Mapping Local and Commuter Rail Transit in NYC: Metro-North

• Commuter rail map : Metro-North--Harlem, Hudson, New Haven, Port Jervis, and Pascack Valley lines, Long Island Rail Road : 1984 / Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
  • Map Div. 88-5290
  • Creator: MTA
• MTA regional transit map : all MTA subways and railroads and their interconnections, all connections between MTA rail and bus services, selected connections to other regional transit services / MTA, Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 1996
  • Map Div. 96-6665
  • Creator: MTA
• Connecticut bus/rail connections / MTA Metro-North Railroad, Connecticut Department of Transportation. [2004]
  • Map Div. 04-5163

Image Source: MTA regional transit map : all MTA subways and railroads and their interconnections, all connections between MTA rail and bus services, selected connections to other regional transit services / MTA, Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 1996 / Map Div. 96-6665

Online Research Catalog

When using the Online Research Catalog:

• In the Advanced Search function, checkmark "Cartographic" under Format.
• If you are interested in finding maps created by the MTA related to Metro-North, we recommend the following searches:
  • (Author) Metropolitan Transportation Authority + (Keyword) Metro-North
• Not all maps that include Metro-North routes were created by the rapid transit company itself. Commercial, government, and other rapid transit companies would also showcase these local transit lines on their maps. As such, to include these maps in your search results, we recommend the following searches in the Keyword field:
  • Metro North New York
  • Metro North Connecticut
• Many of the current MTA subway maps have a map of the Metro-North routes on the verso. To locate these subway maps by the MTA, we recommend the following search into the Author field:
  • Metropolitan Transportation Authority

• Please note that you can have narrow your search to more specific results by combining the above search terms with any of the terms listed in the "Terms to Search in the Online Research Catalog" portion of this guide's Using Our Catalogs page.

Current Metro-North Maps

To find the most updated Metro-North Map, we highly recommend reviewing the  MTA Website, specifically their Maps Page. Under "MTA Railroads," you can find a map that shows the routes for the Metro-North

Before Metro-North

• For maps including the rail companies that were associated with these rail lines before they were operated as Metro North, please utilize the following searches in the Keyword field: 
  • "New York Central"
  • "New York, New Haven, & Hartford Railroad"
  • Conrail
• For holdings of other items that are not in the Online Research Catalog, please search in the printed Dictionary Catalog of the Map Division (available online via HathiTrust), by
  • Volume 7, page 182- 183 under New York Central Railroad. 
  • Volume 7, page 186-187 under New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
  • Volume 7, page 647-649 under Pennsylvania Railroad.
• Please note that additional maps can be found in the archival records related to these companies. See below under "Additional Recommended Books and Documents at NYPL" for recommended searches and suggested material.

To find supplementary books and documents related to Metro-North, please conduct the searches listed on this page's "Catalog Tips" with "Cartographic" NOT checkmarked in either our Online Research Catalog or Digital Collections Portal. In addition, we also recommend the following keyword searches, that provides historical context before Metro-North:

• "New York Central" and "Railroads"
• "New York, New Haven, & Hartford Railroad"
• Penn Central Transportation Company
• Conrail

See below for a list of recommended materials:

• Abstracts relating to lands from 65th to 72nd Streets owned by William H. Vanderbilt and the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company. Circa 1878-1908
  • Finding Aid and Additional Information found in NYPL's Archive Portal.
  • Call Number: MssCol 24574
  • Note: "The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company was formed in 1869 with the merger of two Vanderbilt-controlled companies, the New York Central Railroad Company and the Hudson River Railroad Company. The manuscript (1 volume, 360 pages, partially blank, with tipped-in index and maps) is a comprehensive abstract of title of properties acquired by William H. Vanderbilt and the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company during the years 1878 to 1880, on the upper west side of Manhattan...Supporting records include abstracted colonial charters, deeds and other conveyances, wills, and court proceedings, as well as cadastral survey maps and street diagrams..."
• Penn Central Transportation Company records, 1796-1986
  • Finding Aid and Additional Information found in NYPL's Archive Portal
  • Call Number: MssCol 2372
  • Note: Collection consists of records relating to the operations mainly in New York State of the New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad. Collection contains records, 1796-1969, of the New York Central (Buffalo East Lines) and the Pennsylvania Railroad (New York Zone) (chiefly files of the subsidiary Long Island Railroad which was absorbed in 1900).
• The railroad mergers and the coming of Conrail / Richard Saunders. 1978
  • JSE 79-121
• Rise from the wreckage : a brief history of Conrail / L. Stanley Crane. 1988
  • HE2791.C8994 C77 1988
• Railfan & Railroad
  • Vol. 42 No. 5 (May. 2023)
  • Note: Article titled "Metro-North at 40"