan, CEO, president and chairman of NY Waterway.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, Metro-North implemented its Essential Service Plan and discontinued service on both ferries. Now, as the region continues to recover and the railroad prepares for a post-Labor Day return of office workers and school, ferry service will resume and connect with morning and afternoon peak trains at Beacon and Ossining.
Schedules for the Haverstraw-Ossining and Newburgh-Beacon ferries will be made available in early August.
The upcoming Aug. 29 service increase follows up on service increases reflected in Metro-North's April 12 and June 21 timetables. The April 12 timetables saw the restoration of weekend service to Wassaic and the reopening of the Manitou station, located near Bear Mountain Bridge and Anthony’s Nose. The June 21 timetables added 24 new peak trains on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines, bringing the railroad to 67 percent of its pre-pandemic service levels.