NYCT adds service on two lines; Metro-North continues electrical upgrade

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) announced plans to increase service this fall on two lines serving Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.

The increased service on the L and M lines is necessary to meet increased ridership demand, NYCT officials said in a press release.

"Among the changes is a significant increase in L weekend service, which will decrease wait times for customers as well as increase capacity on a line that continues to see ridership growth, most notably during off peak hours," said NYCT President Carmen Bianco. "Ridership is at an all-time high, including records for weekend ridership. These are customers who rely on us for all of their transportation needs, both work and play, and we are trying to meet that demand with our available resources."

Implementation of the changes are anticipated to cost $1.7 million annually.

Meanwhile, an ongoing power upgrade for the New Haven Line passed a major milestone with the installation of a second new transformer at Mount Vernon, MTA Metro-North Railroad officials announced yesterday.

The effort is part of a project to enable Metro-North to use the regenerative braking technology on its newest rail cars, the M8s, to feed power back into the catenary system each time the cars go into braking mode. This excess electricity reduces Metro-North's overall power demand.