Authority Developing Hudson Line Climate Resilience Blueprint to Detail Ways to Protect Line from Extreme Weather Events
Project to Focus on 20-Mile Stretch from Riverdale to Croton-Harmon
First Open House Will Be Held at Hastings-on-Hudson Library on Wednesday, April 23
Read The Climate Resilience Roadmap Here
Read The 2025-2029 Capital Plan Here
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced an initiative to protect the Hudson Line from the effects of climate change through investments that will fortify the line against future stormwater runoff, tidal floods and other risks. This effort, known as the Metro-North Hudson Line Climate Resilience Blueprint, will rebuild critical infrastructure – including culverts, drainage, retaining walls, slopes, shorelines, and track – with attention focused on a 20 mile stretch between Riverdale and Croton-Harmon that is vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather.
The Blueprint will also outline design guidance and actions to protect the entirety of the Hudson Line from the effects of climate change, and ensure a coordinated approach is taken for all future Hudson Line projects. This includes target track elevations, standards for waterfront shoreline improvements, and performance criteria for drainage.
The agency will host the first in a series of Open House on the Blueprint on Wednesday, April 23, at the Hastings-on-Hudson Library from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The Open House will feature a brief presentation given by MTA Construction & Development (C&D) representatives about the Blueprint and the Capital Plan, with a Q&A session to follow. Members of the public are encouraged to learn more about the project and share their thoughts on why it’s important that the MTA make the Hudson Line resilient to climate change.
“Securing the next generation of great public transit along the Hudson Line means investing in infrastructure to protect Metro-North from climate change,” said MTA Construction and Development President Jamie Torres-Springer. “The Hudson Line Climate Resilience Blueprint will give us a clear path to make our service stronger and more reliable, and we’re excited to share our vision with the commuters who depend on it.”
“By the 2050s, 80 percent of the Hudson Line will be at increased risk of flooding due to rising sea levels and more frequent severe weather events,” said Metro-North President Justin Vonashek. “The Hudson Line is a key economic driver for the Hudson Valley and it’s important that we make these crucial investments to protect the future of not only the railroad, but the entire coastal area.”
A flagship project in the MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan that was a direct outgrowth of the findings in the MTA's Climate Resilience Roadmap, the Blueprint is one example of how the MTA is taking a bold, future-looking approach to tackling the challenges of climate change. The Blueprint builds on the MTA and C&D’s commitment to “better, faster, cheaper” - ensuring projects are completed on time and on budget by maximizing opportunities to bundle construction projects that address a state of good repair.
The Capital Plan is a historic $68.4 billion investment in the region’s subways, buses, railroads, bridges, and tunnels over the next five years that ensures New Yorkers continue to have access to reliable, accessible, and sustainable transit. It includes targeted investments to rebuild, improve, and expand the transit system, and will enable the MTA to continue to provide frequent and reliable service by putting the system on a path to a state of good repair, including investments in railcars, power, and signals.
The Plan will also improve the customer experience, with investments in accessibility, stations, and modern fare gates, and take action on climate change, including resiliency and sustainability initiatives. The 2025-2029 Capital Plan builds on the most detailed system-wide evaluation the MTA has ever undertaken, the Twenty-Year Needs Assessment.