With 9,166 daily commuters as of 2006,[5] White Plains is the busiest Metro-North station in Westchester County, the busiest non-terminal or transfer station on the Metro-North system, and the first/last stop outside New York City on most upper Harlem Line express trains.

The Westchester campus of Fordham University, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) away, is served by the station.

Penn Central's continuous financial despair throughout the 1970s forced them to turn over their commuter service to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority which made it part of Metro-North in 1983.

[8] The former was similar to that of the current Poughkeepsie station on the Hudson Line, and continued to operate through the reconstruction.

[9] The renovations at White Plains station will cost $91.3 million and will be completed by the end of March 2021.