Metro-North Schedule Changes For Spring

Metro-North's next schedule change goes into effect on Sunday, March 18. There are major changes on the Harlem Line and minor changes on the Hudson and New Haven lines. The two places where most of the impact will be seen will be at and south of White Plains, and in between Golden's Bridge and Southeast.

Harlem Line

The new Harlem Line schedule accommodates these major projects:

• Three-year project to refurbish and upgrade White Plains station
• Switch replacement and third rail work between Brewster and Southeast
• Continuation of track improvement program, with work taking place between Scarsdale and Hartsdale in advance of upcoming platform replacements at both stations

Peak-hour and Reverse Peak Weekday service will not change as a result of these projects. The schedule change affects only Off-Peak and Weekend service. There are no changes to peak and reverse-peak train schedules.

Off-Peak and Nights

Also, service levels are not affected on trains operating between Grand Central Terminal and Crestwood.

• Ten midday and four night-time local trains to and from North White Plains will no longer operate between Crestwood and North White Plains.
• Some trains to and from Southeast that currently operate express between White Plains and Harlem-125th Street will add stops at Hartsdale, Scarsdale and/or Crestwood to preserve half-hourly service to those stations, and to provide connecting service to and from the Crestwood local trains.
• Up to four minutes of running time has been added to accommodate speed restrictions and to operate at reduced speed safely past track workers and station-construction workers as required.
• Up to four minutes of running time has been added to some northbound local trains at Scarsdale to allow southbound trains to clear the single-track area between North White Plains and Scarsdale.

Weekends:

• 28 Saturday and 20 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 allow trains to pass each other at the ends of the single-track segments.
• To accommodate the projects at White Plains, Hartsdale and Scarsdale, service between Grand Central and Southeast is reduced to hourly except inbound in the morning, and outbound in the late afternoon/evening.
• Shuttle trains between Wassaic and Southeast will replace the one through-train each way on Saturday and Sunday between Wassaic and Grand Central Terminal. Overall travel time between Wassaic and Grand Central will be about 10 minutes longer.
• Up to four minutes of running time has been added to accommodate speed restrictions and to operate at reduced speed safely past track workers and station-construction workers as required.

Yankee Game Day Service

For Harlem Line Yankees fans, frequent service to Yankee Stadium is available via a transfer at Harlem-125th Street Station for the 4-minute shuttle ride to and from Yankees-E.153rd Street Station. While station and track improvements are under way, reduced capacity means there is no direct service from the Harlem Line to Yankees-E. 153rd Street Station. As an alternative, fans can also drive to stations on the Hudson and New Haven Lines (where weekend parking is free at Metro-North-controlled parking lots) for direct service to Yankees-E. 153rd Street Station.

What's Happening

During the White Plains station project, one of two tracks will be removed from service between Scarsdale and North White Plains (a five-mile segment) during off-peak and weekend hours to reduce the construction period and allow crews to access the platforms and perform their work safely.

White Plains station is in the busiest two-track segment of the railroad: 210 trains travel this area on weekdays, 131 on Saturdays and 114 on Sundays. That translates to up to 8 trains per hour during off-peak hours on weekdays and weekends.

We cannot sustain this level of service with trains operating in both directions on a single track, especially with trains stopping at White Plains, Hartsdale and Scarsdale stations.

In addition to the work at White Plains station, track work will take place between Scarsdale and Hartsdale to renew the railroad's infrastructure, ensuring the continuing safety and reliability of the Harlem Line. The work will cover track and drainage improvements, including tie and rail replacement, new stone ballast, and general cleanup of the area along our tracks.

We are also replacing four track switches and associated third-rail between Brewster and Southeast on weekends for three months this summer. This work will require single-tracking for 10 miles between Goldens Bridge and Southeast.

We have adjusted our Harlem Line schedule to provide you with timely service while trains pass through two single-track segments, 30 miles apart necessary to accommodate these projects

Hudson Line

Northbound weekend trains to Poughkeepsie will depart Grand Central Terminal two minutes later and trains to Croton-Harmon depart one minute later in order to support infrastructure improvements.

New Haven Line

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

March 18 timetables are available on our schedules page or our Train Time App and in Grand Central Terminal and at outlying stations.

Many Channels for Service Updates

Information about this schedule change and all planned service changes are available via:

• Email and text message service updates
• 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 line/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
• Metro-North TrainTime™ App - Customers who use Metro-North TrainTime™ will see up-to-the-minute status for each upcoming train at each station. TrainTime™ is available on the same application with MTA eTix™ -the mobile ticketing app which allows customers to buy Metro-North tickets on their mobile device - anytime, anywhere.

PLEASE NOTE: Trains that start out their trips on time may experience delays en route.

PHOTO/ MTA