MTA Announces Purdy’s Station Becomes Third Metro-North Station to Be Made Fully Accessible This Year
Station Upgraded with Street-Level Elevator and Accessible Sidewalk
See Photos of Press Conference
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that the Purdy’s Metro-North Station, already accessible with two elevators, has been made fully accessible with the opening of a new elevator and connecting sidewalk. The elevator travels between the parking lot and the Purdys Road/Route 116 overpass as well as a sidewalk that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act from the elevator to the existing station entrance.
The station joins two others on the Harlem Line, Hartsdale and Scarsdale, to have accessibility upgrades completed in 2024. Additionally, in the current capital plan, the MTA is moving forward with accessibility upgrades at three Metro-North stations located in the Bronx. Completely new station platforms, amenities, and two new elevators will be installed at Woodlawn and Williams Bridge. Botanical Garden will be rehabilitated, and the station elevators will be upgraded.
“The MTA continues its lightning pace of making stations accessible across the entire network,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “This is the fourth elevator that we’ve put into service along the Harlem Line in only the first two months of this year. With today’s announcement, 85% of Metro-North’s Harlem Line in Westchester County is now fully accessible – just 2 full-service stations left to go.”
“New elevators in Hartsdale, Scarsdale and now Purdy’s means that the Harlem Line is more than 80% accessible improving regional mobility,” said Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi. “Providing the best customer experience to everyone is always the goal and increased accessibility creates opportunities for more people to travel throughout the region.”
“The MTA is able to deliver accessibility projects better, cheaper, and faster thanks to innovative contracting tools like project bundling,” said MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer. “This station received not just a new elevator, but also critical upgrades such new lighting and a newly ADA-compliant sidewalk and walkway, which together create a better environment for customers entering and navigating the station.”
“This project is just the latest example of a better and more accessible MTA station,” said MTA Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo. “This elevator creates a significantly quicker and safer trip for customers walking or rolling to access the station and supplements the existing accessible path from platform to parking lot."
"I commend Metro-North for its timely completion of the important ADA-compliant upgrades to the Purdys station as part of the capital plan approved by the State Legislature,” said New York State Senator Pete Harckham. “These investments will provide full accessibility at a time when ridership continues to increase and return to pre-pandemic levels.”
"I salute the MTA, in collaboration with New York State Department of Transportation, for the installation of a street-level elevator and ADA compliant sidewalk at the Purdy's Metro-North Station,” said NY State Assemblymember Chris Burdick. “These significant improvements will make the train station safer and more accessible for commuters and is an important development for the hamlet."
“Accessibility is the cornerstone of progress, and with the opening of the new elevator at Purdy's Station, the MTA is ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to access this vital transportation network,” said Westchester County Executive George Latimer. “This milestone reflects our joint commitment to creating a more inclusive and connected community for all.”
“We appreciate MNR's efforts installing the elevator at the Purdy's train station. This makes pedestrian access much safer for the residents of Purdy's and for the employees of the nursing homes who walk to work every day,” said Town of North Salem Supervisor Warren Lucas, “It also significantly shortens the morning commute. I also want to thank the NYS DOT Region 8 for the improvements they made on the bridge sidewalks to facilitate this work.”
Initial improvements at the Purdy’s station began approximately five years ago when Metro-North Railroad, the New York State Department of Transportation and the Town of North Salem agreed to work together to complete upgrades. The Town used grant money to install sidewalks and traffic light controls and the NYS DOT built an overpass to carry customers across Route 116 to the stairs that lead to Purdy’s station.
Purdy’s takes its name from the family of Daniel Pardieus who purchased large tracts of land in the area for farming in the late 18th century. His grandson Isaac Hart Purdy made an agreement with the New York & Harlem Railroad to establish a station and cattle yard, with the railroad arriving in the summer of 1847. The railroad paid a dollar for use of the land, in exchange for the guarantee of trains making “regular stops” at Purdy’s. This ancient agreement saved train service in the mid-1950s when the New York Central Railroad, a Metro-North predecessor, sought to abandon or reduce service to the stop. Today, 69 trains stop there on weekdays and 50 on weekends.
A second station replacing the original was built between 1890-1910 and a second track was added through Purdy’s to Croton Falls by 1907. The station building was demolished in 1974 as Interstate 684 was built between Goldens Bridge and Brewster.
The work at Purdy’s shows Metro-North’s commitment to its smaller stations as well as the larger ones. Despite it being one of the lighter used stations on the branch it is still an important part of the Harlem Line service package.