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WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. Metro-North commuters will have more travel options to choose from starting this weekend as the company adds an additional 79 trains to its most popular off-peak and weekend time periods, written statement announced.
Were very excited about it, said MTA spokesperson Marjorie Anders. We think our customers are going to like it and we think our riderships going to go up.
The plan calls for 69 trains east of the Hudson and 10 trains on the west, including 15 additional weekday and 30 additional weekend trains on the New Haven Line, 24 additional weekend trains on the Harlem Line, and 10 additional weekday trains on the Pascack Valley.
This move along with an extra 151 trains coming in April will represent the biggest service improvement in Metro-North history, said Anders, who noted that it is a service increase of 5 percent.
Anders spoke of the many benefits that the new trains will provide, including 20-minute service at the White Plains and Stamford stations.
Our goal is to have continuous half-hourly service, she said. Its in the major travel period times that were adding services, so the frequency is increasing. Were also adding cars to existing trains to make it more comfortable and safe and weve tightened up travel times, so that you might save minutes on your travel, which everybody always likes.
Some of the notable changes, according to the MTA, include:
The 8:12 a.m. train from Port Chester to Grand Central will now start at Stamford and make all local stops through Port Chester, closing a 28-minute gap in service.
There will also be two new reverse peak trains on the New Haven Line with one departing Grand Central at 6:26 a.m. and the other leaving at 8:07 a.m. Some of the stops include Mount Vernon East, New Rochelle, Rye, Port Chester, Greenwich and Stamford.
The 8:07 a.m. New Haven train will now depart at 8:04 a.m. and will no longer stop at Fordham, Rye, Port Chester and Greenwich.
Half-hourly service between Grand Central and New Haven will be increased by three hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday to accommodate growing weekend ridership.
For more information on the changes, the MTA urges its customers to pick up a new timetable" or go to the schedules page.
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