New Year's Eve 2021
Metro-North Train

New Year’s Eve Train Service Changes — and Remember: No Alcohol on Trains or at Grand Central

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Metro-North once again will have extra trains traveling to New York City for New Year’s Eve revelers, the railroad announced. Rules to Remember
Two rules to especially remember, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announcement:

—”Masks covering your nose and mouth are required on all Metro-North trains, in all stations and at Grand Central Terminal.” —”Alcohol is not permitted on Metro-North trains from 12 p.m. [noon] Friday, Dec 31 through 12 p.m. [noon] Saturday, Jan. 1.” “We strongly suggest you skip the ticket machine line by using MTA eTix on your iPhone or Android,” the announcement said.

Cameron on Rails 2021
Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe Guilietti

Speed Past Construction on I-95? A State Camera May Get You Ticketed: A Talk with the Transportation Commissioner

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Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe Guilietti has a holiday gift for rail commuters — and maybe a lump of coal for the stockings for highway speeders. Once a year I get a sit-down with the commissioner. We’ve known each other for many years since his days as president of Metro-North. He knows I always ask him the tough questions but once told me “You’re always fair, Jim”, a comment that brought a tear to my eye. So when I asked him when train service was going to get faster, he didn’t blink — or over-promise.

Talking Transportation
Fall leaves train tracks slippery when wet

How Metro North Tries to Keep Trains from Sliding as Leaves Fall on the Tracks: Talking Transportation

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It sounds like a question on a kid’s quiz show: “How do you stop a train?” A) Hail it like a cab? B) Pull the emergency brake? C) Put wet leaves on the track? If you chose “C”, you were correct … and you must be a regular commuter on Metro-North. This is the time of year that tries train engineers’ souls and commuters’ patience.

Cameron on Transportation
Jim Cameron

Lots of Work Needed to Keep the New Haven Line Running: Cameron on Transportation

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In 1955 a New Haven Railroad commuter train could run non-stop for the 36-mile distance from Stamford to Grand Central in 48 minutes. Today that Stamford-to-NYC run takes 59 minutes at best, despite Governor Lamont’s long-promised dream of a 30-minute trip time. But now there’s a new effort to speed up the New Haven line: CDOT’s ambitious “Time for CT” $8-to-10-billion plan. It promises 10-minute faster running times from New Haven to New York City by next year and a 25-minute quicker run by 2035. While some dream of a new high speed rail system running from Washington to Boston at 200+ mph speeds, CDOT and Metro-North are taking, in my view, a much more realistic approach to fixing our existing system.

Coronavirus 2021
Metro-North Train

Metro-North Invites You To Consider a Train If You’ve Got a Long Weekend Trip — or a Vaccine

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Planning an early getaway on Friday, May 28 for the long weekend? Metro-North will operate a regular weekday schedule on Friday, but we are increasing capacity by adding train cars — so your weekend starts when you want it to. —  an announcement from Metro-North

If you’re returning on Monday, May 31, we are running regular weekend service that day (not that anyone wants to think about the weekend ending yet). Wondering when to go and return? Check the schedule.

Cameron on Transportation
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

Here’s What Metro-North Customers Say Would Keep Them Riding (in an Unscientific Survey): Cameron on Transportation

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How are we going to get riders back on the trains and save Metro-North from ballooning deficits, potential service cuts or fare hikes? That’s the question I crowd-sourced on social media last week and found dozens of great answers! Most respondents said they won’t be commuting as much as before because they will continue working from home. It’s not that they are shunning the rails out of fear, just that commuting won’t be necessary. “Most of us have figured out how to work without riding a train every day,” one rider opined.