The Harlem Line is an commuter rail line owned and operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. state of New York. It runs north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower from Grand Central Terminal to Southeast, in Putnam County, is electrified with a third rail and has at least two tracks. The section north of Southeast is a non-electrified single-track line served by diesel locomotives. The diesel trains usually run as a shuttle on the northern end of the line, except for rush-hour express trains in the peak direction (four to Grand Central in the morning, four from Grand Central in the evening) and one train in each direction on weekends.
With 38 stations, the Harlem Line has the most of any Metro-North main line. Its northern terminal, Wassaic, is the northernmost station in the system. It is the only Metro-North line used exclusively by that carrier (no use by Amtrak, though CSX services freight customers as far north as Mount Vernon) and the only one that uses the entirety of existing track. It is colored blue on Metro-North timetables and system maps, and stations on the line have blue trim. The blue color-coding appears to have started with timetables issued by predecessor New York Central for the then-Harlem Division as far back as 1965.
The Harlem Line was originally chartered in 1831 as the New York and Harlem Railroad (NY&H) and was leased to the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company in 1871. The line became part of the Metro-North Railroad in 1983. While the line has traditionally served to bring commuters from Westchester County to jobs in the city, since the 2000s it has begun to see more "reverse commuting" from the Bronx into Westchester and points north. The northern reaches of the line are also close enough to Western Massachusetts that residents in parts of that region are also able to commute to jobs in New York City.
Line description
The Harlem Line hews closely to roads along river-based transportation corridors dating back to even pre-rail times. It follows three major parkways closely from the Bronx northwards through Westchester: the Bronx River Parkway (and a short portion that becomes the Taconic State Parkway), the Saw Mill River Parkway and Interstate 684. In the last section it also begins to run close to NY 22, the long north–south two-lane state highway that parallels the eastern border of the state. In Westchester, it serves some of that county's most affluent communities as it slowly trends eastward.
Manhattan and the Bronx
The Harlem Line begins underground at Grand Central Terminal, on the Park Avenue main line. The train tracks leave underground north of 97th Street and run on an elevated viaduct starting at 102nd Street in Manhattan. After stopping at Harlem–125th Street, the Harlem Line crosses the Harlem River at 135th Street in Manhattan, entering the Bronx via the Park Avenue Bridge. The train tracks go into open-cut north of 144th Street.
In the Bronx, the Harlem Line cuts through the neighborhoods of the southwest Bronx, with two stations: Melrose, at 162nd Street (it then runs under the Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95) and Tremont, at 177th Street. Fordham station is next, at Fordham Road (190th Street). The tracks rise to ground level after the Fordham station. The Harlem Line then parallels the western edge of Fordham University until the Botanical Garden station at Bedford Park Boulevard (200th Street).
The Harlem Line then cuts northeast to join the Bronx River Parkway, which lies to the east of the tracks. The Williams Bridge station is next, at Gun Hill Road (210th Street). After the Williams Bridge station, Woodlawn Cemetery begins to the west of the tracks, with Webster Avenue in between the cemetery and tracks. The Woodlawn station is at 233rd Street, and it is north of here that the New Haven Line diverges to head east towards the Northeast Corridor.
The Harlem Line then goes under a bridge for the parkway, and it remains to the west of the tracks until Scarsdale station. The Wakefield station at 241st Street concludes the Bronx portion of the Harlem Line.
Westchester County
The Westchester portion of the Harlem Line begins at Bronx River Road in southeastern Yonkers. After the Mount Vernon West station, the Harlem Line runs along the on-ramp to the Cross County Parkway eastbound, right before Fleetwood station. After the Bronxville station, the Harlem Line parallels the Bronx River Parkway all the way up to White Plains.