Metro-North needs federal aid to continue providing commuter rail service to suburban riders, county executives from both parties wrote in a letter to federal leaders Tuesday. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority overall is facing a severe financial strain due to the coronavirus pandemic and the sharply declined ridership. 

But that has also put a strain on services within the MTA, including Metro-North, which provides rail service along the Hudson Valley to and from New York City. Ridership reached 100 million annually on Metro-North before the pandemic hit. 

"Now, Metro-North is in dire need of your support," the county executives wrote in the letter to President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. 

"State and county coffers have been emptied as our tax receipts plummeted alongside the fares, tolls, and other revenue streams that pay for transit service. Without emergency federal aid through a COVID stimulus package, the MTA is contemplating slashing services in half, eliminating service entirely in two of our counties and decimating it in the remaining three. In this unacceptable scenario, thousands of transit workers would suffer layoffs and hundreds of thousands of commuters would be left stranded or struggling onto chronically delayed, crowded, and poorly maintained trains."

Rockland County Executive Ed Day, Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, and Westchester County Executive George Latimer signed onto the letter. The group is a mix of Republicans and Democrats who represent the Hudson Valley, underscoring the deepening concern among local officials over the lack of recent federal aid.

A federal coronavirus stimulus package so far has stalled since June in Washington, as state and local governments have lost billions of dollars in tax revenue and face yawning budget gaps. 

Targeted relief, however, may face a less difficult climb in Congress before Election Day.

"Our constituents deserve better than this doomsday scenario for the railroad that ties our region together," the county executives wrote. "Without this essential connection, this lifeline to work and other opportunities, our communities will struggle to recover. ... Our region’s suburban economy will be placed in the most serious jeopardy, with national and even global implications."