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6/15/2021
MTA Metro-North Railroad has announced new train schedules that take effect June 21. The railroad plans to add 24 new peak period trains on its three lines east of the Hudson River, bringing service to 67% of pre-pandemic levels versus the 63% that has been in place for a year.
The changes are directed to peak periods, when ridership is heavier. A more significant service change — which will increase service to 83% of pre-pandemic levels during the week and 70% of pre-COVID levels on the weekends — will take place on Aug. 29, just in time for Labor Day, railroad officials said in a news release.
Metro-North also announced the completion of the New Haven Line’s catenary system. Crews replaced 217 miles of original "fixed termination" catenary in Connecticut that was installed in 1907 and tended to sag or contract due to temperature changes. The new state-of-the-art constant-tension catenary system is designed to better accommodate extreme temperatures.
Before the project, train speeds were restricted as much as 30 mph if the weather was hotter than 90 degrees F or colder than 25 degrees F, and train pantographs suffered greater wear and tear, railroad officials said.