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MTA Metro-North Railroad celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2008, but that wasn't the only milestone the agency marked. Metro-North also posted record ridership and continued its streak of solid on-time performance (OTP).

The agency posted an all-time-high 84.2 million trips. The figure includes 83.5 million trips taken on Metro-North trains, up 3.9 percent vs. 2007, and 665,945 trips on the agency's ferries and buses.

This year, Metro-North hopes to further boost ridership when it opens the new Yankee Stadium station in spring. The agency also plans to provide regular train service to the West Bronx and launch a pilot program to run trains from the New Have Line to the New Jersey Meadowlands during the 2009 football season.

Meanwhile, OTP for Metro-North's East-of-Hudson services reached 97.5 percent in 2008, the fourth-straight year performance has stood at 97.5 percent or higher. The agency's West-of-Hudson services, operated under contract by New Jersey Transit, reached a record OTP of 96 percent.