Transportation
Quiet Calm Mute 3-24-16

Metro-North Adds Quiet Cars to All Weekday Trains Starting Monday, April 4

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“Quiet Cars” — where passengers are asked to speak only in a “subdued voice,” not use cell phones and disable sound on electronic devices — will be on every weekday Metro-North train as of Monday, April 4, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced. Here’s the announcement:

Starting Monday, April 4, two Quiet Cars will be available on every weekday train — peak and off-peak — thanks to the expansion of our popular “Quiet CALMmute” program. • On all weekday inbound trains, the last two cars are designated Quiet Cars. • On all weekday outbound trains, the first two cars are designated Quiet Cars. Look for the Quiet Car signage identifying the cars.

Transportation
Metro-North schedule 3-23-16

New Metro-North Timetables Go Into Effect Sunday, April 3

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Metro-North’s train schedule will change on Sunday, April 3. Here’s the announcement (with information about the Hudson and Harlem Lines removed):

Our new timetables, which go into effect Sunday, April 3 look to improve performance in peak periods, accommodate track outages for crucial infrastructure work, and accommodate some of your suggestions. To improve performance, we looked at peak trains with the highest ridership that  lost time en route to their destination due to longer dwell times at stations (because of ridership increases and/or bridge plates for track work slowing boarding), temporary speed restrictions,  track changes for track outages, or the cascading impact of other late trains. What do we mean by “cascading impacts?” Here’s an example: Let’s say the 7:18 a.m. train from Mount Kisco is running 3-4 minutes late at North White Plains.

Holidays
St Patrick's Day postcard 1913 3-14-16

Erin Go Without Alcohol While on Metro-North on St Patrick’s Day

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On Thursday, March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, you can wear green on Metro-North trains, you can even get on a train drunk, and you can certainly be Irish For A Day, no matter what your ethnic heritage — but you can’t bring booze on the the train. Metro-North just issued an announcement about the no-drinking policy for train riders. Here’s the full announcement (except for the part about trains on other lines than the New Haven Line):

This Saint Patrick’s Day, Thursday, March 17, Metro-North will not permit alcoholic beverages on trains, platforms or at stations to maintain orderly travel for customers. Any alcoholic beverages found by MTA Police will be confiscated.

Sports
New York City Football Club

See NY Football Club Soccer Games with Metro-North’s ‘Train to the Game’ Sunday

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You can use Metro-North’s “Train to the Game” service to see soccer at Yankee Stadium starting this Sunday, Mar. 13. The New York City Football Club (NYCFC) kicks off its second season at Yankee Stadium on Sun., March 13, taking on a roster of soccer professionals from some of the world’s toughest leagues! Metro-North has frequent and convenient “Train to the Game” game-day service, which offers plenty of Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Line trains to and from every home game. You can also take advantage of the frequent game-day shuttles operating between Grand Central and Harlem-125th Street Station and Yankees-E.

Darien Library
Train

Jim Cameron Speaks Thursday on Metro-North’s Problems & Importance to Darien

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How did the best commuter railroad in the US suddenly become subject of Federal safety investigations after a series of derailments and collisions claimed lives? Why is Metro-North’s survival crucial to real estate prices in Darien? What’s the future of rail service along CT’s “Gold Coast”? It’s a story of political intrigue, corporate malfeasance and corruption befitting a cheap novel — but it’s all true. Darien resident and long-time commuter advocate Jim Cameron spins the tale of “Metro-North: From First to Worst”.

Parents & Kids
hoverboard

No Hoverboards Allowed on Metro-North Trains or Stations

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Hoverboards Not Allowed. That is the new message from the MTA. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced that possession of hoverboards aboard trains or buses or at stations of the New York City Subway, New York City buses, […] Metro-North Railroad […] is prohibited. ____________

— an announcement from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Note that you can’t even carry hoverboards at a station or on a train.)

____________

The MTA is promoting the ban through a new MTA advertising campaign using the now-famous “bubble people,” with the headline: Hoverboards Not Allowed. The MTA’s safety rules have long prohibited the use of personal wheeled vehicles, such as skateboards, skates or scooters, in train stations.

Transportation
Train Winter

MTA Issues Statement to Explain Monday Night’s Extensive Train Delays

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After many commuter trains were delayed Monday night on Metro-North lines, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority issued this statement early Tuesday afternoon to explain what was going on:

To Our Customers:

The extensive delays that you experienced last night occurred when a New Haven Line train struck a person at our Botanical Garden Station in the Bronx around 3:30 PM, shortly before the start of the evening rush hour. This tragedy initially took all four tracks out of service in a critical section of track used by our Harlem and New Haven Lines, as emergency personnel, including personnel from FDNY, EMS and Metro-North, responded. At the start of the rush hour two tracks were returned to service, but we were unable to stop Harlem or New Haven trains at any Bronx stations. We only had one of our usual three outbound tracks in this area, and had to operate trains at significantly reduced speeds to protect emergency response personnel. As a result, significant train congestion occurred resulting in increasing delays to train service into and out of Grand Central.

Transportation
Train Winter

Tips for Winter Train Travel from Metro-North, and How They Respond to The Season’s Weather

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Here’s advice from Metro-North on using trains in the winter and, below it, an explanation from the rail service on how they respond to the challenges of winter weather (we’ve rearranged their announcement, putting the tips first):

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. Use Metro-North Train Time or the Metro-North Train Time App for real-time train information on your Smartphone or computer. Listen to television and radio news. This is the fastest way to find out how train service is affected by the weather.