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Mount Vernon Metro-North Riders Will See Reduced Commute Times

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Westchester County commuters will spend a minute or two less on Metro-North Railroad trains starting on Saturday, Jan. 18 thanks to recently completed construction on a stretch of railroad in the Bronx.

Completed construction in the Bronx will make for shorter commute times for many Metro- North customers.

Completed construction in the Bronx will make for shorter commute times for many Metro- North customers.

Photo Credit: Metro-North

All four tracks will be in service along the six-mile stretch between Woodlawn and Melrose stations for the first time since the upgrades began in July.

“Rebuilt track allows trains to operate safely at higher speeds, which will reduce running times.  In other locations we continue to rebuild track so that we can gradually increase safe track speeds,” Metro-North President Howard Permut said in a statement.

Running times on Harlem Line trains will be reduced by one to three minutes on the a.m. peak trains and two to five minutes during the p.m. peak. Off-peak and on weekends, running times have been reduced by up to four minutes, with most improvements around two minutes.

The New Haven Line also will benefit from progress on the right-of-way improvements, with running times reduced by one to two minutes overall, weekdays and weekends.

On the Hudson Line, running times for a.m. peak trains will improve by up to two minutes, and for p.m. peak trains by up to one minute. Running times for off-peak and weekend trains will be reduced by one to four minutes.

“Metro-North’s goal is always to provide safe, reliable service even while performing critical maintenance,"  Permut said in the statement. "The recent track project in the Bronx reduced track capacity by up to 50 percent. With the completion of this major project, customers should notice improvements in the service.”

Full train service at Melrose and Tremont stations also will resume. These stations had been served by shuttle buses to the Fordham station throughout the project that significantly reduced track capacity in an area that carries both Harlem and New Haven line trains.

 

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