To some of you this may be new, to some perhaps common knowledge, but I must admit, I get asked these questions quite frequently and figured I’d answer publicly. Can you use your Metro-North ticket on other lines? Is there a ticket that will allow you to ride all of the Metro-North system? I was asked these questions most recently by a coworker (Eric this is for you!). I didn’t think that you could, but I wasn’t 100% sure, and I told him I would get the official word. As for a ticket that would let you ride any Metro-North train, well I didn’t think it existed – but yes, it does in fact exist.

Below are two official “Conversion charts” for Metro-North tickets. Because the system spans the two states of New York and Connecticut, there are some catches. Any ticket on the Harlem and Hudson lines, as they are both in New York, are completely interchangeable. If the two zones that you leaving and arriving from correspond with the zones on the alternate line, the ticket is valid. My ticket from Goldens Bridge to Grand Central on the Harlem Line would also be valid from Peekskill to Grand Central on the Hudson Line, as both Goldens Bridge and Peekskill are in Zone 6. However, because parts of the New Haven line are in Connecticut, taxes and fees are paid to/by the state for each ticket. If you buy a single ride on the Harlem Line and try to use it on the New Haven, you circumvented that. Thus tickets (with the exception of weeklys and monthlys) purchased on the Harlem and Hudson Lines are not valid on the New Haven. Similarly, ones bought on the New Haven can’t be used for the Harlem and Hudson.

But, here’s the catch: It is permitted to use your monthly or weekly from the Harlem and Hudson on the New Haven line, and the other way around. So if you were to purchase a weekly ticket from Wassaic to Grand Central (the furthest fare zones apart) you could effectively ride any train to any location on all three lines for the whole week. Or in the case of the monthly, for an entire month.