Harrison (Metro-North station)

Harrison
The station house in 2008.
Location	452 Halstead Avenue and 240 Harrison Avenue, Harrison, NY 10528
Coordinates	40°58′12″N 73°42′40″W / 40.970°N 73.711°W / 40.970; -73.711Coordinates: 40°58′12″N 73°42′40″W / 40.970°N 73.711°W / 40.970; -73.711
Owned by	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Line(s)	New Haven Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Connections	Bee-Line Bus System: 5, 61
Construction
Parking	709 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	13
History
Opened	c. 1870
Electrified	12,500V (AC) overhead catenary
Traffic
Passengers (2006)	574,860  0%
Services
Preceding station   Metro-North Railroad   Following station Mamaroneck toward Grand Central New Haven Line Rye toward New Haven State Street

The Harrison Metro-North Railroad station serves Harrison, New York via the New Haven Line. During peak hours, some local trains (namely those not subsidized by the Connecticut Department of Transportation) originate or terminate here as opposed to locals from Stamford. Harrison is 22.2 miles (35.7 km) from Grand Central Terminal and the average travel time from Grand Central is 46 minutes.

As of August 2006, weekday commuter ridership was 2,211 and there are 739 parking spots.

Railroad service through Harrison dates back to the 1840s when the New York and New Haven Railroad laid tracks through the town. Unfortunately, it was little more than a flag stop until NY&NE built a station in 1870, before the line was acquired by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1872. Between 1927 and 1937, it also served as a station for the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway interurban line, and was one of two stations in Harrison to serve the NYW&B, the other one was at West Street and lasted just as long.

As with all New Haven Line stations in Westchester County, the station became a Penn Central station upon acquisition by Penn Central in 1969. The station was updated in 1972 from low-level to high-level platforms. This was done to accommodate the arrival of new rail cars known then as Cosmopolitans, now more commonly known as M2s. The new cars did not include boarding steps, or traps, as their predecessor 4400 Pullman "Washboard" cars did, and could only board passengers at stations with high-level platforms. This reconstruction project was taking place despite Penn Central's continuous financial despair throughout the 1970s, which forced them to turn over their commuter service to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. MTA transferred the station to Metro-North in 1983.