New Metro-North Train Schedules Start Sunday

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — The MTA Metro-North Railroad announced Tuesday that new schedules will take effect Sept. 29, on the Harlem, Hudson, and New Haven lines.

Harlem Line

All four tracks are back in service on the Harlem Line, with work completed in the Bronx. Metro-North put its new SMARTTRACK program into action and shut down a segment of track between Mott Haven and Woodlawn while crews installed more than 1,400 ties, made drainage improvements, vacuumed debris- covered ties, installed new rail and insulated joints, dumped 80 tons of stone ballast, welded track and removed trees.

Full weekend service will also be restored to North White Plains, eliminating the need to originate and terminate trains at Crestwood. However, because of the remaining track outages on the Harlem Line and the volume of trains, the five midday and two evening trains which turn at Crestwood on weekdays cannot be extended to and from North White Plains until the completion of the White Plains Station Improvement Project.

New Haven Line

A new early-morning train will be added from Bridgeport to New Haven. Stops will be added at Greenwich to two westbound express trains in the evening to allow a faster reverse commute trip to Grand Central Terminal. Other minor adjustments are designed to reflect more accurately where and when trackwork and infrastructure projects are occurring along the lines.

Service details:

Hudson Line

• The popular Fall Foliage trains return to the Hudson Valley on three Saturdays: Oct. 19, Oct. 26, and Nov. 2. There are three extra northbound trains toward Beacon and Poughkeepsie and two extra southbound trains returning to Grand Central Terminal.
• Weekdays, two southbound trains have 1 minute removed from their schedules.
• There are minor internal adjustments to 14 weekday and 26 weekend southbound trains to accommodate the relocation of track work.

Harlem Line

The track work between Mott Haven and Woodlawn is completed, allowing the restoration of full service.

• Full weekday service is restored to Melrose and Tremont.
• Additionally, seven southbound and six northbound mid-day and late-night weekday trains will add stops at Melrose and Tremont.
• Train 324, the 8:01 a.m. local train from Mt. Vernon West to Grand Central Terminal, is restored to the timetable. As a result, extra temporary Bronx stops are removed from Trains 618, 620, 522 and 524.
• Train 541, the 2:56 p.m. from Grand Central Terminal, adds Williams Bridge, Woodlawn and Wakefield to fill out its all-stops pattern

Full weekend service returns to North White Plains

• 14 southbound weekend trains originate in North White Plains instead of Crestwood. As a result, two temporary southbound weekend late-evening trains from Crestwood to Grand Central Terminal are removed from the timetable.
• 15 northbound weekend trains are extended from Crestwood to North White Plains.
• With the return of full weekend service to North White Plains, four express trains in each direction between Southeast and Grand Central Terminal have had their Crestwood, Scarsdale and Hartsdale stops discontinued.

On weekends, there is a significant improvement to the number of trains serving stations in the Bronx, with stops added to trains serving Melrose, Tremont, Botanical Garden, Williams Bridge, Woodlawn and Wakefield. All weekend Harlem Line trains already stop at Fordham.

• Stops are added to 17 northbound trains.
• Stops are added to 16 southbound trains.

With the completion of track work, 30 trains running times are being shortened by 1-11 minutes. On weekends, 20 trains’ running tie s are being shortened by 2-7 minutes.

New Haven Line

• At the request of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), there is a new Train 1402, departing Bridgeport at 6:57 a.m., which stops at Stratford, Milford and West Haven, and arrives in New Haven at 7:25 a.m., providing a train for customers who need to arrive in New Haven by 8 a.m.
• At CTDOT’s request, Trains 1583 and 1587 add stops at Greenwich at 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., providing new evening express service from Greenwich to Manhattan.
• Trains 1633 and 1637, the Shore Line East diesel trains which operate from New London and Old Saybrook to Stamford, depart New Haven 5 minutes earlier and have 5 minutes added to their schedules to more accurately reflect train times.

Holiday Services and Special Timetables
The 2019/2020 Fall/Winter Holiday Programs are unchanged from 2018, with the exception of the replacement of “Shoppers Special” services with additional cars on adjacent trains where warranted.

Metro-North will publish and operate a special four-day schedule for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend (Thursday, Nov. 28, through Sunday, Dec. 1) that is tailored to the travel needs of customers.

MYmta app & MTA.info – Customers who use the new, comprehensive MYmta app will see real-time travel information for Metro-North and connecting services all in one place, with push notifications when service is not operating normally. As a caution, trains that start out their trips on time may experience delays en route. The Metro-North Train Time app also remains available for customers to access Metro-North train information. The rail tab of the “Service Status” box at new.MTA.info is always the definitive source for the latest status for each line, updated every minute.