Train Schedule Changes Starting Christmas Eve, Through New Year’s Day

Darien commuters and others taking the train will find schedule changes around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, Metro-North says. Here’s the announcement, (with links to online schedules at the bottom):

A train stops at the Noroton Heights Railroad Station, September 2015

Who needs flying reindeer? Our special Christmas/New Year’s Holiday timetable has all the service you’ll need for getting around Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.

Here’s what we have “under the tree” for you:

• Early Getaway Service on Christmas Eve (Thursday, Dec. 24) Our regular weekday schedule will feature more cars on trains at key travel times and 18 additional early getaway trains (5 on the Hudson Line, 3 on the Harlem Line, and 10 the New Haven Line) departing Grand Central between 12 noon and 4:10 PM. See a regular timetable for details.

• Christmas Day (Friday, Dec. 25) and New Year’s Day (Friday, January 1, 2016) Because most of you will be busy unwrapping gifts (or recovering from New Year’s Eve), we will be providing hourly service on all lines. See a Holiday timetable for details.

• Christmas-New Years Week (Monday, Dec. 28 – Wednesday, Dec. 30) If your plans include seeing the tree in Rockefeller Center, strolling by the holiday window displays adorning the store windows along Fifth Avenue, or just returning that sweater with the “Santa Yoda” your parents gave you, we will be able to get you there.

  During our heaviest travel times (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), we will provide longer and extra trains on all lines. See a regular timetable for details.

  If you are traveling with family and friends, we suggest purchasing an off-peak ten-trip ticket. In addition to the discounted price, it is transferable, so everyone riding with you can use it.

  New Year’s Eve (Thursday, Dec. 31) On New Year’s Eve, we will provide modified weekday AM and PM Peak service, with an early afternoon getaway schedule.

• There will be some train consolidations in the A.M. Peak, extra outbound service between 12 noon and 4 p.m., and consolidated service during the P.M. Peak.

• For those of you planning to party in Times Square (or anywhere else in Manhattan), our New Year’s Eve schedule will include extra inbound late afternoon and early evening service.

• And when the party truly is finally over, our “overnight” New Year’s morning service will get you home from your New Year’s celebrations.

Please remember that drinking alcohol on Metro-North trains and at our stations is banned from 12 noon New Year’s Eve until 12 noon New Year’s Day.

Your first resolution for the New Year should be to buy your tickets in advance: Those of you taking our early morning New Year’s service will have your tickets collected prior to boarding trains at Grand Central.

Look for a Christmas/New Year’s Eve Holiday Timetable in Grand Central or at outlying stations. Or visit our schedules page for train times. Have a happy and safe holiday season!