REMINDER: New Metro-North Schedules Take Effect on Sunday, March 18 to Accommodate White Plains Station Enhancement Project and Track Improvements New Schedules Reflect Railroad’s On-Going Efforts to Enhance Service

 

REMINDER: New Metro-North Schedules Take Effect on Sunday, March 18 to Accommodate White Plains Station Enhancement Project and Track Improvements
New Schedules Reflect Railroad’s On-Going Efforts to Enhance Service

Metro-North Railroad reminds customers that changes to Harlem Line schedules, minor changes to Hudson Line schedules, and minor changes to New Haven Line schedules take effect this Sunday, March 18.

The new schedules allow Metro-North to begin an extensive three-year project to transform the White Plains station, making it safer, brighter, cleaner and easier to navigate.

The general scope of the $94 million investment in the station includes improved station entrances, new signage, platforms, energy efficient LED lighting, benches with USB chargers, station dashboards and totems to provide convenient access to information, upgrades to customer restrooms, as well as Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity.  The station’s interior will get a major make-over; crews will install new wall panels, ceiling tiles and fixtures.

The White Plains Station is located in two-track territory. Indeed, the two-track segment across the nearly five miles between the vicinity of Scarsdale and North White Plains is the busiest segment of two-track railroad in Metro-North’s system, with more than 200 weekday trains.

For the duration of the White Plains project, one of the two tracks will be removed from service during off-peak and weekend hours to allow construction crews to have access to the platforms and to perform their work safely. The construction will not affect peak-hour weekday service, and peak-hour schedules remain unchanged.

While the first phase of improvements to the White Plains station is underway, Metro-North crews will also be out in force rehabilitating track between Scarsdale and Hartsdale. This work lays the foundation for plans to begin refurbishing both stations next year and requires off-peak single-tracking between Scarsdale and Hartsdale.

Elsewhere along the line, between Brewster and Southeast, crews will replace switches. This work requires single-tracking on weekends for three months for approximately 10 miles of track between Goldens Bridge and Southeast stations. To accommodate this track work, off-peak service will be reduced from half-hourly to hourly.

Details of the changes by line are as follows:

Harlem Line, Weekdays:

  • Twenty-eight Saturday and twenty Sunday local trains to and from North White Plains will no longer operate between Crestwood and North White Plains.
  • The northbound schedule pattern for most trains is revised to accommodate train meets at the ends of the single-track segments. As is the case during off-peak hours on weekdays, certain trains to and from Southeast that currently operate express between Harlem-125th Street and White Plains will add stops at Hartsdale, Scarsdale and/or Crestwood.
  • To accommodate the switch replacement project near Brewster, service between Grand Central Terminal and Southeast is reduced to hourly except inbound in the morning, and outbound in the late afternoon/evening. Half-hourly service will be restored with the Fall 2018 schedule change.
  • The through train service between Grand Central Terminal and Wassaic on weekends in both directions (one train in each direction each day) is replaced with shuttle trains between Southeast and Wassaic, with connections at Southeast. Overall travel time between Wassaic and Grand Central Terminal is about 10 minutes longer than on the through trains.
  • Up to four minutes of running time has been added to account for speed restrictions and to operate at reduced speed past track and station construction-workers on the adjacent track and platform.

Harlem Line, Weekends:

  • Twenty-eight Saturday and twenty Sunday local trains to and from North White Plains will no longer operate between Crestwood and North White Plains.
  • The northbound schedule for most trains is revised to accommodate train meets at the ends of the single-track segments. As is the case during off-peak hours on weekdays, certain trains to and from Southeast that currently operate express between Harlem-125th Street and White Plains will add stops at Hartsdale, Scarsdale and/or Crestwood.
  • To accommodate the switch replacement project near Brewster, service between Grand Central Terminal and Southeast is reduced to hourly except inbound in the morning, and outbound in the late afternoon/evening. Half hourly service will be restored with the fall 2018 schedule change.
  • The through train service between Grand Central Terminal and Wassaic on weekends in both directions (one train in each direction each day) is replaced with shuttle trains between Southeast and Wassaic, with connections at Southeast. Overall travel time between Wassaic and Grand Central Terminal is about 10 minutes longer than on the through trains.
  • Up to four minutes of running time has been added to account for speed restrictions and to operate at reduced speed past track and station construction-workers on the adjacent track and platform.

Hudson Line: Weekend

  • Northbound weekend trains to Poughkeepsie depart Grand Central Terminal two minutes later and trains to Croton-Harmon depart one minute later in order to support rescheduled Harlem Line service.

New Haven Line: Weekday

  • All weekday inbound trains will make stops at Rye, Harrison and Mamaroneck one minute earlier to support track work in the area.

Many Channels for Service Updates

Information about the planned service changes noted in this press release, and all planned service changes, is available through Metro-North Railroad’s real-time service information sources:

Email and text message service updates – Customers are urged to sign up to receive the alerts by visiting MyMTAAlerts.com. To avoid unwanted messages, a user can tailor the messages to the specific branch, and the specific times of day.

MTA.info – The rail tab of the “Service Status” box at the left side of www.MTA.info is always the definitive source for the latest status for each branch, updated every minute. In addition, customers can visit www.mta.info/mnr to see special service notices in the upper center of the page.

@MetroNorth on Twitter – Twitter users can follow @MetroNorth to receive updates of a similar nature to the email and text alerts, shortened to fit Twitter’s format.

Metro-North Train Time app – Customers who use the Metro-North Train Time app will see up-to-the-minute status for each upcoming train at each station. The app is available via the Apple Store for iOS devices or Google Play Store for Android along with MTA eTix – Metro-North Railroad’s mobile ticketing app which allows customers to buy Metro-North tickets on their mobile device — anytime, anywhere. As a caution, trains that start out their trips on time may experience delays en route.

The above communications channels can be accessed while at home or on the go. For customers who are located at stations, Metro-North will post the latest service updates on digital signs at station platforms and will make audio announcements over public address systems, and on-board announcements made by train crews.

For those who prefer the telephone, information is available from the Metro-North’s Customer Service Center by calling 511, the New York State Travel Information Line, and saying: “Metro-North Railroad.” For customers calling from Connecticut, the number is: 877-690-5114.  Those who are deaf or hard of hearing can use their preferred service provider for the free 711 relay to reach Metro-North at 511.

Author: Harlem Valley News