Metro-North recently issued this explanation for ongoing 10- to 15-minute morning commute delays for trains going into Grand Central Terminal:
The recent delays you may be experiencing during your morning rush hour commute are due to speed and operating restrictions still in place on the Park Avenue Viaduct as a result of the damage caused by the commercial fire at 118th Street on May 17.
While our crews were able to quickly make temporary repairs to the viaduct’s steel structure enabling us to restore regular service just two and a half days after the incident, speed restrictions of 30 miles per hour continue on the two inside tracks through the affected area.
In addition, diesel locomotive trains are only allowed to operate on one of the two inside tracks, which causes congestion at the critical junction where trains from all three lines meet.
These constraints have created train delays averaging 10-15 minutes during the key morning peak hours of 7:30 to 9 a.m.
Customers should continue to anticipate these delays until permanent repairs are engineered and implemented.
Metro-North’s engineers and our consultants have been meeting to determine the best course of action to take in order to make permanent repairs to this vital structure.
The street under the viaduct is owned by the City of New York, and we are also working with their representatives to ensure the necessary corrective actions are taken to maximize safety and security in this area, and to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
We appreciate your patience as we continue our ongoing repair efforts and will provide updates on our progress.