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NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Air purification systems are coming to Metro North trains.
Peak commuting hours at Grand Central and the rush to trains isn't what it used to be.
Social distancing signs are up and Metro North says riders are coming back -- just not fast enough.
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Metro North ridership during the height of the pandemic was down 95% after Labor Day.
That number decreased to 77%, which means that less than a third of the nearly 300,000 riders a day, 86 million per year before COVID-19, have returned.
This comes despite new and improved measures like a pilot program introducing a one-of-its-kind filtration system that kills all germs and viruses.
This filtration system has three parts and cycles air through the cabin every three minutes, and they say it will not only kill COVID-19, but also the flu and common cold long after the pandemic has come and gone.
Right now, it's being tested in two Metro North train cars, but after the first of the year, the program will eventually expand to all Metro North trains costing more than $10 million.
After that, the subways and the Long Island Railroad.
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