Here’s what it could take to revive Metro-North

Surgical masks and social distancing will be part of the “new normal” for MetroNorth riders, but what else can commuters expect as the rail system adapts to a global pandemic?

For starters, plenty of cleaning.

That’s what Catherine Rinaldi, president of the MTA Metro-North Railroad, said Thursday morning. The transit system is not only disinfecting trains on a regular basis, but will also continue to so even once ridership numbers start to climb.

In anticipation of more commuters in the future, Metro-North is examining the use of “cutting edge” antimicrobial products to provide peace of mind for concerned train riders, Rinaldi said.

But it’s unknown when the rail system will recover from a dramatic drop in ridership, Rinaldi said. She’s not sure the number of daily MetroNorth patrons will ever reach pre-coronavirus figures.

In April, ridership across Metro-North dropped by a staggering 95 percent due to the spread of coronavirus and the massive business closures across the metro New York region. An estimated 84,000 daily riders from Connecticut has dwindled down to just about 4,000 as of the start of May, said Michael Shiffer, Metro-North vice president of planning.

It’s now difficult to look back at Metro-North in its peak days — the train cars packed, with every seat taken and more passengers standing in the aisles. There were 3,602,894 riders on the just the New Haven Line in October 2019.

But the demographics of the Connecticut riders — 31 percent of whom work in the finance sector and had commuted regularly to jobs in New York — meant that the New Haven Line was “the first to go off the cliff” in terms of customers, Rinaldi said.

Melissa Kaplan-Macey, vice president of state programs and Connecticut director of the Regional Plan Association, agreed that ridership of the commuter rails will take a big hit in the region.

Having visible and frequent

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▶ Will the pandemic speed the shift to driverless cars? cleaning of the trains could help create peace of mind for the regular business and pleasure travelers, but Kaplan-Macey still doesn’t expect ridership to increase drastically in the short term.

“To expect a return to normal in a couple of weeks — or months — in unrealistic,” she said.

However, she said she “absolutely” sees Metro North ridership getting back to normal — eventually.

“Do I see that this year? No,” she said.

Eventually was the key word for Rinadli, too. As residents across the region resume their previous routines, those rideship figures should go up, but she said it won’t happen overnight.

When asked whether Metro-North trains could implement broad changes such as limiting passengers per train car or reducing the number of seats per car once riders return in large numbers to commuting, Rinaldi said she was taking a waitand-see approach.

“So much of this is a product of observation,” she said.

Some measures could include adding more trains or running trains with more cars — and keeping all cars open — to help with social distancing and allow riders to spread out a bit more, she said.

“We’re now in a place where we’re trying to gradually figure out what comes next,” she said.

Whatever the result is, Rinaldi said the safety of riders remains paramount.

“For those people who are on trains every day, my commitment to you is we will continue to do what we need to do to keep you safe,” she said.

To return riders, she said, “We want you to come back and we will keep you safe then, too.”

Jeff Maron, a Stamford resident who serves as the vice president of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council, said he hasn’t gone into the city since early March. He’s been working from home ever since the pandemic began.

While he wants to see Metro-North and passengers take certain safety precautions, Maron said he wants to get back to his previous routine. “I am definitely getting back on the train,” he said. “I am looking forward to getting back on the train.”