On the heels of his February appointment, Metro-North Railroad President Justin Vonashek sits down with Paul Comfort to break down a banner year for the MTA’s northern commuter powerhouse. From 98 percent on-time performance to new “Super-Express” trains that shave up to 50 minutes a day off the New Haven run, Justin walks through the big wins, bigger capital program, and the three metrics he believes define rail’s future in North America: reliability, frequency, and trip time.

• The 98% standard — how Metro-North elevated on-time performance across 230k daily trips
• Super-Express strategy — six AM/PM trains, revamped signaling, and a 90-minute New Haven–GCT target
• Grand Central Terminal as a “temple to transit”
• Their nearly $8 billion capital plan (2025-29) — dual-mode Siemens Chargers, battery-electric locos, signal renewals, ADA station upgrades, and the Grand Central artery
• Penn Station Access for Bronx riders and reverse-commute opportunities into Connecticut

• Metro-North Railroad — https://new.mta.info/agency/metro-north-railroad
• MTA Capital Program 2025-2029 overview https://future.mta.info/capitalplan/
• Transit Unplugged episode archive — https://transitunplugged.com

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Transit Unplugged is brought to you by Modaxo, passionate about moving the world’s people.

Creator, Host & Producer — Paul Comfort

Executive Producer — Julie Gates

Producer & Newsletter Editor — Chris O’Keefe

Associate Producer — Cyndi Raskin

Podcast Intern — Desmond Gates

Special thanks to:

Brand Design — Tina Olagundoye

Social Media — Tatyana Mechkarova

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