Metro-North to enhance accessibility, upgrade tech for rail station project
The revitalized White Plains station will have a more customer friendly focus, making commuting easier and more pleasant for the 12,000 customers who board trains there on an average weekday.
Officials for the MTA’s Metro-North Railroad announced a full-scale renewal project that will bring state-of-the-art improvements to the White Plains station is now underway.
The project will give Metro-North customers a reimagined station that is more accessible to all, safer, easier to navigate, and technologically up-to-date. The White Plains station has the third-highest ridership in the Metro-North system, second only to Stamford and Grand Central Terminal.
The revitalized White Plains station will have a more customer friendly focus, making commuting easier and more pleasant for the 12,000 customers who board trains there on an average weekday.
The station’s makeover is part of a $135 million Metro-North Station Improvement Initiative funded by the MTA’s 2015-2019 Capital Program. Construction is expected to continue to December 2020.
Metro-North Railroad makes accessibility a priority when considering the scope of all of its station construction projects. While the White Plains station is already fully ADA accessible, the state of good repair work will enhance this accessibility. The project adds an elevator within the main entrance for customers to reach the new side platform, including two ADA-compliant stairs that are replete with radiant heat flooring for snow and ice control. The MTA is investing in improving ADA-compliant features at the station, such as: railings, platform guardrails, signage, and a new public address system.
The top to bottom station transformation includes refurbishment and functional upgrades to its main entrance, as well as three other entrances. Security cameras and speakers will be positioned throughout the station, enhancing customer safety. Crews will install new platform canopies with wood ceilings, LED lighting, and a heated stairway leading from the side platform.
Added amenities like USB chargers, Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, digital screens that provide convenient access to train information, ticket vending machines, and new benches will make the station’s environment even more customer friendly.
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Customers can look forward to an expanded, glass-enclosed waiting area, new interior station wall panels, ceiling tiles and fixtures, a remodeled ticket office, an improved food vendor space, and refurbished bathrooms. MTA Arts and Design has also issued an open call for artists to create a site specific installation at the station.
Service at the White Plains station will continue throughout the duration of the three-year project. The renovation has been planned in three phases to minimize the disruption to customer travel.
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