Metro-North Announces Most Ambitious And Largest Service Improvements In History

This information is provided by the MTA/Metro-North:

Our Sunday, October 14 schedule change sees us enact the first round of the most ambitious (and largest) service improvements in our history

These include improvements proposed as part of the MTA’s 2012 service investments, as well as ongoing planned service improvements that will expand our service by more than 5%.
 
This schedule change adds 69 trains per week to our East of Hudson service. That includes 15 additional weekday and 30 additional weekend trains on the New Haven Line (added with our service partner, the Connecticut Department of Transportation), and 24 additional weekend trains on the Harlem Line.
 
These changes will result in increased train frequency during the off-peak and on weekends, resulting in the implementation of half-hourly service at a majority of our stations, and 20-minute service at major stations—White Plains and Stamford. The changes are also designed to result in faster travel times and improved comfort by adding cars—and seats—on weekends.

Following are the details by line:

On The New Haven Line
 
Look for the following weekday/weekend changes to your schedule.
 
In the AM Peak:
 
•On the Danbury Branch, the 6:51 AM train from Danbury will no longer stop at Rowayton, Darien or Noroton Heights. This will result in a 10-minute faster ride for those of you commuting from the Danbury Branch and relieve crowding on this train. A new train will depart South Norwalk at 7:50 AM, stopping at Rowayton, Darien, Noroton Heights and Stamford, and then operate as an express to Harlem-125th Street and Grand Central Terminal. This addition closes a 25-minute gap in express service at Stamford!
 
•The 8:29 AM train from Harrison to Grand Central will originate at Stamford and make all local stops to New York, providing a new one-seat ride for intermediate customers. (If you currently ride the 8:29 AM from Harrison, your commute will not be affected, as the train will continue to make the same stops.)
 
•The 8:12 AM train from Port Chester to Grand Central will originate at Stamford and make all local stops through Port Chester, before continuing on its current schedule. This change closes a 28-minute gap in service!
In the PM Peak:
 
•The 4:26 PM train to Harrison will depart one minute later, at 4:27 PM, and continue to Stamford, providing intermediate customers with a new one-seat ride!
 
•The 4:40 PM to New Haven will no longer stop at Greenwich. If you are traveling to Greenwich, take the 4:34 PM or 4:43 PM trains from Grand Central instead. (If you took this train from Greenwich for stations between Noroton Heights and Fairfield Metro, your train will now depart five minutes earlier and you will need to change trains at Stamford.)
In the AM Reverse Peak:
 
•A new AM Reverse Peak train departs Grand Central at 6:26 AM, stopping at Harlem-125th Street, Fordham, Mount Vernon East, New Rochelle, Rye, Port Chester, Greenwich and Stamford. This train provides a new semi-express option for those of you traveling to jobs in lower Westchester, Greenwich and Stamford.
 
•A new AM Reverse Peak train departs Grand Central at 8:07 AM, making stops at Harlem-125th Street, Fordham, Rye, Port Chester, Greenwich, Stamford, and all stops on the New Canaan Branch.
 
•The 8:07 AM New Haven train now departs at 8:04 AM and will no longer stop at Fordham, Rye, Port Chester, and Greenwich, providing those of you traveling to Stamford with a five-minute faster ride.
 
In the Off Peak:
 
•The 9:35 AM train from Bridgeport to Grand Central will operate 16 minutes earlier, reducing a 60-minute gap in service!
 
On Weekends:
 
•We are extending half-hourly service between Grand Central and New Haven by three hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday to accommodate our growing weekend ridership.
 
•New semi-express trains depart New Haven at 12:31 PM, 1:31 PM, and 5:29 PM, stopping at our busiest stations on the way to Stamford, before proceeding to Harlem-125th Street and Grand Central. This change enables us to provide inbound half-hourly service on the outer New Haven Line from 7 AM through 6 PM on Saturdays, and through 7 PM on Sundays (except between the hours of 2 PM and 4 PM).
 
•New semi-express trains will depart Grand Central for New Haven at 3:34 PM, 8:34 PM and 9:34 PM, running express to Stamford and then making stops at the busiest stations on the way to New Haven. We will now provide outbound half-hourly service on the outer New Haven Line from 3 PM through 10 PM on Saturdays and Sundays.
 
•On Saturdays, to once again accommodate growing ridership, half-hourly service between Grand Central and Stamford is being extended by one hour in the evening. A new local train will depart Stamford at 9:43 PM, making all stops to Mount Vernon East, then Fordham, Harlem-125th Street and Grand Central Terminal. This change enables us to provide inbound half-hourly service on the inner New Haven Line from 6 AM through 10 PM. A new local train will depart Grand Central Terminal at 8:10 PM, making stops at Fordham, Mount Vernon East, and then all stops to Stamford. This change lets us provide outbound half-hourly service on the inner New Haven Line from 6:30 AM though 9 PM.
 
•On Sundays, half-hourly service will be offered between Grand Central and Stamford from 11 AM until 5 PM inbound, and from 1:30 PM until 7:30 PM outbound. (Until now, we have offered only hourly Stamford local service on Sundays.)
 
•Finally, to accommodate requests from the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council and the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT), hourly off-peak and weekend trains will make all stops between New Haven and Stamford, providing all main line stations with hourly service during these periods. (Trains departing New Haven and Grand Central on the half-hour will not make these additional stops.)
 
Be sure to pick up a new timetable today to check for possible changes to your service. They are available in Grand Central, at outlying stations, or go to our Schedules page.
On The Hudson Line
 
Look for minor adjustments to weekend service:
 
•The 8:55 PM train from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie will depart five minutes earlier (at 8:50 PM), putting it “in sync” with the schedule pattern of earlier weekend trains (departing at 6:50 PM, 7:50 PM, etc.).
 
(We will be bringing more service to the Hudson Line with our second round of service improvements this spring, so keep checking future issues of Mileposts for details.)
 
On The Harlem Line
 
New half-hourly service will be offered on weekends between Southeast or Mount Kisco and Grand Central. These new trains provide half-hourly service to our busiest upper Harlem Line stations, and, for the first time, will provide weekend express service to Hartsdale and Scarsdale stations.
 
•Three new inbound trains will depart Mount Kisco at 4:03 PM, 5:03 PM and 6:03 PM, making all stops (except Mount Pleasant and Valhalla) through Scarsdale, and then operating express to Harlem-125th Street and Grand Central.
 
•One new inbound train departs Southeast at 6:39 PM, making all stops (except Croton Falls, Purdy’s, Mount Pleasant and Valhalla) through Scarsdale, and then operating express to Harlem-125th Street and Grand Central.
 
•Two new outbound trains to Mount Kisco depart Grand Central at 2:23 PM and 3:23 PM, making most stops between Scarsdale and Mount Kisco.
 
•The 7:23 PM Saturday-only train from Grand Central to Southeast will now operate on Saturdays and Sundays.
 
•On Saturdays, half-hourly service between Grand Central and North White Plains is extended by two hours in the evening to accommodate our growing ridership.
 
•Inbound half-hourly service will now operate on the lower Harlem Line from 5 AM through 9 PM, while outbound half-hourly service will operate from 6:30 AM through 9:30 PM. New local trains depart North White Plains at 7:33 PM and 8:33 PM, making all stops to Mount Vernon West, then Fordham, Harlem-125th Street and Grand Central.
 
•Outbound, new local trains will depart Grand Central at 7:55 PM and 8:55 PM, stopping at Fordham and Mount Vernon West, before making all stops to North White Plains.
 
•On Sundays, half-hourly service will be provided between Grand Central and North White Plains, from 11 AM until 5 PM inbound, and from 12:30 PM until 6:30 PM outbound. (Previously, we have offered only hourly local service on Sundays.)
 
•The 11:26 PM train from Grand Central to Southeast will now operate on Saturdays only. On Sundays, alternative trains operating 40 minutes earlier and later will accommodate existing ridership.
 
•On weekdays, we will now provide half-hourly, off-peak service at most Bronx stations, with six inbound (from White Plains) and seven outbound (to White Plains) local trains making additional stops at Botanical Garden, Williams Bridge, Woodlawn and Wakefield stations. To accommodate these additional stops, look for adjustments in most local off-peak weekday and weekend trains.