Metro-North has published these suggestions and safety tips to make your commute easier and keep it safer during the slipperier, colder, snowier, wetter train trips in winter:
Be Prepared – Know Before You Go:
We strongly encourage you to:
- Check www.mta.info for updates, including modified emergency schedules.
- Sign up for email and text message alerts.
- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
- Use Metro-North Train Time or the Metro-North Train Time App for real-time train information on your computer or smartphone.
- Listen to television and radio news. This is the fastest way to find out how train service is affected by the weather. We continuously provide information to the media.
- Call our Customer Information Center at 511 (in Connecticut call 877-690-5114). The Information Center will have a taped message upfront describing current service conditions. This is an important element in keeping you informed. The volume of calls at the Information Center will increase dramatically during a weather emergency, and you will likely experience delays getting through to a representative.
- Keep a copy of the current Metro-North timetable. If you cannot access our emergency schedules on the web, it will provide you with a reference point for train departure times from your station if severe weather causes us to alter service.
- Listen for public address announcements at stations and on board trains if you are already traveling.
Winter Safety Tips
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Photo from the Metro-North website
Train in Winter
Always watch your step and watch for icy conditions in station parking lots, and on station sidewalks, stairs, and platforms. Remember: Ice tends to form more quickly on train platforms than on other surfaces. Even if a platform looks clear, it can have icy patches and be slippery..
- Always use stair handrails. Water dripping from coats, boots, and umbrellas can ice up with the slightest temperature drop, making stairs very slippery. A firm grip on a handrail can prevent serious injury.
- Always avoid moving from car to car. Icy conditions exist in the areas between cars.
- Always watch for slippery conditions, even after you board your train. Snow, slush, and water from boots make train floors slippery.
- Use caution driving to and from the station.