It’s a joy ride.
For the first time ever, Metro-North is operating a special holiday lights train. The commuter railroad company has decorated one of its 700 trains with 2,000 red and green LED Christmas lights.
The festive train, which runs through New Year’s, switches between the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines at random. Passengers lucky enough to catch it are loving the bright ride
“We’ve been trying to find the train for some time,” said a mid-40s commuter who works in finance and happened to catch the holiday train Wednesday evening as he commuted from Grand Central Station to his home in Greenwich, Connecticut.
He and his kids have been looking for it when they drive past tracks and searching for people posting its whereabouts on social media.
He couldn’t believe it when he randomly happened on the train.
“My kids aren’t going to believe me, so I had to take a video,” he said, adding “This is really special … It takes you back to the trains you saw as a kid in the old Coca-Cola commercials.”
The holiday train’s schedule is sometimes announced on the @MetroNorth account on X, but it is mostly kept a secret to surprise passengers.
It took four workers three months to decorate the sweet ride. Its lights span 3,200 feet — enough to go to the top of the Empire State Building and back down again. The train has a wreath on its front and snowflakes printed on the side. When it stops, “Jingle Bells” plays.
It’s fun for both those who ride and work the trains.
“I feel like Santa,” said Joseph Halama, who has been a conductor for Metro-North for 17 years and got to drive the holiday train on Wednesday for the second time. “It’s absolutely gorgeous. Every once in a while I stick my head out before we get to the station to see it glowing. It’s like lights glowing through the air. It’s really something to see.”
He loves bringing joy to commuters.
“I think it softens up the grumpiest grinches out there,” he said. “Everybody, no matter what, even if they are in a bad mood it brings a smile to your face.”
Brendan Morris, 32, who works in sales at Google and commutes regularly between Westport and Grand Central, was “thrilled” to catch the holiday train.
But, his boss and fellow commuter, Andrew Fleisher, was more of a Scrooge about it.
“I think if Metro-North could do more of this or make the trains faster, they should make the trains faster,” said the 35-year-old.
But he’s in the minority.
Rachel Rogers, 41, who lives in New Milford, Conn., was planning on grabbing a bite at Grand Central and taking a later train home Wednesday, but when she saw the holiday train pull in, she made a run for it.
“It was so festive,” she said.
She and two friends had spent the day in the city going on a behind the scenes tour of Radio City, taking in a Rockettes performance, and seeing the tree at Rockefeller Center — all while wearing Christmas sweaters.
The ride home was the icing on the yule log.
“We had the whole Christmas experience,” she said. “This was just such a great way to end it.”
